The second F&F movie I saw at the theatres, F8 was also the first F&F movie I reviewed. I have not seen it since.
Aside from having watched the previous seven instalments in a row, a few things were framing my viewing this time:
a) the bad taste left over from spinoff/sequel Hobbs & Shaw
b) watching F. Gary Gray's phenomenal movie Set It Off earlier in the week
That latter viewing has completely up-ended my view of the director. I remember being dubious of his involvement - I had only watched a couple of his previous movies, A Man Apart and The Italian Job remake, and I did not like either of them. I had enjoyed F8, but I love Set It Off. I might have a go at reviewing that next.
But first, F8.
I cannot believe it, but I really enjoyed it this time around.
There are things that do not work - Scott Eastwood is a wash; Dwayne Johnson is a walking cliche; the whole Shaw subplot is contrived; and Dom’s subplot is ridiculously sexist.
But somehow I enjoyed it.
Part of the reason is that I think F. Gary Gray knows exactly what kind of movie he is making - this is an OTT action adventure in the mould of classic Bond movies. Maybe that is the reason why I can make peace with its flaws.
In the last couple movies, I found Vin Diesel wooden - he read as disinterested, and it began to work against the fun in Furious 7.
Here, he is the most engaging member of the Family. Actually that is a disservice - it seems like everyone in the regular cast is activated in this movie. Even Nathalie Emmanuel seems looser and more engaged with the other actors.
But Diesel is on fire here - his subplot is melodramatic codswallop, but it gives him an actual motivation, and the actor is so much more dynamic than he has been in years. With its focus on Dom's personal life and heel turn, F8 takes a hard turn into unapologetic soap opera. I have to speculate that Diesel wanted something different to play. This melodrama is groan-worthy, but Diesel is plugged in in a way that he has not been in several movies.
Charlize Theron is really good. She is saddled with a terrible name and her dialogue is from the same bag of laboured macho metaphors as Dom, but the performance is on-point. With deadened eyes and a sadistic edge, she is having a good time as a super-villain. She does not chew the scenery but she brings a playfulness to the stock bad guy schtick that elevates it. It’s a low bar but she is the most charismatic antagonist the franchise has had since Brian Tee in Tokyo Drift, and easily the best of the series’ shift to outlandish villains.
I just wish she had more to do, and had some sharper dialogue.
There are two major issues I have with the film:
Extending the theme of family is fine but the fact that it leads to the fridging of a major character, and her reduction to being just a reproductive system for the Toretto line. It feels like the franchise is trying to reach for a pathos it has never aimed for before, and it casts a shadow over the film.
This subplot is the first time where it feels like the filmmakers are straining to come up with new plotlines for the Family. I enjoyed watching it, but there is a sense that the series is running out of gas.
I still like the idea of a villain holding something over Dom, and it falls in line with his character that he would want to protect one of his friends, but killing Elena feels like an unnecessary heightening, and a misunderstanding of the tone of these movies. Putting a baby in peril is diabolical enough.
The other issue is the ham-fisted redemption of the Shaw family. Deckard AND Owen both get rehabbed - now they are just misunderstood badasses who just need a chance to prove themselves. It is fun to have Statham run around a plane carrying a baby while killing everyone he runs into, but having him join the family at the end with no reference to Han’s death just feels off.
It is so clear that they are trying to angle the character for a spinoff with Hobbs, and I could not help but think of that movie. Thinking about Hobbs and Shaw, I felt impatient every time the characters engaged with each other in F8. I dislike that movie so much I kept checking out every time Johnson started firing one-liners at Statham.
At the time, I was excited for Messers Hobbs and Shaw to jettison off into their own adventures, but with hindsight, this aspect of the film feels like a dead end.
I have a feeling part of the reason why I liked this movie was the action. While I had issues with the execution of the action in Furious 7, there is a sureness to the action here that reminded me of the set pieces in the Lin era. The action sequences also get better as the movie goes along: the New York chase is a bit long but the gimmick of hacking cars is fun; and the third act is more satisfying than Furious 7. While I disliked the character re-write of Shaw, the plane rescue is well-executed, juggling some satisfying beats with a good dollop of humour.
The final race across the ice is terrific. It might have something to do with how overtly Bondian this set piece feels, as supercars try to outrace a nuclear submarine. It also feels more focused than the climax of Furious 7, which oscillates between different plotlines that never feel that important - by contrast, the stakes in F8 are always clear (Dom has to save his baby; the team have to stop the sub from escaping) which means the filmmakers are able to cross-cut it with the plane rescue without losing dramatic impact.
Fundamentally, Fate of the Furious is a flawed movie, but no more so than its predecessor. Paul Walker’s passing gives that movie a power that none of the other films have, but F8 does feel more streamlined and focused as an OTT action movie. It is not perfect - and it is WAY too long - but if you take it as a collection of set pieces, it is fun.
Is it the marked decline that people say it is? In spite of my enjoyment, I think so. The movie is better directed than Furious 7, and the actors feel more relaxed, but the script struggles to attain the same breezy irreverence of the last couple movies.
The return of Justin Lin and new screenwriters for Fast 9 might be a hint that the brains behind the ‘Fast Saga’ feel the same way.
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