Written by: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson (based on characters created by)
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel Picture54Nathalie Emmanuel, Luke Evans
Rated: PG-13
Plot
When a mysterious woman seduces Dom into the world of terrorism and he betrays his family, the crew face trials that will test them as never before.
Verdict
It's a logic and physics defying thrill ride, absolutely ridiculous but always entertaining in the most over the top way possible. The story and dialog and everything else is often dumb, but it's dumb fun. This is a movie that could go anywhere because it isn't bound by the rules of a typical movie. The Rock as a kids' soccer coach, Jason Statham babysitting while killing, jet packs, submarines, throw it all in. It's in no way a good movie, but I definitely enjoyed it.
It depends.
Review
This series still amazes me considering what it has become. From the original which was an actual car movie, the third which seemed like the end, to the reinvention of the series in the fourth movie, we are now at eight.
This open with Dom in Cuba, quickly dismissing any pretense of realism. Dom's one mile race lasts for five minutes, and he wins the race in a car missing body panels, driving backwards, while on fire. This race is one of the most ridiculous things I've seen from a movie in a while, but it's entertaining and that's the goal of the series now. The dialog is so cliche heavy I can't help but laugh. "Do you know what he has under the hood?" "It just matters who's driving it."
A mystery quickly unfurls when Dom is blackmailed by Charlize Theron to do her bidding. We don't know what she shows him on her phone, but as the movie blatantly tells us, Dominic Toretto just went rogue." The movie is so afraid that even the simplest of concepts might be confusing that it spells out everything.
This movie's hallmark is throwing everything at you and hoping half of it lands. Most the ideas for the script must be someone just putting the The Rock in cool scenes and not worrying about context. He's a children's soccer coach, in a high speed chase, and in a jail brawl. Let's do it all! The decision making progress must have been, what ridiculous thing can we do? Put it in.
Constantly I would surmise this movie has abandoned logic completely, but I have to admit it's entertaining. Having Dom go rogue is exactly what this series would do. At some point there will be a Fast and Furious in space. Why not? Where else can they go? What other fuel propelled vehicles have they yet to race and crash? The Fast and the Furious needs aliens. They came for a hulking, car racing family loving, human specimen, they didn't count on his family following them out of the solar system. The movie writes itself!
At one point I wondered if Dom was a robot. It wouldn't surprise me. This movie can go anywhere because it isn't bound by any of the normal rules. Of course Dom's betrayal ends up being all about family.
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| A rocket, a submarine, ice, and a muscle car all in one frame. |
It's often dumb, top to bottom, but it's dumb fun. Jason Statham has a lengthy action sequence where he shoots guys on a plane while carrying a baby.
I would say the bulk of the movie is a parody, but I don't think that's the intention. This movie did exactly as intended. It grossed over a billion dollars.
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