2021 Summer Movie Season - F9 The Fast Saga: Review & Analysis

 

Peak Power!!!!! Fast Saga's Ninth Outing Creates Questions on What Comes Next!!!!!

Review By: Brandon Porter

Viewing Method: In Theaters

Vengeance Comes Home

Story Description

For Dominic Torretto (Vin Diesel) and his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), peacefulness has a certain ambiance to it as they enjoy their quiet life with their son Brian. Occasional visits from others from their chosen family bring additional light as this tight-knit group continues to be each other’s anchor. But a ghost from Don’s long-buried past resurfaces and threatens to destroy everything he’s fought so hard to protect. A highly skilled agent, master tactician, and precision driver has come seeking vengeance on Dom and his family. To make matters more shockingly personal, this new adversary happens to be Dom’s half-brother. With this new opponent that knows Dom in every way possible and with the cyberterrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron) as his partner in crime, Dom and company will have to pull out all the stops and rely on each other and some unexpected allies including a back from the dead Han (Sung Kang) to save the family Dom has and possibly the one he’s long lost. 

After years of resentment and anger,
Jakob returns seeking retribution on Dom.

Film Review

Serving as the ninth installment of the racing drama turned all-out crazy action bonanza, The Fast and the Furious franchise celebrates its 20th anniversary with a new entry determined to top the previous installments by leaps and bounds. After seeing the movie from start to finish, F9 brings the series to a peak level that really creates the burning question...What the hell can they do now? The movie has been sitting on the shelf for a while and its release comes as a welcome overdue arrival. The movie gives a lot to the audience which is a huge positive. But, at the same time, it feels like finishing your ninth plate and realizing you have literally tried everything at the buffet line and you start to question if there is anything left to partake in. Let's get the obvious things out of the way. Vin Diesel and company are still fun to watch on screen. The chemistry between the cast is impeccable and it makes spending time with them all the more rewarding. The new players in town bring good things to the table but their presence isn't felt as strongly like in other films. John Cena is a solid addition to the cast as Jakob Toretto. His character has this tragic aura of longing that fuels his vendetta. His motivation is understandable given what he has been denied and it makes him sympathetic. But his presence has a real wait-and-see vibe to it. It remains to be seen how his character's introduction will play a role in the upcoming films but for now, it still is nice to see him joining in and becoming part of the growing story. Sung Kang's welcome return as Han was a bright spot too after him being gone for several films. However, he too has a wait-and-see vibe around him which I can accept a little bit but it really kind of leaves questions as to why things are being set up this way. 

Cars don’t fly…But they can swing.

Charlize Theron didn't get to do as much in this film as she did in 8 but is still set up to be a major player down the road. This brings me to something that excites and bugs me at the same time. For the first time since watching these movies, I'm starting to really struggle to piece together where all this is leading. As I mentioned before, there are a lot of wait-and-see elements present in this film that create questions I instantly want answers to. This usually doesn't happen when I watch this series but now I'm starting to really get antsy about where this particular road leads. That brings me to the action sequences of the film. To no one's surprise, they continue to grow in terms of craziness. Funny how we went from stealing DVD players and TVs to pulling safes through Rio and outrunning submarines and missiles. F9's sequences are super fun with notable standouts but they don't quite measure up to the franchise's previous showstopping escapades. Still, the movie delivers that signature insanity that I and the fans love including a sequence that some fans have jokingly speculated about the film doing for years now. Yes, I'm talking about THAT thing. 

Push aside all that hold you back.

But now that we have reached this point in the series, one has to wonder what else is this series gonna give us that will make us lose our minds in a way that we haven't before? Hopefully, they come up with something big as the series inches closer to the finish line. Overall, F9 The Fast Saga was a solid entry in the series that set a lot of things in motion for a future and an endgame that is fast approaching. In my opinion, Dom and the crew have checked all the boxes in terms of insanity-laced mayhem with this outing. The only question that remains is not how much gas is left in the tank but how much further can they travel on this road before they run out of track.

Rating and Final Thoughts

An installment that delivers the franchise goodness that is a staple of the series but one
that leaves lingering questions as to where it all leads to. 

All roads lead somewhere. Where will the next one
take us?