F9 is the latest movie in the Fast and the Furious saga, and by this point in the franchise, you kind of know what to expect. You can’t go into these movies expecting anything, but over-the-top and outrageous action set pieces; however, even by this franchise’s standards, this is the wildest ride yet. They have officially “jumped the shark” or whatever term fits best.
It was great having Justin Lin back in the director’s chair. He directed four previous movies in the Tokyo Drift–Fast and Furious 6 and came back after sitting out the last 3. I feel nobody understands the franchise better than him.
Regardless of how you may feel about the franchise, there’s no denying the action set pieces are unrealistic but well-directed, and this one is no different. Lin has a true knack for impressive action set pieces, and his direction and the stunt team deserve a lot of praise for making great use of its budget.
My favorite aspects of F9 were the callbacks and the flashback sequences. They sprinkle a little bit of that in every movie, especially Part 1 and Tokyo Drift, which made me very happy as I’m a massive fan of it and feel very underrated. I loved the use of flashbacks, as they gave much-needed details on the backstory between Dom and Jakob since none of the previous eight movies made any mention or gave a hint at a brother. I liked those scenes a lot, especially the acting from Vinnie Bennett and Finn Cole, who play the younger versions of Dom and Jakob. They honestly did a better job than Vin Diesel and John Cena in this movie.
I’m a vast Helen Mirren fan, and her inclusion in this franchise is something I’ve honestly loved. Thankfully this one finally lets her drive, and it was one of the best scenes in the movie. She came off too smooth in that scene.
You have to turn your brain all the way off on this one, more than usual. I found myself laughing so much along with the audience in my showing. I have never said “are you kidding me” as much during any previous movies as I did on F9. We know this franchise threw logic out the window a long time ago, but some of the set pieces had me stunned at how far they went on the ridiculous level. Being a massive fan of the franchise, I enjoyed them because it’s what I’ve expected. However, for some, I feel it might be too much, and F9 could be the one that finally makes some officially give up on the franchise.
The movie was surprisingly very on the nose. During it, they had Tyrese bring up many of the adventures they have survived and asked the question if they are immortal since they are all alive and never have a scratch on them. Besides being very on the nose, it seems the people behind the franchise saw all the memes because, as we saw in the trailer, they finally went to space, and it is as idiotic as you’d think. Tyrese and Ludacris provided their signature humor in that whole sequence, but there’s no denying how ridiculous it is.
Now on to the negatives, the script is very formulaic and convoluted at times. The reasoning behind how Han is still alive just made me roll my eyes. It didn’t work for me. The only purpose of his role in the movie is for the MacGuffin in the plot. Despite my issues with how he was brought back, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to see Sung Kang back as Han.
Sadly, the worst thing about the film is John Cena. I’m a fan of him as an actor, but he was very wooden here and should stick to characters that offer him a chance to show off his charisma. I was excited by his casting, but he ended up being a terrible replacement for The Rock, who injected so much life into this franchise. Cena doesn’t have chemistry with Diesel the way The Rock did because even when they were enemies, it worked well. Despite the great flashbacks, I didn’t buy for one second that Cena and Diesel were brothers. You never sense it in the movie, not even on a sibling rivalry level. Charlize Theron, while better this time around, was wasted once again. The majority of her scenes were alone, and it’s clear, she shot her scenes in a few days. There was not much reason as to why she had been brought back.
During the film, I found myself thinking of how they really should have ended the franchise with part 7. We don’t ever go into these movies expecting award-winning storylines, but I found myself not interested in the storyline at all. So with my lack of interest in the plot, I felt that 145 minutes run time. There was no need for this movie to have been so long as this felt like a filler movie setting up parts 10 and 11. I suspect those two films will be like the infinity war/endgame of this franchise bringing in everybody that has ever been a part of the franchise.
Overall, this movie felt like it was a parody of the franchise instead of an official entry. It’s not one of the best in the franchise, but it’s also not the worst one. I won’t spoil the ending, but the film’s final shot made me smile so much.
Check this out on the big screen this weekend if you’re a fan of the franchise.
