Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Charlize Theron, Vin Diesel,
Jason Statham, Scott Eastwood, Chris “LudaChris”
Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez
Director: F. Gary Gray
Just prior to the (per the commemorative T-shirt that was given out) "first screening ever" of THE FATE
OF THE FURIOUS at CinemaCon, the annual movie theatre owners' convention, Universal showed a
retrospective highlight reel of the previous seven movies in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS series, and
more than serving as a mere crash course (bad pun intended) reminder of the events leading up
the latest entry, it also served a fascinating study in film franchise evolution
over time. It's almost impossible to believe that a modest in both means and expectations, been-
there, done-that undercover-cops-and-unsuspecting-robbers yarn with a cannily commercial street
racing angle in 2001 somehow morphed into what this sweet-sixteen anniversary installment reveals
to be the ultimate, unexpected fate of the FURIOUS franchise: to be a blockbuster, star-studded
team-on-improbable-missions series more closely resembling on the old school MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
TV show than the Tom Cruise star vehicle movies ever has in its 20 years. As executed in the so-
marketing-abbreviated F8, that notion is every bit as over-the-top ridiculous as it sounds--and every
bit as irresistibly entertaining. Mission impossible accomplished, indeed.
That the Universal powers that be didn't go all the way and title this eighth installment THE F8 OF THE
FURIOUS is the only bit of restraint exercised here, for the film doesn't take long to speed into
unreality after literally only moments of opening sobriety. After sending off his former fed BFF Brian
O'Conner into a happy ever after of quiet, married daddyhood at the end of FURIOUS SEVEN, F8
begins with formerly thuggish thief Dominic Torretto (Vin Diesel) putting down domestic roots of his
own, enjoying a honeymoon in Cuba with longtime love Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who after her
near-death-triggered-amnesia (as depicted in F6 and F7) has now fully recovered her memory and
true personality. Ironically, though, it isn't long before Dom stops acting like *him*self after not-so-
spontaneously running into the aptly named Cipher (Charlize Theron) in the Havana streets. Quite
suddenly, he abandons his new wife to work side by side with the seductively shady character in a
sinister scheme that seriously spells the possible end of the world. The only hope to save everything
as we know it from total destruction? None other than the assembled, specialized skills of Dom's old,
ever-growing gang, which in addition to Letty, lapsed DSS agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), techies
Tej (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), and fast-talking Roman (Tyrese
Gibson) now includes--thanks to the machinations of mysterious covert ops figure Mr. Nobody (Kurt
Russell)--none other than the previous film's Big Bad, special forces assassin Deckard Shaw (Jason
Statham).
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