Fate’s furious fun owes debt to Bond
The Fate of the Furious (M) Directed by F Gary Gray Starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron 136 mins ‘‘WHAT ever it takes to keep it running.’’
Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) words could also apply to this seemingly unstoppable film franchise.
While other action series have failed to stay the course, it’s incredible to think that a 2001 Point Break rip-off featuring no stars and the title borrowed from the 1950s Roger Corman-written movie has now spawned seven sequels in 16 years.
These days rapper Ludacris isn’t just one of the cast members, it’s also a word that applies to the ever-increasing maelstrom of mad stunts, McGuffins and doubledealing characters.
As it continues to pile on action stars old and new (this time it’s RED’s Helen Mirren and The Italian Job- remake’s Charlize Theron joining the fun), it seems to have killed off Sly Stallone’s Expendables conceit and is now gunning for Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible mantle.
In this case though, with its driving on ice, nuclear codes and use of tanks and submarines, Fate seems more inspired by Pierce Brosnan-era Bond.
The dearly departed Paul Walker is hardly mentioned or missed, as Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham’s roles are beefed up, while the plot centres around Diesel’s even less talkative than usual Toretto, as he finds himself having to betray his ‘‘family’’ due to some unresolved personal issues being leveraged by Theron’s cyberterrorist Cipher.
She’s perhaps the weak link of this otherwise solidly silly slice of entertaining action, simply reprising her ice queen shtick from The Huntsman series and offering motives more in keeping with a Batvillain from the 1960s.
Like the last instalment, this also tries a little too hard to hammer home life lessons (here it’s – ‘‘if you make a deal, you’ve got to live up to it’’) among the ballistics, balls of fire and butt- cheek baring shorts.
There also seems to be some message about trying to be a good Dad, but those efforts are drowned out among the car-nage, Cuban tourism promo shots and one particular extended sequence clearly borrowed from controversial Clive Owen pic Shoot EmUp.
Still, it’s pretty hard to hate something as gloriously nutty as Furious 8. – James Croot