F9: The Fast Saga

 

F9: The Fast Saga is the ninth movie in the Fast & Furious series and the tenth overall, when you include the spin off, Hobbs & Shaw. Returning as director was Justin Lin, who was the filmmaker of four of the previous movies in the franchise. The story follows Dom who is living a slower paced life with his family, until an international terrorist, who turns out to be his and Mia's estranged brother, forces him out of retirement, to join his crew, in an effort to stop a global catastrophe.

The plot was interesting, I liked the backstory of the brothers at odds, and the themes around family and second chances were compelling. I think it is also great that they always bring back the original cast. The Han story line was lazy though. I wasn’t a fan of how they handled his character arch. I do however like how they are always trying to keep the late Paul Walkers character, Brian, relevant in all the movies since his passing.

The action stunts were over the top and unrealistic. Cars going into space and flying into planes is just ridiculous. What I liked so much about the first movie was that it felt real. Now I feel like the creators are just throwing anything at the wall and hoping it sticks. I also had an issue with some of the lighting and cinematography. One scene in particular looked so terrible, it was like they did reshoots but the lighting was so bright, the actor looked blown out with an angel like halo around him, and the set didn't even look like it was in the same place as the original shot.

I know coming into these movies that they aren’t going to be Oscar worthy. They are the kind of movies that you can just have fun, mindlessly watching. Even with the low expectations though, this one was by far the worst in the franchise. It has already been revealed that they have two more planned so I’ll still see them, because I’ve already gotten this far, but it will be reluctantly.