The first trailer for Fast and Furious 9 has debuted and it is a jaw-dropper on multiple fronts. Now, before getting too in depth on this puppy it should be known that this guy is a huge fan of this franchise. After first watching this teaser, I was overcame by a tsunami of conflicting feelings. Initially, the sentiment was this was way too over the top and one of my favorite franchises has essentially sent Dom in his sweet ride over the shark. Then, … well, read on.
This is a shocking trailer on a myriad of levels. There are reveals that seem like they should be elements of the film itself that audiences are told not to spoil for other audiences that haven’t seen the movie yet. But given the fact that the Fast and Furious series has always pushed the boundaries of what is real and what is possible (Jason Statham a good guy?), one should just take the teaser for what it is and let all opinions on what we just watched fade away. I trust the filmmakers and producers and with the fact that Justin Lin is back behind the camera, there is going to be a lot of leeway given to this series to entertain us—all without a raised eyebrow at how bat sh*t crazy this thing looks. Lin returns after helming Tokyo Drift, Fast Five, Fast & Furious and Fast & Furious 6.
OK, so let’s address this bananas trailer. It commences with Dom (Vin Diesel) doting on his son while his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) looks on proudly. Then, the action commences, and we learn that Dom … has a brother? Wait, what?! Yup, John Cena is this never-before-mentioned sibling who has a wee bit of pent up anger towards his big bro. He, as it is teased here, appears to be our villain—that fact is reinforced when he visits with the baddie of Fate of the Furious, Charlize Theron’s Cipher.
Now, I said I wasn’t going to go too deeply into this, but does anyone else think it’s a little odd that someone who stresses family as much as Dom has over the last eight movies has a sibling that has never even been hinted at? OK, I’ll move on …
Then, we get teased some of those crazy stunts (Dom stops a flipping car with his bare hands?) that always push the envelope in a Fast and Furious flick. A car driving up a rope and wood bridge that is only connected on one side? Yup. That happened. Then again, after you’ve seen cars race an atomic submarine, anything is possible!
Lastly, there is that reveal that Han is alive! They went there and I’m going to withhold judgement on these plot points until I see the movie. But, let’s just say I am starting from a place of “are you serious?” rather than “this is awesome.”
Fast 9 lands in theaters, just in time to put a little rev into our summer on May 22.