No one would ever confuse any of the "Fast and Furious" films for high art, which may actually be why they have become one of Hollywood's most successful, and intriguing, franchises. This is the first entry in a while that talks a bigger game than it walks (or drives). ("Dominic Toretto has just gone rogue!" one of them says, helpfully.) But even a sliver of vulnerability would be too much for the brittle, tatted-up ego of Dominic Toretto, née Vin Diesel, Saga Visionary. Michelle Rodriguez returns as Letty, living in married bliss with Dom until he meets Cipher, a hacker played by Charlize Theron.
This image released by Universal Pictures shows, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, seated left, and Nathalie Emmanuel, seated right, and Tyrese Gibson, standing from left, Scott Eastwood, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez in The Fate of the Furious.
Cipher takes great pains to figure out a way to approach Dom while he is on his honeymoon with Letty in Cuba. Since finding Dom seems to be impossible, Mr. Yup, Dom has a son, and the mother is Elsa Pataky's character, Elena, who early on informs Dom that she calls their son Michael (his middle name) because a father should be the one to name his child. However, "Fast and Furious 7" ended with Walker leaving the team to be a fulltime dad, and this would not have happened had the actor not died in a auto crash. What's more, Statham gets the spotlight in a memorable fight scene late in the film.
Across eight movies, the Fast & Furious films have featured a huge cast of characters.
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The Fate of the Furious is directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. Now, they must unite to bring home the man who made them a family and stop Cipher from unleashing chaos.
The gang brings a fleet of hot rods to NY and smashes things up there in pursuit of Cipher's fleet of hacked "zombie" cars, then flies their entire fleet over to Russian Federation (why not?) to race around at an ice-encrusted military base. But Cipher's endgame is as boring as the character herself. It falls to Theron to deliver most of the serious dialogue in the film, and while she's good at being bad, the movie only gets back up to speed once the action resumes. Dom's choice isn't entirely illogical, but it comes at the expense of the core group in ways that simply feel untrue. In any case, Dom's decision to keep his family in the dark doesn't entirely make sense.
Buckle up and turn off your mind for "The Fate of the Furious". Statham has always been decent at firing quick lines in between punches, but here he's next level, showing a knack for one-liners and physical comedy (especially in the climactic scene, where he co-stars with a baby). And it's pleasant enough to see Diesel and the crew back in action...on a moment-to-moment basis.
Will Helen Mirren appear in future Fast and Furious movies?
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