‘Furious’ revs up its ridiculous factor
Carnage, machismo will keep fans happy
It’s debatable which utterance of “This is crazy!” in The
Fate of the Furious is more fitting: when a submarine shoots out from under ice to chase our heroes’ rides, or as Dwayne Johnson manually changes the course of a speeding torpedo with his bare hands.
The answer is all of the above, and then some. The Fast and
Furious franchise has never exactly been subtle in defying all logic in its 16-year run, but the wholly insane eighth installment (eeeE out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters Friday) turns up the motored madness to 11 while also going a bit darker with its subjects. Your mileage may vary when it comes to the over-the-top carnage and inyour-face machismo, but it’s impressive how bonkers Fate is.
The series has transformed from films about street-racing to special-ops, save-the-world missions run by a motley crew of ex-cons, wheelmen and assorted outlaws. Those who adore Furious’ roots are thrown a bone at the start, with bald action figure Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his main squeeze Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) honeymooning in Havana and Dom riding an antique clunker to its fiery doom on the Cuban Mile.
Their honeymoon is shortlived: Dom is blackmailed into being the latest recruit for cyberterrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron). He turns on his pals — including ultra-buff secret agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson), cocky driver Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and super-smart tech whiz Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) — and leads them on a chase around the world.
Dom is all about family. Yet Cipher also taps into his yearning for the freedom of screeching tires: “Why live a quarter mile at a time when you can live your whole life that way?” says the dreadlocked villainess.
Helen Mirren has a fun cameo as a Fast newcomer, but various antagonists reappear from previous films. Most notable is Jason Statham as Furious 7 bad guy Deckard Shaw, who’s broken out of an ultra-max prison and offers assistance as Hobbs’ best frenemy. Director F. Gary Gray (The
Italian Job) paces the action and intrigue well, though the explosive go-for-broke finale — with one out-of-control sub — is a visual-effects mess with way too much going on.
Respect is paid to the late Paul Walker’s Furious character, but it reminds us how much his presence is sorely needed in the film’s chemistry. No one complements Dom the same way Walker’s Brian did as a steady voice of reason.
As an adrenaline-fueled popcorn movie, Fate doesn’t disappoint. It’s unapologetically big, brash and loud.
Cipher taps into Dom’s yearning for the freedom of screeching tires: “Why live a quarter mile at a time when you can live your whole life that way?”