246. F9; movie review

 

 

F9

Cert 12

143 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, language

I must have missed an episode because Dom Toretto and his pals have suddenly turned into a hyped-up version of The A-Team.

And bizarrely, it has taken until the ninth episode to discover that Dom (Vin Diesel) has a brother.

Yep, the bloke who goes on and on and on about the importance of family actually has a sibling who (John Cena) he has avoided for more than 20 years.

Why? Because he believes he might be responsible for the death of their father! Why have we never previously been told about this?.

Anyway, for reasons which are utterly unfathomable, this brother not only reappears after decades but is also threatening to come out of Dom's shadow completely.

To do this, he involves himself with a cyber-terrorist (Charlize Theron) and a German megalomaniac (Thue Ersted Rasmussen).

Dom gets together his usual band (including one who comes back from the dead) to stop them in a chase involving myriad types of transport and is stretched over half of the world.

And, of course, no concern is paid to the amount of destruction they wreak as they go.

We have moved a long way from the world of racing fast cars. Now, the Fast & Furious gang are saving the world.

Nevertheless, Diesel continues the happy knack of sleepwalking his way through movies and being paid fortunes.

And Cena continues in the footsteps of Dwayne Johnson in being a former wrestler making lots of money for continuing his ring act on screen.

I never thought I would be longing for Jaysan Stayvum but I was.

Reason to watch: If you are a Fast & Furious addict

Reasons to avoid: Makes even less sense than its predecessors

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 3.5/10

Did you know? The feud between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson which prompted the latter to street clear of F9, first became public in August of 2016. Johnson took to Instagram to vent his frustration during the filming of The Fate of the Furious, the 8th in the franchise.

The final word. Vin Diesel: "When you have a unique perspective of creating a franchise that spans generations, you realize, okay, we all have to be as brilliant as possible. We have to reach as high as we can. Because it may be more important than just a movie. More important than two hours of escapism. There may be something more at play.” Men's Health

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