Fast and the Furious 8: Mission Impossible 007
The Fast Family is back with new cars, new gear and new members taking on the one thing that they love the most, family. Vin Diesel returns as Dominic Toretto, only to be dragged into a circumstance that has him pitted against his own family for the sake of something greater.
Aside from taking down Russian military bases only using cars, fighting a submarine and taking on techno terrorists, Fate of the Furious has a single source of thematic substance, family. The film completely relies on the family idea, so much so the team takes droves of punishment from their pillar of strength, Torreto, yet never give up on him. Realism excluded, it is a nice contrast to the constant rain down of super duper high octane, over elaborate, blistering, mind numbing action that saturates what was once a pretty good franchise. While the film touches on the concept of “what we’re willing to do for family”, writer Chris Morgan effectively shows the audience the very essence of what it means to have a family and how it isn’t just biological but can be made from a group of people. This is a nice commodity that the film offers the audience since a lot of the film’s demographic are people who, after leaping onto the bandwagon when the family had already formed, fell in love with the characters.
The action was great although it was occasionally over the top as one would garner from the trailers. But it was properly executed, keeping the audience on the edge or their seat, enthralled by the crazy stunts, wondering just how far the film will go only using cars. You probably shouldn’t be expecting much from it but the acting wasn’t the greatest, however it was good to see director F. Gary Gray achieve something that every Fast and the Furious forgot to do since the fourth installment; show off some of Diesel’s acting chops from his self directed, produced, written and starred 1995 short film, Multi-Facial. It’s easy to forget Diesel is actually a pretty decent actor because of all the macho, hyper-masculine action movies where the most expressive he gets is a cheesy one-liner: “The funny thing about street fights… The street always wins” (What!?). Diesel actually shows some true acting skill and it’s impressive for any film not just an action movie. Diesel holds most of the touching, emotional moments and he doesn’t fail to give a good performance, definitely revitalizing the apathetic, indurate alpha character back to the caring, kind of funny street racer from the first film.
If you do watch Fate of the Furious though, make sure you bring some Advil for the end because you will have a headache. It takes Action Movie to whole new levels. Although it is guided by the plot, the action is still significantly over-the-top to the point it’s beginning to become one of those action films that need a Destruction Counter. The idea of a Destruction Counter or Destruction Analysis was made popular by Man of Steel (2013) where audiences were taken aback by how much destruction took place because of the events in the film. After so many explosions, building collapses, deaths, helicopter/plane crashes, the viewer begins to lose the “suspension of disbelief” and begins to question the necessity of destruction. Along with the excessiveness, the franchise has lost its way. The new films are nothing even relatively close to the original or the meaning of its name. It's become a superhero/spy film along the very same lines as James Bond and the Marvel films. From the ridiculous invincibility of the characters, stopping international terrorists and a $250,000,000 budget, it’s easy to see the franchise has jumped ship (Or submarine, hah) on its merit and clinged to the money train like many others.
Personally I feel betrayed because of this. The first Fast and the Furious was a pivotal film that positively showcased underground street racing all the while blending themes of identity, choice and sacrifice. The film had a sense of realness and truth whereas the neo-Fast films lose it to a level of superficiality. The fourth installment restored the belief from the studios that the film could be successful again but the fifth installment brought the ensuing popularity. When the team or “family” was brought together, it also brought a ton of people who weren’t true fans of the franchise. They knew nothing of Johnny Tran, Brian’s red Ford F150 or the origins of why Dom calls Brian “The Busta’” (Vince was the first to call him a that). The fifth installment brought the bandwagoners and because the films are such a money train now, the studios were forced to comply and make films that reached a broader audience at the cost of its original essence. The above-the-liners have unfortunately made the films into a ridiculous, exaggerated and implausible action film which it wasn’t meant to be initially, making the fourth installment, abreast the first film and in my opinion the best, holding true to the values of the original.
I’m okay with sharing The Fast and the Furious with the bandwagoners but what bothers me the most is the franchise has forgotten about the original fans. There’s no more truth, identity, grittiness or even street racing! This is what hurts the most. But as the film preaches, family is important, so welcome bandwagoners, sit down, say grace and have a slab of ribs and a Corona. Welcome to the family.
Recap
+Great Action
+Great Twist
+Vin Diesel Actually Acts in This One
-Ridiculously Over The Top
-Superficial
-Mediocre Story
[2/5]
Edited by Jonathan Geneza & Robert Olarte