A filmmaker watches as the franchise he rehabilitated begins to spin out. Leaping back into the driver's seat, he pulls out of the spin, takes a moment to check his passengers and hits the gas.
"Round and around and around and around we go
Oh, now tell me now, tell me now, tell me now you know"Never trust your first impression of a movie. Last year I watched Birds of Prey twice and came away with completely different reactions. I do not watch movies twice in theatres - I do not have that kind of bullion - but on this occasion I felt compelled.
This came about after catching some good notices from sources I trust - particularly Griffin Newman’s appearance on the High and Mighty podcast. It made me excited to go back and have another look.
I also felt like my initial review was the result of burnout after watching eight Fast & Furious movies. At that point I could only see the same elements - especially the flaws.
Maybe, like the Fast & Furious movies, this deserved another follow-up.
Jesus H Toretto Christ, what a difference a second viewing (and a couple weeks free of Nos) makes. While F9 is no masterpiece, what this movie gets right is better than most of the Hollywood franchises and pretenders out there.
What really came through in this film was how much Justin Lin is important to this franchise.
He knows how to handle the action sequences, but more importantly he understands how to thread the characters through these sequences, providing moments of pathos and comedy that never feel contrived. He is one of the best mainstream blockbuster filmmakers around.
Story wise the first half of this movie is almost perfect in its brevity - the set up is short and to-the-point, the action manages to juggle humour without feeling like they are breaking the fourth wall or negating the stakes of the situation.
The flashbacks to Dom and Jakob’s youth are key to the movie - I cannot emphasise how important it is that they cast actors to play these roles, and allowed them to play without feeling like muppet babies. Apparently Letty and Mia are in these scenes but they are never referenced. It never feels like the filmmakers are anxious to fill in missing pieces of continuity and backstory - they are purely focused on the dramatic meat that will underpin the conflict between the brothers.
Vinnie Bennett is so good as Dom. He never feels like Diesel. He never comes across as an icon in the making - he is a young man grieving for his father. This is a real performance.
These filmmakers have such a smart understanding of how to handle prequels/flashbacks - you do not need to connect every single dot. You focus on what you need for the story you are telling. The worn film stock and old studio logo are explicit signals that the clock is being turned back, but I have to cheer the decision to ignore the current trend for de-aging established cast members. Once again, Fast and Furious is leagues ahead of similar franchises.
I did not hate Fate as much as other people, but this movie feels like the universe coming back into alignment, particularly through the reintroduction of Han. Considering the revision that his murderer went through in Fate, on this re-watch it felt appropriate. If Shaw is going to be another hero in the family, then Han’s death does not mean anything. Sung Kang was always a key member of the family and once again I was fooled into thinking he was in more of the movie then he actually is - that man makes a meal out of the scenes he gets.
Han’s return also gave the Family a little more vulnerability. I especially loved the scene where he has to fight the big guy - he gets his ass handed to him but Han MacGyver’s his way out of trouble. More on this element later, but with Han’s return, the family is gaining a sizable cohort of characters who do not feel like superheroes.
Speaking of which…
After his loner routine in F8, Dom is here re-established as the patriarch and Diesel’s performance is laced with an empathy that I did not catch in my first viewing - it might be the absence of a certain Mr Johnson, but he seemed more engaged with the rest of the family. He feels like the head of the family in the contemporary scenes, and his performance compliment’s Vinnie Bennett’s excellent work as Young Dom.
And now to his brother.
Why do I like John Cena? Despite my dips into the Marine series, I have not watched Cena’s first movie, or any of his action vehicles - so I cannot speak to his attempts to be an action hero. I am only familiar with his comedic roles.
I had a conversation with someone the other day and they brought up how they only started liking Channing Tatum when he started appearing in comedies. I was on a similar trajectory with Tatum. Griffin Newman raised similar points about Cena, and how he floundered in Schwarzenegger-style action movies.
I think the reason Cena finally broke through is that he cannot bring that kind of strength. He is built but there is no sense of danger to him. Schwarzenegger is charming but when you strip that away you can still get a performance like The Terminator. There is a weight, a sense of intimidation, that Schwarzenegger has. Closer to Cena’s sphere, Dwayne Johnson’s ring persona could be goofy but he also embodies a toughness that Cena does not have. Cena feels more like the body-building guy you see at the gym. Or Johnny Bravo.
Cena’s cinematic appeal is built on playing against that physicality. Part of it is that those muscles are so big that it feels like a parody. It feels like a compensation for what he cannot convey on presence.
Cena clicks in roles that work against or undermine machismo - think Blockers - and Jakob is a character with a chip on his shoulder: Cenafeels like a younger brother trying to gain status on Dom, while dominating other people who are not above him in knowledge or power.
I wanted him to be more of an antagonist but I did enjoy the resolution to his and Dom’s conflict - unlike the Rock, I feel like there is more room for Cena to grow and be a part of the franchise.
I legitimately think Tyrese Gibson has come into his own as Roman Pierce, and he is even better here. He is just as capable as the other characters but he is legitimately terrified of what they are doing. With Lin’s movies, the character’s trots do not feel like the setups for jokes. The humour feels totally situational.
The other actor who popped on this viewing was Nathalie Emmanuel - I will plead guilty and eat crow on this one. I have not been a fan of her in the past and I did not really pay attention on my initial viewing.
It felt like she was becoming more relaxed in Fate, but she really feels like a part of the family here. I have been hard on this franchise for not having characters react to the ridiculous things that happen to them. Roman is the point man for this, but one of the highlights of this viewing was tracking Ramsey’s nerves as she tries to learn to drive during a car chase. Emmanuel leans into the character’s terror at being thrown outside her area of expertise, and it makes the sequence so much more satisfying.
Ramsey feels more integrated into the action and that plays into my favourite thing about this movie, and what I like about Lin as a filmmaker - he always finds ways to make the action illustrative of character - it is never purely action for action’s sake.
Overall, I really liked this movie this time. But there are things which feel like signals of a franchise in trouble.
Cardi B is great, but the way she is introduced, and her character’s function in the story, undermines the movie. At a crucial moment where it looks like Dom is in serious danger, Cardi B swoops in as Deux ex machina to get him out of trouble and provide a bridge to the next scene. Even on this viewing, that scene does not work - up until this point the villains have been three moves ahead but Dom’s rescue dissipates any sense of danger.
The other problem I have with the movie is the lack of a strong antagonist. This is ongoing problem with the series. This is the big reason why I do not like Fast Five, and why I think I am more into the idea of the Family through the series, rather than individual entries as movies. It is why I did not like the movie on my first viewing.
Jakob is great - while he is in the black hat camp - but his co-conspirator is just a spoiled rich kid who gets manipulated by Charlize Theron’s Cipher.
On the upside, Cipher here is such a minor presence, but is better utilised than her debut. Compared with Fate, where she has more screen time and nonsensical monologues, Theron comes across as more high status and capable. It is still a frustration that she is benched.
Overall, I loved the focus on the characters and Lin’s fluidity with the set pieces.
But next time around, please give us a worthy antagonist. The Family dynamic is secure. Han is back.
They just need a real bad guy who can put them through their paces.
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