 |
| Courtesy of Universal |
Since the series’ humble beginnings (the 2001 original was a Point Break rip-off that seems downright quaint in hindsight), the characters have gone from petty criminals who steal DVD players to globetrotting spies who work for a shadowy government organization. There’s also a strong possibility that some of them have superpowers.
The plots are overly complicated, the dialogue is ridiculous, the action sequences defy logic – as well as the laws of physics – and the performances, especially in the early installments, are frequently laughable. On paper, these movies shouldn’t work. But there’s something about the ensemble’s camaraderie that makes it feel like you’re hanging out with old friends. That’s why the tragic death of longtime franchise costar Paul Walker, which occurred in the middle of shooting the previous installment, packed such an emotional wallop both onscreen and off.
Removing one of the saga’s two most essential characters could’ve derailed the entire franchise, but global box office domination means the show must go on. That brings us to The Fate of the Furious, which – even though it’s still entertaining – ends up being the weakest installment since 2009’s Fast & Furious. That would be the fourth entry, for those who have trouble keeping up with the series’ inexplicable naming conventions.
Because of Walker’s untimely death, his character Brian O’Conner rode off into the sunset to live a quiet life with his family. It was a smart move from the creative team (fans shouldn’t be forced to mourn a real and fictional death simultaneously) but it means that odd, musclebound Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is now the de facto central character when he always worked best as Brian’s strong, silent partner.
You can’t knock Diesel’s commitment to these movies, but the dude’s a charisma vacuum. That’s clearly why more magnetic performers were brought in over the years, including Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham and Kurt Russell. All three return this time around, joined by franchise newcomers – and Oscar winners! – Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren. Yes, you read that correctly. We now live in a world where Mirren is a part of the Fast and Furious mythology.
I know it’s stupid that I’m using a word like “mythology” to describe these movies, but it’s necessary to convey the convoluted storylines that have piled up over the span of 16 years. They’re essentially testosterone-fueled soap operas (including faked deaths and bouts of amnesia), which helps explain the latest ludicrous plot twist.
The Fate of the Furious opens with Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) visiting Cuba on their honeymoon. It seems like their action-packed days are behind them until a mysterious woman (Theron) blackmails Dom into betraying his team and joining her in a mission to steal an EMP and the launch codes to a nuclear warhead.
Still reeling from Dom’s treachery, Letty and the rest of the team (including Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Nathalie Emmanuel) set out to retrieve the stolen weapons and figure out what would cause Dom to turn his back on them. But it’s going to be a tough mission for a couple of reasons.
First, they’re dealing with a ruthless opponent and a guy who knows all their tricks. Second, the enigmatic Mr. Nobody (Russell) and his new protégé (Scott Eastwood) reveal they’re forcing the team to work with Deckard Shaw (Statham), the guy who killed their friend Han back in Tokyo Drift, the third film (although we don’t learn this until the end of Fast & Furious 6). Like I said, the mythology gets a little mind-bending.
Director F. Gary Gray knows his way around action set pieces, as evidenced by a hilariously over-the-top sequence involving a traffic apocalypse in New York City (in which Theron manages to say the words “it’s zombie time” with a straight face) and a genuinely riveting climax involving a stolen Russian sub, a bunch of sports cars and a militia convoy.
It’s just too bad that Chris Morgan’s screenplay keeps Diesel separated from his co-stars for so long. Rumors suggest his offscreen behavior necessitated this, but it puts a serious damper on the series’ family-centric mentality. Plus, the narrative choice basically puts a spotlight on Diesel’s inability to realize what kind of movie he’s in. The guy plays it completely straight, as if he’s in a docudrama about the dangers of cyberterrorism. His “serious acting face” is a thing of constipated beauty.
However, everyone else understands they’re in a dumb, fun action extravaganza and seem to be having the time of their lives. This is especially true for Johnson and Statham, who are off in their own buddy comedy, and Theron, clearly relishing another chance to play a villain with a penchant for monologues.
Russell is also game, swooping in for a random exposition dump every few scenes. (I kept expecting his character to say, “Sorry about that. I was next door shooting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for a bit.”) He gets to be dismissive and condescending to Eastwood’s character, which makes for an amusing dynamic.
But in terms of energy, this results in some roller coaster-sized peaks and valleys. It’s a yo-yo feeling gets a little tiring after 136 minutes. This was the first installment that had me checking my watch. As with any long-running franchise, things don’t feel quite as effortless this time around.
It’s still worth seeing, but it feels like a lot of setup for little payoff – especially since the movie leaves a couple of plot points unresolved for the ninth installment, scheduled to hit theaters in 2019. The current plan is to wrap everything up with a 10th movie in 2021, and this is the first time I’ve thought that’s probably a good idea.
The Fate of the Furious is rated PG-13 for prolonged sequences of violence and destruction, suggestive content, and language.
Grade: B-
The plots are overly complicated, the dialogue is ridiculous, the action sequences defy logic – as well as the laws of physics – and the performances, especially in the early installments, are frequently laughable. On paper, these movies shouldn’t work. But there’s something about the ensemble’s camaraderie that makes it feel like you’re hanging out with old friends. That’s why the tragic death of longtime franchise costar Paul Walker, which occurred in the middle of shooting the previous installment, packed such an emotional wallop both onscreen and off.
Removing one of the saga’s two most essential characters could’ve derailed the entire franchise, but global box office domination means the show must go on. That brings us to The Fate of the Furious, which – even though it’s still entertaining – ends up being the weakest installment since 2009’s Fast & Furious. That would be the fourth entry, for those who have trouble keeping up with the series’ inexplicable naming conventions.
Because of Walker’s untimely death, his character Brian O’Conner rode off into the sunset to live a quiet life with his family. It was a smart move from the creative team (fans shouldn’t be forced to mourn a real and fictional death simultaneously) but it means that odd, musclebound Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is now the de facto central character when he always worked best as Brian’s strong, silent partner.
You can’t knock Diesel’s commitment to these movies, but the dude’s a charisma vacuum. That’s clearly why more magnetic performers were brought in over the years, including Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham and Kurt Russell. All three return this time around, joined by franchise newcomers – and Oscar winners! – Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren. Yes, you read that correctly. We now live in a world where Mirren is a part of the Fast and Furious mythology.
I know it’s stupid that I’m using a word like “mythology” to describe these movies, but it’s necessary to convey the convoluted storylines that have piled up over the span of 16 years. They’re essentially testosterone-fueled soap operas (including faked deaths and bouts of amnesia), which helps explain the latest ludicrous plot twist.
The Fate of the Furious opens with Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) visiting Cuba on their honeymoon. It seems like their action-packed days are behind them until a mysterious woman (Theron) blackmails Dom into betraying his team and joining her in a mission to steal an EMP and the launch codes to a nuclear warhead.
Still reeling from Dom’s treachery, Letty and the rest of the team (including Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Nathalie Emmanuel) set out to retrieve the stolen weapons and figure out what would cause Dom to turn his back on them. But it’s going to be a tough mission for a couple of reasons.
First, they’re dealing with a ruthless opponent and a guy who knows all their tricks. Second, the enigmatic Mr. Nobody (Russell) and his new protégé (Scott Eastwood) reveal they’re forcing the team to work with Deckard Shaw (Statham), the guy who killed their friend Han back in Tokyo Drift, the third film (although we don’t learn this until the end of Fast & Furious 6). Like I said, the mythology gets a little mind-bending.
Director F. Gary Gray knows his way around action set pieces, as evidenced by a hilariously over-the-top sequence involving a traffic apocalypse in New York City (in which Theron manages to say the words “it’s zombie time” with a straight face) and a genuinely riveting climax involving a stolen Russian sub, a bunch of sports cars and a militia convoy.
It’s just too bad that Chris Morgan’s screenplay keeps Diesel separated from his co-stars for so long. Rumors suggest his offscreen behavior necessitated this, but it puts a serious damper on the series’ family-centric mentality. Plus, the narrative choice basically puts a spotlight on Diesel’s inability to realize what kind of movie he’s in. The guy plays it completely straight, as if he’s in a docudrama about the dangers of cyberterrorism. His “serious acting face” is a thing of constipated beauty.
However, everyone else understands they’re in a dumb, fun action extravaganza and seem to be having the time of their lives. This is especially true for Johnson and Statham, who are off in their own buddy comedy, and Theron, clearly relishing another chance to play a villain with a penchant for monologues.
Russell is also game, swooping in for a random exposition dump every few scenes. (I kept expecting his character to say, “Sorry about that. I was next door shooting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for a bit.”) He gets to be dismissive and condescending to Eastwood’s character, which makes for an amusing dynamic.
But in terms of energy, this results in some roller coaster-sized peaks and valleys. It’s a yo-yo feeling gets a little tiring after 136 minutes. This was the first installment that had me checking my watch. As with any long-running franchise, things don’t feel quite as effortless this time around.
It’s still worth seeing, but it feels like a lot of setup for little payoff – especially since the movie leaves a couple of plot points unresolved for the ninth installment, scheduled to hit theaters in 2019. The current plan is to wrap everything up with a 10th movie in 2021, and this is the first time I’ve thought that’s probably a good idea.
The Fate of the Furious is rated PG-13 for prolonged sequences of violence and destruction, suggestive content, and language.
Grade: B-
Comments
Post a Comment