The Fate of the Furious
/"Why do I think that you're about to suggest something very wicked, Mr. Toretto?"
Filmology Rating: 2.5 out of 4
After Furious 7 I was ready to call this series quits. It had spun out and went off a cliff, and I wasn’t feeling the need to try and fix up the totaled car and pass it off as something new. Some people claimed I didn’t enjoy the film because I don’t have a sentimental bone in my body, and I highly disagree with those people and I would like to point out to them that I only feel sentimentality for a film when it is earned. I would like to point out that The Dark Knight didn’t have a overlong montage for Heath Ledger, nor did Star Trek Beyond have a montage for Leonard Nimoy or Anton Yelchin. Audiences that will watch Furious 7 in twenty years or even ten years will not know what happened to Paul Walker nor will many care. The audience should judge the film as a film and that film is nothing less than a love letter to someone who died doing something he knew could kill him. While I understand this is a review for The Fate of the Furious and not a rehash of my review of Furious 7, I think it is fair to the reader to know where I was standing when I walked into the theatre.
Dom, played by Vin Diesel, is happy living with his wife Letty, played by Michelle Rodriguez, in Cuba. Dom feels that nothing can go wrong; he finally has the family that he wants. Things change very quickly for the happy couple when Cipher, played by Charlize Theron, appears in Dom’s life. Cipher gives Dom an ultimatum to work for her or she will kill everyone Dom has worked so hard to keep safe.
I’m going to try and tread as carefully as I can with the plot because this series is honestly a soap opera on the big screen. Twists and turns every second with people coming back from the dead left and right; one moment you are friends, the next enemies. The plot is paper thin but fans of the franchise will defend it no matter what I say. My biggest issue with the main plot is that I never truly felt Dom’s betrayal. If the film didn’t show you the reasons why he was doing what he was doing, then you might have been more in shock when the betrayal happens, but the film never wants to actually give you an earned surprise. It doesn’t help that Diesel can’t act, he only has two modes in the film: either yelling in anger or having a look like he needs to fart. I’ve wanted to see the appeal that he has but I have never caught onto it and I still don’t understand it. A great way to sell the betrayal of Dom would be to kill off an actual character, give him some sense of menace rather than always wanting to make a joke when appearing with anyone who confronts him.
After Mad Max: Fury Road and John Wick: Chapter 2 I have come to understand and appreciate what great action films look like. They let you see everything that is going on, every cut is thought about, the action is not sped up so it looks like the characters are doing superhuman things, and the action doesn’t include slow motion every ten minutes to make you feel the characters are cooler than they actually are. F. Gary Gray, the director, is going to get most of the blame for this one from me being one of the only new crew members on the film because everything I just said those other films didn’t do, The Fate of the Furious does. It makes a film that should have me on the edge of my seat filled with adrenaline into a lifeless hollow film.
Most are going to say that I hate this franchise and I wish it could just stop, and I half agree with you. I don’t hate the franchise, in fact I really like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Fast Five but I do think this franchise has ran out of steam. You can only retcon the series so much and be hit on the head so much with the theme of family before wanting to pull your hair out. I think we should look back at the great Fast memories we have and cool down with the Furiousness and let the franchise die with whatever grace it has left.
Rating: Skip It
-Jonny G
The “Fate of the Furious”, the 8th installment of one of the most successful franchises in history, is back! Dom (Vin Diesel) has brought everyone together to create a family. However, in the middle of a job he betrays his family and starts to work for Cipher (Charlize Theron). What does she have on Dom to make him turn on his family?
What started out as movies focused on street racing, has over the years evolved into giant heists and them saving the world. A lot of people have issues with this, why? Can you imagine how repetitive it would be to have movie after movie of just street racing? This series has continued to adapt to make each film bigger, more crazy, and most importantly, made them different. After 8 films, it is impressive that they have continued to keep it fresh and keep us guessing on what is going to happen next.
Speaking of keeping us guessing, ever since the first trailer was released, the world has been wondering why Dom would betray his family! This has been keeping me guessing and anticipating this film for months now. While of course I can’t tell you what this reason was, just know that it was a good enough reason to justify his actions. This reason created a lot of emotional scenes that brought some emotional depth to the films. Now I do have to say one thing, I feel like Dom could have communicated this reason to his family sooner. While it was a little frustrating, it would have hindered the grand finale from having that big reveal. I really do get it, I was just a little frustrated.
Now with the Fast and Furious movies, you have to go into the film knowing it will be over the top and unrealistic. If you go in with this understanding, then you are probably a big fan of the franchise but if you don’t, then this movie and franchise is not the one for you. The “Fate of the Furious” is no different than the rest with the giant, crazy, special effects and action sequences. I went into this film wanted to be entertained, see some really cool cars, some great action, and that is exactly what I got.
The two best aspects of this film both involved Jason Statham. The first was Statham’s character Deckard Shaw and Dwayne Johnsons Hobbs. They had this really awesome hate love relationship that was hilarious to watch grow. For a part of the film, they were both in jail together in cells across from one another and their banter was terrific. The second was a scene during the grand finale that involved Statham and something I can’t say. Just know that it will have you bursting out in laughter!
Being a movie that 2hrs and 20 min, there are some slower filler scenes that seem to drag on a little, specifically times in the middle. When the action comes back however, it sucks you right back into the film so nothing to worry about. While this is not the best one in the series (Fast Five is my favorite), I do feel this is right up there in the running for second or third. Overall, it was a wild ride and I had a great time.
Rating: See It
-Nick