F9 movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: F9

Available on June 25, 2021 ONLY in select theaters in the USA. In the UK, it won’t be released until July 8. No streaming platforms or dates have been announced yet. The film has already opened in China to box office sales of $162.4 million!

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours 25 minutes (That’s the longest movie in the entire “Fast” franchise)

IN A NUTSHELL:

The Fast saga continues! Fans of this franchise are always eager for a new installment. Some of our favorites are back, along with some new characters to get to know. What this franchise does extremely well is blend high-octane action with heart. In this 9th edition of the story, Cipher enlists the help of Jakob, Dom’s younger buff brother, to take revenge on Dom and his invincible team.

The movie is written and directed by Justin Lin, along with some screenplay help by Daniel Casey, Alfredo Botello, and characters created by Gary Scott Thompson. Justin Lin hasn’t directed a “Fast” movie since Fast & Furious 6 back in 2013. It’s the first film in the series since 2 Fast 2 Furious to not be written by Chris Morgan.

THINGS I LIKED:

The cast is always a lot of fun and features Vin Diesel, who always looks great. Although though he plays the same character in every movie he ever does, even outside the “Fast” franchise, hes’ great at what he does.
In the opening sequence, you get to see a race, meet some of the characters, and watch a car explode. Not bad for the first 4 minutes.
Michelle Rodriguez looks awesome and has the kind of biceps we first saw on Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2: Judgment Day My fantasy is to have sculpted biceps like that someday.
The cast is diverse, as always, and also includes Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Darnell Gibson, Ludacris, Nathalie Emmanuel, Charlize Theron, Finn Cole, and Sung Kang.
I love John Cena as a good guy or a bad guy. I’m just such a fan. We get to learn a lot about his backstory with Finn Cole playing his younger self. My only complaint about his performance was that he had a robotic face of steel the entire time.
There are some delicious cameo performances by Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, Bad Bunny, Cardi B, Gal Gadot, and more!
You always get to travel to exotic, new destinations in this franchise.
There are some respectful, sweet nods to past characters and storylines.
The franchise always does a great job trying to step up the action and stunts. Even Gina Rodrigues’s character says after a crazy stunt, “Well, that was new!” ha ha What I love is that the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously with some funny visual gags and lines. Some of the stunts are so ridiculous and defy the laws of physics that they made me laugh out loud. I was completely entertained. Even Tyrese Gibson’s character talks about all of the crazy missions they’ve been on and still survived, saying, “We are not normal.” The franchise fully embraces the insanity. If you don’t expect any level of reality, you’ll enjoy the fun flick.
The CGI is impressively good, especially considering all of the over-the-top stunts and action sequences that are shown in the movie.
The cinematography is also really good. It’s impressive how the camera can film a shiny, reflective helmet without showing the camera.
Bangin soundtrack, as always.
I always get a kick out of when movies reference other movies. In this film, they talk about characters from Star Wars: A New Hope, and superhero movies in general.
Fun fact: Red Digital Cinema paid a ton of money to have their Hydrogen One smartphone shown in the film. Sadly, poor sales resulted in the company’s discontinuing the product before the movie was even released.
Entertaining set pieces and tons of them!
It has been announced that Fast and Furious 11 will be the last installment in the franchise. This movie takes some time to set things up for the last two films to end the long-running saga.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

There’s a confusing plot with too many side stories requiring a LOT of exposition.
Sadly, there was a rift between Tyrese Gibson and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Tyrese said he wouldn’t be in the film if The Rock was. Dwayne Johnson passed on the script, so Tyrese was thrilled and is now in the movie.
Surprisingly, there are far fewer car moments than in previous movies in the franchise. Cars seem to be only one of the tools these “Fast” team-turned-superheroes use to fulfill their mission, kind of like in Avengers movies. The fast drivers also turn into spies, which seems to be pushing fans away because it’s not who the “Fast” characters are.
Cars in outer space… C’mon! (rolls eyes)
Predictable ending
Newbies to the franchise might not be convinced to be fans.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Young kids will be bored. Lots and lots of explosions with people in perilous, and sometimes fatal, situations. Super high body count.
Some profanity.
People get in fistfights.
Some Spanish is spoken without subtitles.
Crimes are committed.
Lots of destruction with little regard for property or life.

THEMES:

Heart
Luck
Trust
Teamwork, unity
Loyalty
Family (blood relatives and “Fast” friends)
Legacy

FUNNY LINES:
* “You don’t recognize me because I’ve been tanning all week, Bro.” – Roman (Tyrese Gibson)

INTERESTING LINES:

“This isn’t who we are.” – Letty (Michelle Rodriguez)
“You miss the old life?” – Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) “Do you?” Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) “Every day.” – Dominic (Vin Diesel)
“One week from now, there won’t be a superpower that won’t pi$$ without our permission.” – Otto (Thue Ersted Rasmussen)
How in the hell are you not dead? – Tej (Ludacris)

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B (It’s pretty silly but you absolutely get what you think you will. Plus, how can I give a movie less than that after they’ve worked so doggone hard on this?)

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