In a time when Donald Trump is president, North Korea are testing nuclear weapons and Putin is still being Putin, we need to turn off and how better to ignore what is going on in the world than watching a movie about cars, explosions, Corona and family?
Fast and Furious have come out with their eighth (yes eighth) instalment of the franchise that started as a street racing film about jacking DVD players and now has morphed into a fast-paced action movie about saving the world- that also features fast cars. If you want to see a film that has a plausible plot line please look away now because it’s about to get wild.
The Fate of the Furious follows Dom’s (Vin Diesel) team after seemingly disbanding in the previous movie, before getting back together for one more last ride. (Although they have two more sequels slated for the next few years, yas honey make that dollar!) Dom and Letty are enjoying a honeymoon in Cuba, which includes domestic shopping, sex and street racing cars on fire, yes, really. Hobbs (The Rock) is training his daughter’s soccer team after being kicked off the police force. Whilst Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) are off doing something else that isn’t explained in the film.
Dom betrays his team, after preaching about family for seven movies, so what’s up? Dominic Toretto doesn’t betray family, so something must be afoot. That something is Cipher’s (Charlize Theron) evil plan and her blackmailing our favourite muscle car driver. Cipher is a hacking genius, with a racially questionable hair style and no heart apparently. She accosts Dom on his way home from a grocery shop, showing him something on her phone that makes him betray his family. So what’s on the phone screen?
The Fast and Furious family go to an icy apocalypse, apparently.
It is of course Elena (Elsa Pataky), Dom’s ex-partner who let him leave as soon as he found out the love of his life was still alive, honestly the real hero of the franchise, and his infant son. Yes Fast and Furious really did that. So Dom must betray his current wife and friends so his son won’t get killed.
So his team must join up together to take down their leader, Dom. What follows is insane car races, impossible stunts and nuclear weapons, a submarine and ice. As well as a scene where Jason Statham fights whilst holding a baby in a carry cot which is the most enjoyable scene you will see all year, and possibly the best Jason Statham scene ever.
Although the film feels like it was written by a 13 year-old boy, as did the previous seven, you know what you’re getting into when you watch a Fast and Furious film; cars, explosions, pulsing music and scantily clad women. Except for the women in the main cast who are pretty interesting. So maybe the 13 year old’s little sister helped him out for some scenes.
The eighth film is the first film, centring around Dom’s team, that doesn’t feature Paul Walker and his presence is missed throughout. Dom is missing his partner in crime, Brian, and whilst we see a new bromance form between The Rock and Jason Statham, it simply doesn’t feel the same. That doesn’t mean that they completely ignore the fact Brian and his wife Mia left the group, they mention them several times saying they can’t bring him back in because he wants to live a quiet life with his family. There is also a touching tribute to him in the final scenes.
For fans of the franchise, The Fate of the Furious is a perfect movie to follow the fast paced Furious 7. It honours the memory of Paul Walker, whilst making subtle nods to its predecessors. For a thoughtless, fun movie there are scenes that hit close to the heart and might even make you shed a tear or two. Overall, the film is a brilliant eighth instalment into the franchise with fans loving it as it smashes through box office records.
Bronwyn O’Neill