The Fate of the Furious - Review

It's finally here. The much awaited Fast and Furious sequel with the dumbest title since 2 Fast 2 Furious. So fasten your seat belts because, after this entry in the franchise, we are getting two more Fast and Furious movies. However, I don't think that will be a problem for Universal at this point because this film demonstrates that you can recycle the same formula over and over again to create a successful franchise. I mean hell, look at the Transformers movies. What do I mean by this? Take any one of the more recent Fast and Furious films and take a look at their structure. Start off with some drag race fooling us that this franchise is still about drag racing. That introduces us to our main characters (Dominic Toretto in most cases). Then, trouble strikes in the form of some bad guy with an accent. Round up the team, give them an objective, and from there on out, it's high-speed cars with action, explosions, guns, screaming and cheesy one-liners. If you feel like I just spoiled the movie for you, then I'm assuming you've never seen a Fast and Furious movie. This series is not about the deep, complex story, it's about how much stuff we can blow up on screen. That's what makes it exciting. After watching Furious 7, I thought to myself, "How could they top this?" Well, they definitely did. I don't want to describe how they do it because it's truly remarkable and I'd love for you all to witness it for yourselves with no spoilers. Those are by far the best parts of the movie (I'm looking at you Jason Statham! Nice work man!) However, without those action scenes, this movie would fall apart. Like I said before, the story is not what drives this franchise. If you disagree with me, I ask you this one question. Would you still watch if there were no action scenes what-so-ever and these exact characters discussed their problems over a cup of coffee? Of course not! You want to see fancy cars perform crazy stunts and action-packed fight sequences. (If you could watch this movie with these characters only talking and with no action, then I wish I was you, my friend because then I could find entertainment fairly easily). As for the story, I did like that they took more of a different approach. Having the leader of the group turn on you and having to make amends with your previous enemy to help bring him back. As for how they deliver it, it's not the best. Yes, I understand that this film runs on cheesy dialogue, but you are not supposed to cringe while you hear it. One scene, in particular, was supposed to have a very emotional moment for Vin Diesel's Dominic, except when I saw it, I burst out laughing and had to contain myself in the theatre. It was brutal. However, that being said, a couple scenes later, the film really surprised me on how serious it got emotionally and how well it was delivered. It seems like the first half of the movie is filled with garbage dialogue and delivery and the second half actually contains some great acting and some one-liners that are actually kick-ass. Seems to be a hit-and-miss situation going on. As for the characters, it's a likable team. However, we need more Tyrese Gibson. By far the best character in the group in terms of humour. In terms of action, the Rock is this unstoppable god amongst men and Jason Statham is fantastic in his action scenes. Scott Eastwood is a nice addition too, but it seems like the executives said, "Who looks like Paul Walker?" and chose the first actor they came across. I'm sure he'll have some cool scenes in the next couple movies. Overall, this was a fun time at the theatre. Too bad it took me a while into the movie to realize, "Yeah okay, I'm enjoying myself." Some cringeworthy moments, in the beginning, hold this film back, but still a welcome entry into this growing franchise.