F9 (2021) - SPOILER-FREE Review
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Directed by: Justin Lin
Written by: Daniel Casey, Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Michael Rooker, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron
Runtime: 145 min
Synopsis: Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he's going to save those he loves most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they've ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom's forsaken brother, Jakob (John Cena).
Action is one of those genres I firmly believe has a place for every type of film. From incredibly choreographed fights and jaw-dropping life-or-death sequences to ridiculously illogical, unrealistic set pieces, I defend that there's no "automatically bad" flick based on the style of action. The Fast & Furious franchise didn't exactly start as an admittedly dumb saga regarding its car chases and hand-to-hand combat. However, as time went by, so did the seriousness and realism of these movies - if there were ever any, to begin with. The beloved saga reached a point where viewers accepted its trademark suspension of disbelief as a mandatory requirement to truly enjoy the potential of the films as popcorn blockbusters.
Even though I'm far from being a fan of these movies, I don't stand as a hater of any kind. In fact, I find sagas such as this one often useful and necessary for people to escape from their real-world problems. Whether people who dislike the franchise would care to admit it or not, The Fast Saga - as it's also called - is financially successful, which means moviegoers continue to go to the theaters to watch these films, even after two decades. Personally, I only genuinely like Fast 5, Fast & Furious 6, and Furious 7, while the remaining installments go from absolute disasters to somewhat forgettable, inoffensively silly action flicks. I entered the theater for F9 mentally prepared to witness physics-defying set pieces and characters surviving impossible situations…
But this movie surpasses all my tolerance levels by a large margin. Of all the FF films, this is the one that gets the closest to being a live-action cartoon, and I don't write this in a positive way. From cars vertically driving through a collapsing bridge to characters going to space in the most shockingly stupid manner possible, Justin Lin doesn't show any signs of caring about balance or establishing a limit to the insanely ridiculous action. Until now, the other movies mixed it up. Some set pieces were crazier than others, but during an entire sequence, there were still moments of great action with remarkable stunt work. Basically, I could accept these scenes better because the illogical portion of the action was just a moment and not the complete sequence.
Contrary to its predecessors, F9 takes the most nonsensical ideas about how an action scene should be presented and spreads them across car chases, shootouts, fights, and so much more for long minutes. Every single second of these sequences asks the viewers to shut down their brains. If you can do that for most of the two-hour-and-a-half runtime, then you'll probably be able to enjoy this flick. Unfortunately, this film stretches believability beyond reasonable levels, even for the franchise's standards. I'm struggling to remember a single action scene that really surprised me, which may be a side-effect of all the absurdity, including the convoluted, messy narrative.
Every story point that I'm about to address in the next couple of paragraphs is shown in its entirety in the first official trailer, so it's almost impossible to spoil anything about this movie. I strongly recommend not watching any trailer if you don't want the whole film summed up in three minutes, including plot twists and supposedly surprising revelations. With this said… the "lost brother" cliche storyline not only proves that the writers are running out of new, creative material to make more movies, but it also undermines probably the most significant trait of the protagonist. For twenty years, Dom has been developed as the perfect "family man", the guy who puts his family above everything else. The saga's whole motto and overall message are all about family. Enough family?
Well, Dom having a brother (John Cena) he never mentioned was never going to be an easy sell, but Daniel Casey and Lin are partially able to justify their separation with a compelling backstory. However, as exposition and flashbacks get heavier, the less interesting their past becomes. In the end, looking back at what happened and how Dom was developed across these years, I simply can't believe he would spend all this time ignoring his younger brother for something that ultimately leaves Vin Diesel's character depicted as someone that contradicts his evolution until now. Adding two more antagonists to the mix - Charlize Theron's Cipher and Thue Ersted Rasmussen's Otto - only makes everything more confusing.
Then, there's Han (Sung Kang). Bringing back a character who died in a previous installment is always a big risk in any franchise. Unless there's a flawless explanation that supports the character's return, this decision can truly damage not only this film but the emotional impact of its predecessors. Sadly, the story behind what really happened in Tokyo is as nonsensical as the overall action. As if the lazy, unbelievable excuse wasn't enough, Han's role in this movie is utterly irrelevant. There was absolutely no need to bring him back to tell this narrative, making the character and the whole subplot to find him worthless time added to the already bloated duration.
Honestly, I don't know if fans will enjoy this installment or not, but I would be surprised if it ends up as one of their favorites. Obviously, the massive budget helps to deliver an outstanding production value with on-location filming in different countries. Overall, it's a well-shot film with excellent visuals and sound design, so it possesses everything a regular moviegoer enjoys viewing on the big screen. The returning cast members all share palpable chemistry, though Vin Diesel and John Cena's shared scenes are not exemplary of good acting…
Final Thoughts
F9 takes its ridiculously absurd action sequences to intolerably nonsensical levels, all while trying to tell an overlong, messy, unimaginative story surrounding one of the most generic cliches. Justin Lin ignores the little balance that the saga still possesses in previous installments, delivering insanely dumb moments throughout entire set pieces, contrary to having a somewhat acceptable action scene with the occasional suspension of disbelief in a specific situation. Daniel Casey and Lin are also unable to create a compelling narrative around Dom's lost brother, ultimately damaging years of character development for Vin Diesel's role. Bringing back Han was as unnecessary as the unconvincing explanation for his return, hurting not only this movie's pacing and extended runtime but also the emotional weight of previous films. The original cast members and the exceptional production value are enough to save this installment from being a massive disaster. If you're able to (really) shut down your brain for over two hours, this might still be an entertaining time at the theater. However, even for fans of the Fast & Furious saga, I doubt this movie will end up as one of your favorites.
