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Blu-Ray : Highly Recommended
Ranking:
Release Date: June 25th, 2021 Movie Release Year: 2021

F9: The Fast Saga - Theatrical Review

Overview -

Leave all the logic, complex storytelling, and award-winning acting at the stoplight and rev those engines for the most absurd fun, high-energy explosions, and out-of-this-world scenarios in Justin Lin's F9: The Fast Saga aka Fast And Furious 9. This action-packed franchise started making over one billion dollars a film several movies ago and there's no sign of letting up. Fortunately for its audience, the fifth installment got rid of the street racing element and went to new heights with a secret agent, world-class spy espionage storylines and catapulted the insane action set pieces that defied all gravity and common sense in what now is expected in this highly entertaining series of films. This ninth installment is just as fun as the previous films and is now fully self-aware of how crazy and non-sensical it is by having the characters express how ridiculous and over-the-top it all is. F9 is a blast from start to finish. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! 

In Theaters June 25th - Order Your Tickets on Fandango! 

 

Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty 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).

OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Length:
145
Release Date:
June 25th, 2021

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

The family inside F9 are now Avengers. That's not entirely true. They are better than the Avengers since none of them really have been killed off and nobody seems to get anything more than just a light skin scratch from time to time, even when they roll cars off cliffs, get blown up by missiles, or shot at a million times. The element of, "could one of these iconic characters be killed this time", has gone out the window. It doesn't exactly mean there isn't any conflict or suspense, because there totally is. Now into its ninth film, the expectation is to see this group of people outwit the bad guys and occasionally turn one of the villains into a new friend by the end of the film. By constantly defying the odds of death and never getting hurt despite the fantastic carnage on screen that's thrown in their faces, this group is unphased and ready for more, and that puts them on top of any superhero team. 

In F9, Justin Lin and Vin Diesel have decided to tell a little back story, by flashing back a few times to the year 1989, where Dom's father Jack is in a professional car race on a track. Dom's brother Jakob is working on the car as his father tells his sons what to do to ensure a win around the next lap, but all goes wrong. Jack's car flips and explodes into a fiery projectile killing him instantly. This first scene cuts to the present where Dom and Letty are raising Dom's son Brian when Roman, Tej, and Ramsey arrive on the property telling Dom they need him for a job. This job is that Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) has captured Cipher, but that Nobody's plane went down, due to an attack by highly skilled agents led by Jakob (John Cena) who is now one of the most dangerous spies in the world. After a couple of minutes of thought, Dom and Letty decide to join the mission and seek out Jakob.

The crew split up once they figure out what Jakob and his private army are after - a spherical emerald device that can shut down all of the devices that run on code around the world and be rebooted operating at the will of one person, Jakob. Basically, Jakob or Cipher (Charlize Theron) will be able to control all electronics on the planet with destructive will and power. This aggression will not stand with Dom and his crew as they drive through minefields, dodge bullets, armored trucks, and use magnets like in that episode of Breaking Bad to achieve their top position over their enemy.

And as the flashbacks to Dom and Jakob's young life show, all Jakob wants is a hug from his big brother. Which of course in F9, comes across as straight-up hilarious when Cena watches from afar Dom giving his pals big hugs. And the arrival of Han is a welcome one and explains the how and why of his death and him still being alive. It doesn't make sense, but at the same time, it all makes perfect sense because Fast & Furious films defy all logic. 

The action set pieces are once again top-notch sparing no expense on how big or crazy an explosion is or how much destruction happens to vehicles or cities in their wake. One thing is for sure, by the end of each action sequence, nobody is really hurt or bleeding profusely and can laugh and joke about it immediately afterward. This is where Roman (Tyrese Gibson) shines, as he's the one to finally break the fourth wall and tell his compadres how insane it is that nobody ever gets hurt out of all their missions on a consistent basis. This insanity leads to what fans of the franchise have been clamoring and joking about for years, and yes, F9 does finally go there and it's every bit as absurd, fun, and excellent as one can expect it to be! 

 

Video Review

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Audio Review

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Special Features

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Final Thoughts

Do not go into this movie expecting a good story arc or any sense of plot development or character development, because there isn't any. Additionally, the acting is so painfully bad, with the exception of John Cena and Tyrese Gibson that almost every line of dialogue is awkwardly funny, specifically Vin Diesel's as are his accompanying facial expressions... or lack thereof. That being said, F9 is super fun and after a long time away from the theater, this film is a big welcome back full of absurdity and explosions. Don' leave your seat too early - there is a mid-credit sequence in the vein of an MCU film. Highly Recommended!  

In Theaters June 25th - Order Your Tickets on Fandango!