3.25/5
Probably the best of the recent mainline Fast and Furious movies (which isn’t saying much, I know). This one sees the psychotic son (Jason Momoa) of a former villain (from Fast V) come after Dom and his extended family, trapping and abusing them again and again with ridiculous situations and armies of henchmen. Originally planned on part 1 of 2 to finish the franchise…they said it might extend to three films instead, so we’ll see. It’s far more grounded than recent entries, and the director literally admitted that was the goal. It’s got the usual intense action sequences, both with cars and hand-to-hand fights, which are pretty enjoyable, if maybe overlong (especially Italy). The new additions are mostly good, and of course there’s cameos, callbacks, and tons of setup for the next movie.
The Bad:
-Brie Larson really didn’t fit into this movie well. Her whole vibe didn’t work IMO. Didn’t mind the family connection to our missing Mr. Nobody, and she definitely had some fun, but it didn’t land.
-The Italy sequence was cool, but definitely felt overlong. Started getting “the infinite slide of doom” from the previous movie where the armored long truck slides for like 3 miles on its roof.
-Suffered a lot from “there is no way the bad guy could plan this many traps/resources” against our heroes. Especially the final sequence…it was like an overbooked wrestling match. You’ve got driving out of a plane, the army of villain cars Dom has to get through, the grappling hook helicopters, then the remote oil tankers, and for good measure let’s rig elaborate bombs on a dam this is all going down on. I mean…WHAT?? It was cool to watch but holy hell there’s no freaking way.
-Getting a jet-powered glider through airport security.
-Oh I can’t wait to see how they’ll explain away Giselle not dying on that runway.
-Physics, as usual in these.
The Good:
-Jason Momoa was a huge addition to this. His character of Dante was basically a cross between Bane and Heath Ledger’s Joker; powerful, deadly, and nutso. They included multiple sequences of him doing weird shit (with the dead tech guys, for instance) just to show that he is, indeed, bonkers. Having him wear pastels, strut like a peacock, and generally cackle constantly was a huge contrast to our overly stoic and gravelly Dom.
-The hand-to-hand fights were dynamic and fun, as usual. I was super happy they gave Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron one (that apparently they directed) that was brutal and utilized their skillsets with. Even Jordana Brewster, long an afterthought in the series, gets to whoop some bad guy butt with household objects.
-So many cameos and quick additions. Great to see Diesel and Helen Mirren again, those two are great together. Gal Gadot is not a super surprise given it had leaked, but The Rock sure was. Glad they cleared up their issues, because he definitely makes the franchise better IMO. His bonus scene was him at his best: laughing at the threat of a villain like he gives a shit. Pete Davidson continues to cameo in everything this year. Daniela Melchior joins the franchise as the sister of Elena, which isn’t really necessary…but I’ll never complain about her being in a film, because she’s great. And finally, Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow plays the flight attendant that helps Jakob and Brian escape the plane. Great touch.
-Alan Ritchson as Aimes is a dude whose casting just makes you go, “well, duh.” Huge dude, no stranger to action, rising star after his Reacher adaptation, and able to play the morally questionable new head of the Agency…at least until he reveals that he’s working with Dante to take down Dom and his family. God, I hope he has a fight with The Rock that isn’t all of 5 seconds.
-Jakob’s sacrifice. It’s hard to believe given the franchise, but he seems pretty dead, dying in a literal blaze of glory saving Dom. Ups the stakes a lot more than Dante killing an old friend of Dom’s from his Brazil days in a long-past movie.
-The Italy stuff was too long, but it was also pretty cool. Mini Tej on the toy car was great, and the rolling bomb as an homage both by the filmmakers and our villain to the safe chase in Fast V was inspired. Also loved shooting new footage based on that film, using the villain perspective. Good touch because not only does it refresh the events in the mind of the audience, it gives plenty of backstory to our two new big bads.
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Yeah, best FF movie in awhile (not counting Hobbs and Shaw which I loved). Definitely a move in the right direction after the pretty bad F9. If you like the others, you’ll like this one. Mindless action romp, but fun.
Getting Reel with Mr. Sunshine 