Dom's younger brother attempts to steal a weapon of
mass destruction, and only Dom and his team can stop him. ACTION
|
F9: The Fast Saga (2021)Directed by Justin Lin
Written by Daniel Casey and Justin Lin Starring Vin Diesel, John Cena, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris, Nathalie Emmanuel, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Sung Kang, Anna Sawai, Finn Cole, Helen Mirren Sequel to 2017's The Fate of the Furious |
This franchise is known for its increasing ridiculousness, from its constant stunt casting to its incredulous plot devices. But for some reason, since the fifth film, we've all kind of let it slide. Now, however, with Dwayne Johnson out of the picture and Vin Diesel once again hogging the spotlight of a franchise that clearly doesn't need him anymore, the long-awaited ninth film isn't quite up to snuff. John Cena does his best to play a long-lost brother to Dom that has never been mentioned before, but even the latest professional wrestler to take on the Toretto Family can't keep this one out of mediocrity. Maybe the next one will have Bautista or the ghost of Macho Man.
Dom (Diesel) has settled down with Letty (Rodriguez) and his son Brian, but when Mr. Nobody's (Russell) plane goes down and the villainous Cipher (Theron) escapes, Dom and his crew have to stop her. They learn that the culprit is Jakob (Cena), Dom's younger brother who was kicked out of the family decades earlier. Now, Jakob is a hardened super spy with a vendetta against the entire world, and only Dom can stop him. The plot is the thinnest we've gotten yet, at least since the films got watchable, and there are a number of questionable character decisions that just don't make sense. I'll give this film props for its action scenes and humorous moments, but the rift between Diesel and Dwayne Johnson overshadows the movie. I don't even want to go into how nonsensical Han's (Kang) return is, and how effortless it is for the film's producers to constantly retcon the franchise whenever it suits the film at hand. There's things to like here, but overall, I don't think this is one I'll be going back to anytime soon. |
It still surprises me we are where we are with this franchise. But nine films and a spin-off in and this shows no signs of stopping. Yes, there is a planned, epic tenth and eleventh film finale. But even when that’s done, there is still the spin-off series going strong. So, we still got some fast cars and family to enjoy for the foreseeable future. Now, with all that said, there is some interesting differences with this installment. First up the is the absence of Dwayne Johnson’s character due to real life beef between him and co-star Vin Diesel. Second is the surprise return of beloved character, Han, even though he was shown killed in the third film. And, finally, the addition of John Cena as the long-lost brother this franchise has never bothered to talk about until now. Hint for the rest of this review, these three things are all going to be negatives.
Let’s start with some positives. This installment continues the franchise tradition of un, over-the-top action, ridiculous set pieces and stunts, and a strong theme of family. So, that’s still there. Also, the women get to partake in a lot of the fun this time around and contribute to some of the more fun moments. Now for those three things I mentioned earlier. This installment suffers from a noticeable lack of Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs. Without him, this ride feels like it takes itself a bit too serious. There isn’t someone like Johnson who seems to know what this is and provide just the right amount of self-awareness. As for the other two things I mentioned, they can actually both be blamed for contributing to the same problem, story. In the case of Han, it brings up more questions than answers. For longtime fans, it’s almost insulting how they basically retcon the entirety of Tokyo Drift to bring this character back. Interesting considering how much they wanted to distance themselves from that installment for years. And as for Cena’s character, it does the same thing. More questions than answers. I’ve been a pretty unabashed fan of this franchise since the beginning. It’s not the next best thing cinema has to offer us. Even if Diesel thinks otherwise. But it is a dumb, loud, fun series of films. The problem here is the amount of retconning done to bring in new and old characters. It takes a paper-thin story and completely breaks it into an illogical mess. Let’s hope they don’t continue this trend with the final two installments. |