Movies in Review: "The Fate of the Furious"

I seriously love anything Fast and Furious. It is definitely one of my favorite movie franchises to date. Out of 7 films, there was only 1 that I didn't too much care for...not a bad film track record. However, after the death of Paul Walker, I seriously thought the franchise would end, and I was ok with that. Although after watching the Fast and Furious 7, it was clear the franchise would continue ~shrugs. I think I had mixed emotions about the film continuing without Walker, but my first glance at the trailer for this 8th installment shelved any doubts or mixed emotions. It is hard to think that the stunts could be outdone from film to film, but the trailer for The Fate of the Furious had my jaws dropped. Chills ran through my blood and I knew I had to see it. My expectations were high, and I was expecting greatness, or at least as much as I received from previous films...and I did...for the most part ~shrugs.

The trailer took me for a loop that I had to know what the plot of Toretto going rogue was about. I did enjoy the storyline of this film, although it could have been a little tighter. It felt like they tried to give screen time to every character that ever played in a Fast and Furious film, but that still didn't fill the void of Paul Walker being gone. However I did enjoy the performance of Charlize Theron, I thought she made for an excellent villain. Jason Statham was great, and I enjoyed the back and forth with Dwayne Johnson's character. All the other F8 characters, besides Toretto kind of got lost in the sauce, when their presence was felt more in previous films. I think they gave Tyrese Gibson way too many speaking lines, and his jokes often fell flat. He was funnier in previous installments, but was a little annoying in this one. I enjoyed the actions scenes, with the jail scene being my favorite, but none of the over-the-top sequences beat any of the ones we have seen in earlier films. Most of the car scenes were child's play compared to those of earlier films ~shrugs. As good as the story was, with an added stellar cast, none of it filled the void of Paul Walker being gone. I was entertained, but there was still an overwhelming emptiness that wasn't fulfilled.

I think this franchise has gone as far as it can go. I think we would all be ok if this is the last hoorah. The franchise is still ending on a good note, because the movie is still good, a little long, but good. I am satisfied with my heart pounding adventures from this cast. It was a good run, and this was another decent film...B+