by Monica Hayes
Dom and the crew are in for a new adventure that pits them against each other for the first time in the action-packed The Fate of the Furious.
This is the eighth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise, and the first movie without beloved Paul Walker as Brian due to his sudden death (Technically, the second with the first being Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift).
Fate opens up in typical Fast and the Furious fashion, a race for pink slips!! However, this race is not any ¼-mile race, it’s the Cuban Mile. A race that goes through the city, dodging in and out of crowded streets, sharp turns etc. Dom (Vin Diesel) is at a disadvantage driving his cousins slow, rusty, 1953 Chevy Fleetline which he jerry-rigged. The car eventually catches fire, but you know Dom, he pulls off the win in dramatic style by driving in reverse.
Dom is later approached by cyber-terrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron), who blackmails him to turn on his family and work for her, to which he unwillingly agrees. (Enter plot twist) During a mission in Germany, with Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and the crew, Dom turns on the family, and goes rouge. It is now up to Hobbs, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) Tej (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges), Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), with the help of nemesis Deckard (Jason Statham) and newbie to the black ops division, Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) along with Magdalene Shaw (Helen Mirren) and a few other past characters to catch Dom and Cipher . Enter the exotic cars, the gadgets, the creation of the zombie car fleet, the over the top stunts such as driving a Lamborghini on ice, turning a torpedo by hand etc.
Fate has gotten away from its core and is more like a hyped up version of the last XXX. There is a point where Dom looks at the camera and you almost know he’s about to say “Welcome to the Xander Zone!” It also resembles Death Race when Dom dressed up as Frankenstein and the Tombstone on the back of one of the trucks. The main reason we keep coming back to the Fast and the Furious over and over is for one reason, and on reason only … THE CARS!! Everything from a 1961 Chevy Impala, 1972 Plymouth Runner GTX, 1970 Dodge Charger, Local Motors Rally Fighter (also seen in Transformers: Age of Extension) to a one person operated Ripsaw tank.
As fans of the franchise, we knew what we are in for when we sit down: action from beginning to end, lots of over the top stunts, massive car pile-ups and we drool over cars we may never drive, let alone see in person. The script is decent, but let’s face it, we know this is not going to be a Shakespearean masterpiece. Grab your popcorn, and enjoy the 146-minute ride. Oh, there are no post credit easter eggs.
Grade B+