The ‘Fast and the Furious’ movies have been extremely
popular since the first entry in 2001. Full of fast cars, hot chicks and
muscled he-men, it has everything commercial Hollywood loves. It
continues to strike gold at the box office which is a testament to its
adaptability. Moving from a street-racing franchise to a global heist,
the series has changed with the times at brisk speed. The eighth installment, ‘The Fate of the Furious’ is even faster paced zooming along in
full-throttle in its ever increasingly outlandish escapades.
With his crew cleared of various charges and living their
lives, newly married former criminal Dominic (Vin Diesel) is enjoying a quieter
life. Along with his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), he thinks their
troubles are finally at rest. Mysterious criminal Cipher (Charlize
Theron) enters the frame and Dom’s life is turned upside down. What
follows is a smorgasbord of betrayal, vengeance and explosive car chases as Dom
seeks to restore order.
‘The Fate of the Furious’ is a completely ridiculous and
silly addition to the series. It’s also vastly entertaining with some
incredible stunt-work and action set-pieces. It knows it is total rubbish and
makes no apologies for it. Very much a comic-book style flick full of
impossibly chiselled guys and gals doing eye-popping things. Full of
colour, humour and never taking itself seriously it’s an entertaining
experience where the brain is definitely left at the cinema door.
Making ‘The Fate of the Furious’ more interesting is its’
choice of villain. Charlize Theron’s icy baddie oozes evil with her
talent for mind games evident. Using brains instead of brawn she provides
emotional turmoil for Dominic to overcome. Other new characters are reasonably
fleshed out amidst the long run-time with director’s F. Gary Gray’s
determination to focus on characterisation pleasing. The series regulars
know the drill by now and clearly have fun throwing themselves into the mayhem
with energetic gusto.
With rumours the franchise may end up in space, the sky is
literally the limit. ‘The Fate of the Furious’ is spectacular nonsense
only a gargantuan budget can provide. If you see it in the right frame of
mind you’ll enjoy the explosive malarkey of a series seemingly without end.
Movie Review Rating out of 10: 7
Movie Review by Patrick Moore
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