F9 (2021) Review

 "I spent my entire life in your shadow.  And now, you spend the rest of yours living in mine."

-Jakob Toretto

After finally capturing cyberterrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron), Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) is attacked by a powerful force on his way back to the United States.  He manages to get a message out to Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his team and they spring into action.  Unfortunately, they find themselves up against a master spy and assassin, Jakob Toretto (John Cena), Dom's estranged brother.

Spoilers Below for F9.  If you like these movies, go and see this one before you read any further.  In short, I think this is the weakest film in the series, but it has one moment that is so awesome that I have to talk about it below.  It's still an ok movie and if you like the rest of the series, you'll probably like this one just fine.  SPOILERS AHEAD!

What Works:

The best part about these movies has always been the car related action sequences.  They are stupid and over-the-top, but the movies completely own that fact.  That's definitely true here.  We get magnet cars, cars driving off cliffs, cars getting picked up by planes, etc...  It's some truly awesome stuff and I was laughing my ass off.  It feels like a kid wrote this movie while playing with his hot wheels, and that's what I'm here for.

This film does an excellent job of setting up for the 10th movie.  It brings a lot of characters back, which I do have a problem with, but I'll get to that later.  Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), the protagonist of Tokyo Drift, and some of his friends finally make their way state side.  With the return of Han (Sung Kang), this movie really got me excited for what is to come with this series, especially with Han coming face-to-face with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) again.

Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) has always been the most hit-or-miss character for me.  I like him a lot of the time, but his jokes don't always land.  He's hands down the best character in this movie because they give him more of an arc than just being the comic relief.  He is the one who draws attention to the fact that the team survives the most ridiculous crap and usually get out without a scratch.  He comes to believe he is invincible, but by the end, actually has to face his own mortality.  It's the best arc Roman has ever had in this series.

Finally, F9 might have the single greatest moment in the entire series.  For years I've joked about ridiculous premises this series could go in.  One of my favorites was having them go to space.  Well, guess what...they did it.  The crazy bastards did it.  I had no idea this was coming.  I wasn't spoiled that this was going to happen and when it did, I could not believe it and I could not stop laughing.  Fast and the Furious went to space!!!!!!!!!  And that moment alone, makes this movie worth watching.

What Sucks:

Ultimately, I do think this is the weakest movie in the series.  They bring back a ton of characters, but most of them only have one or two scenes.  Almost everyone is underused, which was very disappointing. They all come together at the end of the movie, which makes me excited for the sequel, but it feels like they sacrificed making 9 great to set up 10.

I wasn't thrilled about the return of Han.  The reveal that his death was caused by Deckard Shaw at the end of 6 is awesome and sets up the best film in the series in Furious 7.  Han being revealed to be alive is more than a little sloppy, doesn't make much sense, and cheapens what had come before.  I know characters don't often stay dead in this series, but this one really didn't work, especially because Han does almost nothing in the film.

The relationship between Dom and Jakob is interesting, but they don't do enough with it.  Dom is the type of character that internalizes everything, so we don't really get to see him dealing with his conflicted feelings and guilt very much.  Ultimately, the conflict between the brothers isn't nearly as interesting as it could have been.

Finally, while I liked the car action set-pieces, the fight sequences are another matter.  They are shot in extreme close ups with very shaky and quick camera movements.  I hate when fights are filmed this way and these were especially bad to the point where I felt nauseous.  The camera really needed to take a step back.  These felt more like they belonged in a Bourne movie.  They don't work in Fast and the Furious movies.

Verdict:

F9 is easily the weakest film in the series with bad fights sequences, underused characters, sloppier than usual writing, and an undercooked main conflict.  That said, the car chases are awesome, it made me really excited for the next movie, Roman is well used, and it goes to space!  That could very well be the most outrageous thing to happen in this series and I love it.

 6/10: Okay