The Fate of the Furious - Movie Review
We all know the rules of the Furious Drinking Game. Take a drink every time someone mentions family. Let's break down The Fate of the Furious.
The Fate of the Furious is directed by F. Gary Gray and is the eighth installment in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Following the events of Fast 7, Dom Toretto (played by Vin Diesel) is forced to come out of retirement and go rogue against the family that he brought together in the first place. Now it’s up to Team Furious to stop Dom and bring him back home.
Holy convoluted, that is Fast 8 in a nutshell. I’ll admit, I didn’t want another Fast movie. I thought Fast 7 was wrapped up perfectly or at least close to perfect as possible. As unfortunate as the passing of Paul Walker was, I did think it helped elevate the emotion and the meaning behind Fast 7's conclusion.
That said, I still can’t lie and say that I didn’t have a blast with Fast 8 because it’s quite the contrary. Just like its predecessors, the Fast franchise proves it still has a ton of gas in the tank to pull out some extremely over-the-top, ridiculous, dumb action.
Over the span of sixteen years and now eight entries, this franchise has been masterfully showcasing the art of “jumping the shark” in the most outrageous ways imaginable. No pun intended, the action is the driving force of Fast 8, just like it has been for the past seven films.
The action of the Furious franchise not only continues to impress me, but amazes me with the unbelievably crazy stunts they can pull off. When I say unbelievable, I mean there is absolutely no way these actions could actually pay off well in real life. Nonetheless, that’s just the world the franchise has built. At this point, the audience is expected to suspend all kinds of disbelief in order to enjoy these films.
Though the action is impractical, it does help that the whole ensemble cast does a solid job along the way. They’re still the extremely cheesy, but likable group of street thugs we have come to know.
Also, I’d be remissed if I did not give props to Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham for electrifying every scene they were in. While the Fast 8 does loose some of its dramatical beats in return for more absurd action, The Rock and Statham really enhance the story with their good ol’ fashioned badassery.
Final Take
In the end, Fast 8 is exactly the kind of movie you think you’re going to get if you walk into a Fast & Furious movie. The film knows it is not going to win Best Picture this year, it is just trying to have a ton of fun. That’s the “Furious Formula”, if you will. Personally, I believe the formula was once again successful. I just wanted to have fun and I definitely had a ton of it with Fast 8.
I’m going to give The Fate of the Furious a solid “B” on the movie grading scale. To enjoy this film, all you have to do is three things: Sit back, turn off brain, and strap on in for a bunch of nonsensical entertainment.
As always, thanks so much for reading and make sure to stay posted to Frank’s Takes for more reviews. Until next time, keep it 100.
– Frank
