Other than spin-off Hobbs & Shaw, here is the final Fast movie before the year long wait for the delayed F9. To be honest, I’ve had a blast with these movies, even if they’re not exactly the best films ever made.
We join the gang once more, and my God is it dramatic. The premise for this instalment comes when mysterious tech terrorist, Cipher (Charlize Theron) convinces Dom (Vin Diesel) to betray his family and join their ranks. There’s a bit of a spoiler here about a revelation that forces him to do this, so I can’t go into it too much, but I was definitely shocked. Love a good Fast plot twist. Anyway, the majority of the film entails the others trying to help get him back by defeating Cipher’s master plan with the help of none other than Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham).
I have to admit, this is confirmation that Charlize Theron is the absolute banter queen. The sheer fact that she accepted this role in the first place is amazing. I imagine it went down a little something like this:
Theron’s Agent: I’ve just received an offer of a role for you in the new Fast & Furious movie. Who do they think you are? Ridiculous, right?
Theron: That actually sounds fun as a shit, tell them yes.
Agent: ?!
On top of that, Theron somehow manages to pull an exceptional performance out of her overly talented arse, even with the outlandish material she’s given.
For a Fast movie, there’s actually a pretty cool concept for a storyline in this instalment but – one again – there’s very little racing. In fact, there are very few cars in general, at least for the first half of the movie. Strange, as that’s what the franchise is suppose to be about, but that fact has somehow been forgotten by these writers.
As you’d expect, there are many exciting stunts and action sequences within F8. One in particular stood out, which was a sequence where all of the cars with auto-drive are hacked by Cipher and her clan. It’s inventive and an absolute thrill ride, and that mid-movie scene is better than half of the conclusions in the other franchise entries. Including this one, unfortunately. The end here is okay, but it is definitely overshadowed by the former sequence, which happens approximately 60 minutes before the movie ends.
What I’ve come to expect at this point is a killer soundtrack. This one is no exception. In F8, we are gifted with Latin American/hip-hop/rock infusions that have become a staple of this franchise. I would actually argue that this is one of the best soundtracks so far amongst these movies.
Sadly, what Fast is suffering from at this point is a clear case of editing anxiety; each movie is pretty long, and though it’s often all usually relevant, it’s often to focus through the long slog the viewer is presented with.
But you know what? This is definitely an improvement on F7, despite it not being quite as good as 5 or 6. Will this franchise ever end? As long as these movies are fun, who cares?!
Just Hobbs & Shaw to go, you guys!
The Fate of the Furious is available to rent on Amazon for £3.49.
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