Fate of ‘Furious’ rests with a tight crew
As “The Fate of the Furious,” the eighth installment in one of the unlikeliest and most popular franchises in film history, arrives Friday, it’s clear “Furious” is code for an irresistible mix of fast cars, spectacular action, dastardly old-fashioned villains and, most strikingly, a multi-ethnic “family” who pioneered diversity before it was a trend.
It started in 2001 in “The Fast and the Furious” with a “family” of thieving street racers infiltrated by Paul Walker’s undercover cop.
With “2 Fast 2 Furious” in 2003, Walker had joined the family, Tyrese Gibson and Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges joined the crew and Vin Diesel took a walk to stoke two new franchises in 2004: Xander Cage in “xXx” and “The Chronicles of Riddick.”
Then Diesel saw the future, made a cameo in “The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift” in 2006 and returned full time with 2009’s “Fast & Furious.”
That was when the series exploded with new characters, foreign locations and bigger stunts.
With the arrival of Dwayne Johnson in 2011’s “Fast Five,” Diesel suddenly had a rival.
Johnson, with bigger muscles and impressive ranges in comedy, drama and action, has topped Forbes’ list of the highest paid actors, with runs on TV (“Ballers,” “WWE Raw”) and the big screen (“San Andreas”).
While Diesel’s Xander Cage sputtered and his “Last Witch Hunter” bombed, Johnson’s box office soared.
As “Fate of the Furious” filmed last summer, Johnson went on Facebook to rant about the divalike antics on set of an unnamed actor — presumably Diesel.
The cast, befitting a “family” who not only work together but whose solidarity is a selling point, has rallied to dismiss rumors of a feud as trash talk.
Moviegoers will decide for themselves this weekend whether the two behemoths are only “acting” like brothers in arms.