About the film (courtesy of Universal Pictures):
Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he’s going to save those he loves most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom’s forsaken brother, Jakob (John Cena).
The “Fast and Furious” collection just might be the most physics-denying-defying franchises ever, and the paying public just can’t get enough of it. The higher the number of film entries go, the more ludicrous (not to be confused with Ludacris) plots and stunts become. These films are pure popcorn-flicks with a nitrous oxide booster that hopefully leaves the rational and logic parts of your brain in a cloud of smoke. Basically, if don’t try to overthink it, F9: The Fast Saga may give you just enough to be willing to ride again. And believe me, Universal Pictures will keep fueling these films until the wheels fall off.
F9: The Fast Saga may have its largest cast of known actor yet. It almost feels like they’re taking grasping at an Avengers type ensemble by shoehorning in as many characters as possible into the 145 minute feature. We’re going to skip the obligatory casting callouts since it would make this written review a lot longer than it needs to be, so I’ll just summarize by saying “just about everyone” and let that be enough.
Franchise favorite, Justin Lin, returns to helm F9: The Fast Saga. Lin previously directed The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011) and Fast & Furious 6 (2013). Being the man that has been pulling the strings on half of the entries, it should come as very little surprise that there is a high level familiarity and predictability in the latest entry. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since he should know how to coax the most out of his veteran group of actors.
As expected, F9: The Fast Saga contains lots of action throughout, comical banter between characters as well as some head-scratching barely believable situations that our heroes and villains are subjected to. It seems as though Lin really leans into trying to some emotional bonds through a few of the subplots, but the end result falls a bit flat on that front. But hey, sometimes you need to try a bunch of things and see what sticks.
If you’ve been on the positive side of what’s been going on in the four or five movies, you’ll probably find more to like than dislike with F9: The Fast Saga. If you’re going in hoping for a tight narrative and realistic action, which I don’t know why anyone familiar with this franchise would be, I’d say this isn’t the movie for you.
F9: The Fast Saga still has enough under the hood to get you to the finish line, but not at the breakneck speeds you’ve been accustomed to. I don’t know how much more is left in the tank or even what ridiculousness someone think up the next time around, but I wouldn’t be opposed to watching the gang having to outmaneuver a velociraptor or drag race Dracula. Who knows what they might try to pull from Universal’s collection?! For now you can check out this one only in theaters right now.
