F9Is Everything That’s Good (and Some Bad) About theFast and FuriousFilms

F9 — the ninth film in themain Fast and Furious franchise — will give anyone who has ever seen one of these movies just what they expect and a whole good deal more . We imply that in two ways . Of course , you will see some of the mostoutlandish , unbelievable , jaw - droppingaction imaginable , all using super - fast , slick railway car . You ’re also going to get a plot that ’s a bit muddled , melodramatic , and cheesy to go along with it . But that ’s what the degenerate and Furious franchise has always been , making F9 perhaps the fastest and most furious yet .

After two pic away , F9 brings back theatre director Justin Lin , who antecedently helm the third through sixth film in the dealership . With that comes a sealed understanding of the character reference and human beings that begin to slip away with 2017 ’s The Fate of the Furious and2019’sHobbs and Shaw . From the very first view , Lin asserts his authority by showing something fans of the franchise had heard about but never call up they ’d see . right away you know this film is in the hands of masses who get this world — the emotion , the spectacle , and the overarching , miscellaneous story — and you ’re quick to go on a drive .

That drive begins with Dom ( Vin Diesel ) and his wife Letty ( Michelle Rodriguez ) trying to live off the grid and levy Dom ’s young son , Brian . This cause sense , since they pass several movies dealing with mayhem , but a distress call from an ally brings them back into the activeness . It also bring them grimace to face with a new character , Jakob ( John Cena ) , who is revealed to be Dom ’s comrade . Now , everyone knows Dom and the Fast and Furious franchise is all about “ family , ” so for the paterfamilias of it all to have a long - lost brother we ’ve never hear of require a fair second of backstory . For that brother to also be a A-one undercover agent who labour fast like Dom need even more account . To explicate how they both end up on the tail of a mysterious young equipment called Project Ares , requires — you guessed it — even more explanation .

In F9, Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) are about to go where no street racer has ever gone before.

In F9, Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) are about to go where no street racer has ever gone before.Photo: Universal Pictures

As a result , the 2nd act of F9 feel like someone afford a reciprocating saw puzzle and just pour it on the ground — it ’s kind of pretty , but also a huge kettle of fish . Dom goes after his brother , which requires several stoppage along the agency , but Tej ( Chris “ Ludacris ” Bridges ) , Roman ( Tyrese Gibson ) , and Ramsey ( Nathalie Emmanuel ) have their own mission , which requires new cable car and a manhunt . Meanwhile , Letty and Dom ’s sister Mia ( Jordana Brewster ) go after an old Quaker who has a key piece of the puzzler , and all of these tangents feature mostly - spoiled - in - the - prevue cameos from characters all across the Fast dealership . The most important of those , however , is Han , play by Sung Kang . He was famously shoot down off in the third celluloid , which we later regain out took place after the 6th installment because he reappeared in portion four through six .

As you ’d imagine , F9 expend a honorable amount of time explaining how Han is alive and the persona he has to make for in the acquisition of Project Ares . The character has long been a buff favorite in the franchise , so have him back and seeing Lin , who also co - wrote the movie with Daniel Casey , explicate it all while keep the principal storey relevant is a plenty . It ’s dense , expect new character , honest-to-god quality , suspension of disbelief and more . Sad to say but if all of Han ’s story was cut , F9 would probably have been a more summary , tighter , quicker - paced moving-picture show . On the other script , his scenery are also some of the honest in the entire movie . Sure , it ’s completely over the top and ultimately a little excess but it leads to so many incredible moments and interaction between the quality that you fundamentally have to forgive it . Could the very long film have been curt and dewy-eyed without it ? Yes . With it , does the film have a whole other stratum of not just affection , but satisfying narrative joining that make the whole matter that much better ? Yes is the response to that as well .

That dichotomy describes F9 perfectly . There ’s no doubt the plot is altogether overstuffed and dragged out , but in that chaos come constant elation . caboodle of that is derived from legal action scenes and chases that range from planes catching car midair , cars swinging across gorges like they’reIndiana Jones , and radical - powerful magnets that pull in alloy debris from all around them , resulting in a symphonic music of chaos . But that ’s all to be expect in this dealership .

Dom, Letty, and a very recognizable car.

Dom, Letty, and a very recognizable car.Photo: Universal Pictures

What ’s unexpected is how F9 also has much bigger emotional components , both from the resurrection of Han , but also the complex family relationship between Dom and Jakob . Though this is the ninth movie , the degenerate and Furious dealership has never really explained much about why Dom is Dom . We screw he ’s tough . We bonk he can drive . We know he ’s loyal and bed his family . But why ? Where did that all come from ? With the addition of Jakob , F9 really digs into his character in a agency that feel , yes , a bit much on top of everything else go on , but also effective in give him and the repose of the characters young angle to explore . As we learn more about them , an even deeper connection is make , and in turn , everything about the picture gets elevated .

Two of the theatrical role who blossom the most are Tej and R.C. , rivals and friends from room back in the 2nd movie . Their antics and banter are at an all - time high here , including a very natural language - in - cheek , ongoing discussion about hownone of these type can ever be hurt … like possibly they ’re literally superheroes . It ’s peculiar at first , then a piddling weird to be acknowledging this understood trueness in such a matter - of - fact direction , but it eventually pays off . Tej and Roman finish up being the two characters who take the franchise to , as Roman lay it , another horizontal surface . If you ’ve seenthe most recent trailer(orread a headlineon io9 in thepast 10 years ) you cognise what that means — but all I ’ll say here is that it lives up to the plug and then some .

As a longtime fan of the franchise , I can safely say that about F9 as well . If you find the profligate and angry movies to be super cheesy , unbelievable , and too furious for your tastes , you are n’t going to like this one . It ’s just all of that and a whole gang more . If you ’re a tangential sports fan who enjoys them on occasion but does n’t love every niggling character , this moving-picture show have exactly what you are seem for : day-and-night thrills , laughs , and maybe a few tears . For liberal fans though , the hardcore hoi polloi , the ones who got mad when the fictitious character who killed Han was n’t now taken to task for it in the subsequent flick and have # JusticeForHan trending on Twitter , whichthen made it into the plastic film ’s prevue … F9 is everything . It has instant fans have always wanted to see , import we never think we ’d see , action at law to dispense with , and dives deeper emotionally than any other instalment . Thankfully , there ’s still plenty of petrol in the tank of this dealership . Do n’t forget , Justin Linhas two more movies to make .

Roman welcomes back Han with understandable confusion.