Barrett Brief Movie Review – F9: Supercharged Retcon Edition

Barrett Brief Movie Review – F9: Supercharged Retcon Edition

Summary: Cipher enlists the help of Jakob, Dom’s younger brother to take revenge on Dom and his team.

Genre:Action, Adventure, Crime

The Fast & The Furious franchise holds a special place for me. I worked in a movie theater at the time of the first and 2nd ones. The films have spanned my entire adult life, as they have evolved from a quaint film about a group of street racers to international spies for higher. The franchise is your car that was your favorite to own. Just like a good detailing job can reinvigorate your love of your car, so was the dynamic Fast 4 – 7 films of the franchise. The eight film was the time you had replace the engine headers. Yeah it fixed the car and it’s still running, but you know the end is nearer than you thought. F9 continues that. It is still entertaining and the set pieces are there, however this film’s job is to try and connect the last 8 films together, and while it does a half decent job of that, the fact the film is filled with just as much backstory as current plot is great for fans of the franchise and boring and a little self-indulgent to everyone else.

Tires Are Starting To Squelch

F9 is ninth film in the Fast Saga. NINTH. That is in itself is an achievement. However, what was a fun film to turn off your brain and watch a little escapist fun is starting to struggle under the weight of its own franchise.  The introduction of Jakob (John Cena) as THE piece that underpins the entire franchise, by default, makes him just as important as Dom (Vin Diesel). It is suppose to keep the story fresh, and to some extend it does. What it does also, is show how out of whack the continuity is to try and use one character to tie up all the “loose” ends. Besides being a plot device, Jakob also serves as a replacement for Brian O’Conner, whose loss is felt more and more which each passing film. He is mentioned in passing, and that is as far as respecting the character (and a passable reason for him not to be there) but it’s an impossible position for anyone to fill. Also, not having the mountain of charisma that is Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) puts more pressure on the rest of the cast to try and do more than they have in the past, and just like a car out of balance, it isn’t a smooth ride.

 The Cast

The cast, outside of the cars, is the main reason to go to these films. People like myself have grown with these characters. In F9 the ones who return are a welcome sight (especially in the movie theater where I watched it). Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is forever the tough chick, Mia (Jordana Brewster) the perpetual mother of the group, Roman (Tyrese Gibson) the jokester, Tej (Ludacris), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) are back. The return of Han (Sung Kang) was spoiled in the trailer and that is pretty sad, because that could have been a memorable moment. Either way, it’s great to have him back. Like your comfy sweatshirt that you have had for years, it just fits perfectly. Cipher (Charlize Theron) is still the big bad which is nice for continuity sake. As for performances, Nathalie Emmanuel has the standout set piece in Edinburgh.

As for the newest additions, Cena is fine. He certainly is not wooden. He fits within the universe and brings just enough charisma to belong here. Besides Cena, the other new character Otto (Thue Ersted Rasmussen) completely forgettable. The Younger versions of Dom (Vinnie Bennett) & Jakob (Finn Cole) do a good job a bringing the past to life with their performances.

There are a laundry list of characters from the other Fast films that pop up here and there. They are good for a chuckle.

Plot & Pacing

F9 is all over the place. The plot goes as follows: We find out that Dom has a brother named Jakob and he is doing bad things. He needs Ciphers help to get this thingamabob so he can do some stuff. The fast crew must stop Jakob by and means necessary including sending Taj & Roman into space. That’s about it.

The pacing moves along for a 135 minute movie. Despite it’s importance to plot, the flashbacks for me dragged the film down. The Fast Franchise does not need to be expanded so much that we must SO much of Dom’s and Jakob’s backstory. No other character needed so much explanation for their existence in these films and it definitely hurts the flow of the film.

Technical notes

Technically sound. I will say this in it’s favor: The Lord’s name was taken once in vain (a marvel in modern cinema) no nudity and the positive values. Faith and Family are constantly reinforced and Dom is a good and loving father. It’s good to see in a franchise that has made over a billion dollars.

Overall

The F9: The Fast Saga does give the fans of the franchise what they want, but the over-reliance of flashbacks and the introduction of a pivotal character this far makes this feel like a filler episode.

Score:

2 1/2 out of 4 briefcases