Fast? Furious? Forget about common sense: these car thieves turned international super spies have so much adrenaline pumping through them all the cast can do is fight.
F9, the tenth instalment of the global Fast and Furious franchise, is exactly the kind of beautiful nonsense that makes a summer blockbuster fun. Unfortunately, there’s so much going on with so many characters that all of it feels forgettable.
The famous action series is known for its oversized stunts, tricked out cars and abandonment of any attempt to feature accurate physics. It also celebrates its 20th anniversary this year since 2001’s original The Fast and the Furious, but acknowledging that milestone highlights how the best Fast films are behind us.
After two decades of globe-trotting races and secret missions, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is back, living on a farm with his now-wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and his son.
But the sudden appearance of Dom’s estranged brother Jakob (John Cena) threatens the peace as he hunts for a computer hardware called Ares, which can hack into any secret security system in the world.
What comes after is two and a half hours of incoherent car chases, muscular men screaming at each other, and the best stunts Hollywood can design. There’s so much fighting it’s frantic trying to understand everything that’s going on.
All the action is accentuated by driving cars nobody can realistically afford, though when has any component of the franchise been realistic? I hate to admit it, but the lack of grounding that prevents the stakes of the story being taken seriously is also an asset. Watching these crazy stunt is what makes watching F9 a lot of fun.
The novelty of what makes the franchise great has worn off, and the conflicts each new movie features feels more and more unoriginal. After nine (or arguably ten) movies, the story needs to be something else beyond “fast and furious” to keep us engaged.
2017’s The Fate of the Furious revealed a glaring problem future Fast movies would have going forward, where casual moviegoers were becoming increasingly confused who the dozens of characters in the movie are.
The ensemble cast is now so big that the movie has more characters and celebrity cameos than it does plot. F9 continues this problem, and while it’s still a fun diversion at the movies, it might also send your brain into engine failure.
Franchise favourites Roman and Tej debate how miraculous it is neither of them have died through the several movies they’ve been in. But as Roman observes, “Maybe we have just been lucky this whole time.”
That perfectly sums up the state of the Fast and Furious movies. No audience can have a lasting emotional investment in characters that are questioning and satirizing their own plausible success. But their willingness to keep trying is enough of a reason for us to enjoy watching the stunt spectacular before our eyes.
F9 (Fast and Furious 9)
5 out of 10
PG, 2hrs 25mins. Spy Action Adventure.
Co-written and directed by Justin Lin.
Starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, John Cena, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang and Charlize Theron.
Now playing at the 5 Drive-In. Also playing at drive-ins and cinemas outside Halton Region.
