The Fate of the Furious

"Very Good"

The Fate of the Furious Review


With the more dumbed-down title Fast & Furious 8 outside of North America, this overcrowded franchise continues in its trajectory to provide mindlessly outrageous thrills involving muscly guys, tough girls and loud cars. This episode is marginally more grounded than the high-flying previous instalment, but it's still utterly preposterous. It's also a huge amount of fun, thanks to the snappy cast and far larger than life driving stunts.

We catch up with Dom and Letty (Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez) living in Havana and challenging the locals to some vroom-vroom racing antics. But their happy life is interrupted by the arrival of Cipher (Charlize Theron), a mysterious woman who has something on Dom and lures him to the dark side. To stop Cipher's nefarious plan, Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) is brought back into action by Mr Nobody (Kurt Russell) and his rookie colleague Eric (Scott Eastwood), who also draft in Letty and the team (Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges and Nathalie Emmanuel) before heading off to Berlin. Things don't go so well there, so they bring in hothead nemesis Deckard (Jason Statham) and chase Dom and Cipher to New York and Arctic Russia for even more outrageous vehicular mayhem.

New to the franchise, director F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) gives the film a gritty edge that sits surprisingly well with a stream of wry comedy running right through every scene. He also kicks off the action from the opening shot, then barely pauses for breath for a odd moment of plot exposition or emotion along the way. This is full-on action entertainment, riotously over-the-top and hilariously enjoyable, even if it's dumb as a post. And the action sequences are jaw-droppingly enormous.

In the meathead roles, Diesel, Johnson and Statham are terrific as always, adding sassy edge and pointless machismo to every scene. Theron is a wonderfully snaky villain, and brings a surprising spark of chemistry to her scenes with Diesel. Gibson and Bridges are still essentially just comic relief, and they're genuinely witty. Emmanuel is fine in the thankless role as the hot tech expert. And Eastwood holds his own as Eric amusingly attempts to fit in.

Along with the tough-guy antics, there's corny emoting and silly sentimentality too, but Gray undercuts it all with spiky humour and likeable camaraderie. It's basically like watching a videogame, as the protagonists dispatch hundreds of faceless goons, indulge in car-chase carnage, bone-crunching fistfights, military assaults and elaborate heists, then emerge miraculously unscathed. This time, the scene-stealer is Helen Mirren, who pops up as a riotously snarky Cockney diva. The only mistake is not putting her behind the wheel. That's something to look forward to.

Watch the trailer for Fast 8: The Fate Of The Furious



The Fate of the Furious

Facts and Figures

Genre: Action/Adventure

Run time: 136 mins

In Theaters: Friday 14th April 2017

Budget: $150M

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Production compaines: Universal Pictures, Original Film, One Race Films, Itaca Films

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3.5 / 5

Cast & Crew

Director:

Producer: Neal H. Moritz, , Michael Fottrell

Starring: as Dominic Toretto, as Luke Hobbs, as Deckard Shaw, as Frank Petty / Mr. Nobody, as Letty Ortiz, as Cipher, as Law Enforcement Agent, as Ramsey, as Magdalene Shaw, as Elena Neves, as Cipher's henchman, as Roman Pearce, as Tej Parker, Destiny Lopez as NYC Crime Witness, Theresa Cook as Business Woman, Zachary Vazquez as CIA worker, Kim Evans as Showroom Customer, as Santos, Oleg Prudius as Russian assassin, Eden Estrella as Samantha Hobbs, as Leo, Tyson Jarvis as Pedestrian, Myrom Kingery as Russian Soldier, Anita Farmer Bergman as Business Woman, Connie Kincer as New York Pedestrian / Tourist / Girl at Flower Stand, Yassie Hawkes as Park Girl, Friday Chamberlain as Jet Tech, Mya Levels as Businesswoman

Also starring: ,

Contactmusic

New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews