The Fate of the Furious

Watch Movies TV -***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching!  Even if this franchise goes to space, you can guarantee that I am going to watch it.

The Fate of the Furious – 4 out of 5

My palate for movies is pretty dynamic and quite vast—which is the same for most of us.  People get mad at me for my reviews all the time and act like all movies can be judged equally and all on the same terms, even if they are two different stories from two entirely different genres.  Commenters will see me like a big budget summer blockbuster and say I have “bad taste” but then other commenters will see me like a low budget, indie artsy film and say I’m a “snob.”  The reality is I am a person and movie-lover with so many dimensions and I am capable of enjoying one film on one level and another on a completely different one.  I can enjoy an emotional human drama just as much as an explosion-rich action feature or even a movie that is so painfully bad but is a blast to watch.  With that being said, I am a HUGE fan of the Fast and the Furiousfranchise because these movies are just badass fun.  So, when I need a break from the depth of rich and complex storytelling and just want slick and exciting action with a dash of humor, these movies have me covered and this 8^th installmentis just another excellent example of how entertaining these features are.

And not a single one used their blinker.

Oh shit, Tormund Giantsbane is in this!

The family is in a lot of trouble after Dom (Vin Diesel) betrays them while on a mission.  The effects leaves Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) in jail with a familiar face across from him; Deckard (Jason Statham), and it has Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) broken but convinced that this isn’t what it seems.  Now the crew must once again rev their engines and come together as Dom has joined forces with a criminal mastermind by the name of Cipher (Charlize Theron) and she has a plan to get her hands on some nuclear weapons.  Can the gang stop them and bring Dom back into the family or did he really turn against them?

I guess Dom isn't going back to Olive Garden anytime soon.
You know, because where you're there you're family.  Eh?  Amirite?
I'm sorry.

"Hi, I'm The Rock.  The world's most badass, charming,
and charismatic man to ever exist."

The Fate of the Furious (despite having a goofy sounding title) continues the standard the franchise has taken once it course corrected and moved away from its straight street racing roots.  Taking the crew into missions of utmost importance really helped solidify the film’s fun factor and constantly adding new faces to the cast doesn’t hurt either (adding The Rock was the best decision this series made).  Like the previous films, this one doesn’t let up on the gas pedal (sorry for the pun but it’s pretty much a legal requirement in these reviews) and is delivering exciting and extremely memorable action.  There’s an incredibly sequence that involves auto-drive cars that is amazingly fun to experience and the final act of the film is pretty much an hour long action sequence that is cutting between fast pace vehicle craziness and a ridiculously amusing and super badass shoot ‘em up/fist fight scene aboard a plane.  This franchise delivers the goods with the action in a big way and this film is keeping that tradition moving.  Never does anything feel like it’s been reused or recycled from previous films—instead, you get all new greatness to absorb and it more than satisfies the action itch.

This one had to have been the movie with the most destruction to various vehicles.
They are destroying them like it is going out of style...and it's awesome!

Everyone wants in this franchise!

As much as I like these films, I won’t try to make the argument that their stories are deep, dynamic and meaningful.  No, they are about some colorful and fun characters going on adventures that include hot cars and lots of collateral damage.  This one does offer up something new as it sees a good guy go bad and a bad guy go good.  I was insanely curious on how they would make Dom do a heel turn and the reasoning is sound.  I won’t reveal what happens for SPOILERS sake but It works.  However, what’s more functional is how fluid the change is for Jason Statham’s character as he goes from the antagonist in the previous film to a member of the family in this one.  The film doesn’t try to bog itself down with trying to make too much out of the situation and, instead, just uses the character’s (and actor’s) natural charisma to do the work.  Through the use of teasing and ribbing with Hobbs to integrate himself, Deckard quickly becomes a member of the team…and it is so effective.  So easy and so natural was Statham’s turn that I barely even remembered that this was the guy who killed the character Han—he made me forget he was a murderer!

This dude used to annoy me but now I've fallen under his spell!

Another drawback?  Theron's hair.  It reminded me
of playdough being pushed through that
squeezy thing.

The only drawbacks I found for this film is the story is a bit slow at the beginning as they are establishing the cause for Dom’s betrayal and a new addition to the cast.  It’s not surprising that the feature had to take some time crafting the why for Dom going against his family (and, like I said, the reason works) but it does feel a little against the grain for a franchise that is built on break-neck speed.  Finally, I really didn’t enjoy the addition of Scott Eastwood to the cast.  When you have a crew of very over-the-top and charismatic characters, it’s going to be difficult for a newbie to jump right in and be memorable.  With that in mind, I harbor no ill feelings towards Eastwood and his character but when you have his just kinda serviceable performance style factored in, he’s way too bland and forgettable.

Still, I find him easier to stand than his father.

Even with these minor setbacks in The Fate of the Furious, I found this latest addition to the series to be extremely fun and entertaining.  The action is exciting, the cast is fun, and the film, once it gets going, never slows down on the thrills.  It’s damn impressive that a franchise can remain this engaging and continue to be a blast when it gets to its eight films but, damn it, they did it!