F9 AND RETURNING TO THE THEATER!

 

 

Well, it’s been a minute since I’ve done one of these, hasn’t it? Well, gang, I’ve been quite the busy bee these past few months. Between putting together my live concert and EP titled E.L. (which you can preorder here, #shamelessplug) and putting the finishing touches on a new short film coming out this week, I haven’t really had the time to talk much about anything, plus there hasn’t really been a film that I’ve considered worth talking about.

 

But now, that all changes. I’ve officially gone back to the cinema after a year and four months of being gone and I have had the privilege of seeing F9, and I’m gonna talk about it!

 

There was a point in this film where I stopped trying to parse out the logic of the goings-on and just gave myself over to the craziness. And that really is the best way to enjoy F9; like they said in Tenet, don’t try to understand it, feel it. Because once you do that, you’re in for one crazy fun ride, probably the most fun you’ll have in your life. That was certainly my experience.

 

Our story: oh, what do you think it is? Some bad guys want a science-fiction-y MacGuffin and the crew of good guys – which includes Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), and Dom’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) – have to stop them with their unique powers of driving cars very fast and recklessly. The main new inclusions this time around are Dom’s estranged brother Jakob (John Cena) helping out the bad guys and the return of breakout character Han (Sung Kang) (and no, I don’t consider those spoilers since they were mentioned in the trailers).

 

And I really don’t mean to dunk on the movie with that sardonic description of its plot. It’s just that the plots of all these films from Fast Five onward (with the inclusion of Hobbs and Shaw) have all been secondary, mainly serving as pretexts for the crazy-bonkers action sequences. So I feel like spending too much time on the plot would be missing the point. Because we’re all just here to see this new entry in a franchise that has gone from street racing to sci-fi action adventure top the previous entries with new over-the-top action set pieces.

 

And on those fronts, it delivers big time! With director Justin Lin back at the helm along with his longtime DP Stephen F. Windon, we get the same crazy action that made Furious 6 so great. We get a thrilling chase through a Central American jungle in the first ten minutes, a nice fight in Tokyo, and yes, as has been advertised in all the trailers, Tej and Roman do go into space with a car that has a rocket strapped to it.

 

If this all sounds kind of stupid, that’s because it sort of is. But it’s also admirable how much Lin and the cast really go for these crazy stunts. And what carries it through is the heartwarming camaraderie that Dom’s crew shares. Even though the family storyline does hit many of the same emotional beats as it did in the previous entries, the actors all demonstrate that they truly believe in it, and that’s enough to carry us as the audience through. Plus, the Brian Tyler score and songs slap.

I will say that there were times when the over-the-top action did undercut some of the drama the film was going for, a prime example being in the first ten minutes where they pull a very crazy stunt, resulting in an outcome that should deliver a big gut punch, but had me kind of snickering. Also, the return of Han didn’t necessarily hit me with the emotional weight that I thought it would, but maybe part of that comes from me not being as much of a devotee of these films as many others are.

 

Still, those are minor issues at best. This is one of the most entertaining, fun films I have seen in a good long while. The action gets so wild it almost gets self-parodic, the crew still shares wonderful chemistry, and there’s even a moment in here where Lin flirts with an almost magical realist/spiritual/artsy style of filmmaking that I found to be very interesting. I don’t wanna spoil it, but you’ll know it when you see it.

 

Bottom line: tons of fun! Go and see it…safely, that is. Also, there’s an end credits scene you should definitely stick around for.

 

And expect a lot more of these reviews from me on a regular basis. I’m back and I’m here to stay!