“As long as we obey the laws of physics, we’ll be fine.”
In the now 20 years since the inception of the Fast and Furious franchise, has this line of dialogue ever proven true? No, and it doesn’t again, with this ninth installment going more over-the-top than ever — and that’s saying something.
F9 has more of what audiences demand from this series, but much of this one is very much hit or miss. The action scenes do not disappoint, but the plot — or what seems like a plot — is just scattershot. It bounces between flashbacks and the present until its story structure becomes somewhat clunky, leaving you begging for another chase scene. I know. That’s kind of the point.
Vin Diesel returns as Dom, and Michelle Rodriguez returns as Letty. They’re now raising Dom’s son Little Brian and hoping for a life of peace and quiet off the grid.
That all changes when Tyrese Gibson’s Roman and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges’ Tej ask for their help in relocating Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) after he captured Cipher (Charlize Theron).
Together they team up again with computer hacker Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel). Dom’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) joins the pursuit, and Han (Sung Kang), presumed dead after Tokyo Drift, returns.
Of course, the plot has them globe-trotting looking for Cipher and a weapons-seeking device known as Project Aries, which serves as this film’s MacGuffin, but in reality, it’s a thread to hang the plot on.
As you might’ve guessed based on the trailers, there is no Dwayne Johnson this time around; instead, we get another WWE superstar in John Cena as Dom’s younger brother, Jakob. Cipher recruited Jakob to be part of her team and has brainwashed him.
I already mentioned that we get some flashbacks, and those deal with Dom and Jakob’s dad dying on a race track crash, and the big reveal is so absurdly predictable that anyone could figure it out.
Director Justin Lin returns to the series, bringing the high octane necessary in some sequences such as gigantic magnets that literally suck up everything in their path when Diesel and company run past crowds of people in their vehicles.
The other stuntwork ranges from cars swinging from bridges and other such spectacles that leave us laughing, not necessarily because it’s funny, but because they’re borderline dangerously close to self-parody. It seems like they’re trying to outdo the Mission: Impossible franchise in terms of plausibility.
It’s a mixed bag because, on the one hand, I was unreasonably entertained by the action, and I guess that’s all we should ask for. On the other hand, this one is less satisfying than the others (5 and 7 were the high points).
I never thought I would say this about the Fast and Furious franchise, but I’m actually asking the filmmakers to take it down a notch for the inevitable 10th installment. But then again, this series wouldn’t be doing what it’s made to do if they did. Right?
Grade: B-
(Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action and language.)
