The Fate of The Furious

In the unending grill of rims worth thousands of dollars and in the screeching chorus of heaving tires, the bond in the spirit of these speed junkies is cinematographic proof that the family that rides together, lives forever and in that belief lies the fate of the furious. This movie has established a strong reputation over the years, brazed by the applause of an audience that is ever thirsty for it. The rush, the drama and the speed all rolls into a remarkable experience.

The lead character, Dominic Toretto, played by the awesome Vin Diesel, who if is anything like the character he plays, should be immortal. This is a man who drives through fire, literally, for sport, a man who’s idea of exiting a car is jumping out of it when it’s still in motion, a man who in the Fast and Furious 8 becomes ghost rider on four wheels and really, who needs elevators when you can easily fly out the windows of story buildings and land directly on concrete roofs? My body can handle it! That’s Dom’s orientation and I think its basic toughness.

One lesson that has been stressed and stretched through all eight (8) installments of this franchise is the one of family and this concept the F8 sought to test.

With Dominic Toretto married to Letty Ortiz, played by Michelle Rodriguez, the starting scenes had a gloomy effect on the movie. This fantasy was obstructed when a very notorious cyber terrorist known as Cipher who with her unorthodox methods of persuasion managed to coerce Dom into working for her and going against his crew. Now, I don’t know why the movie made it look as if the crew passed the test because they went against Dom with vigor. I was expecting, giving what they know of the man, that they understand he would not have betrayed them if he had a choice and trust that he had a plan. Hobbs even went as far as threatening to put him down if he had to, but I think it’s worth mentioning that Letty was not going to allow that and I suppose neither was the other members of the group.

I did notice a few slips in screenplay. First of all, I don’t see how possible it is to have kept all this drama from Brian and Mia considering the team made Interpol's top ten most wanted list (well with Roman at 11 – he missed the cut) and just how fast was that submarine anyway? I know the team had their tires rolling on the ice and probably may not have been able to achieve maximum speed, but surely, they could have gotten away with no problems, at least none from the submarine. I know Dominic is all powerful and wise, but how did he contact Shaw’s mother and two inactive crew members as well as a truck driver who knew where he would be and where to position the truck so as to obstruct a camera he had no idea of its positioning? Now that was a trick for the books.

I have read that the dance performed by Hobbs and the Red Dragons is called Haka and it’s actually a ceremonial dance for warriors. It was incredible watching! Did you see their faces? Wow! The idea was to scare off their opponents, which was very effective it scared me.

This movie and all its many shortcomings, notwithstanding, has not failed to meet the standard. It remains a must watch and so you must watch. See ya!!