The Fate of the Furious is fast fun for true fans

Movie Title:  The Fate of the Furious

Grade:  B

Rating:  PG-13, 136 minutes

In a Nutshell:  It’s fast.  It’s furious.  The franchise is back.  

I was kind of over the whole The Fast and the Furious saga until…Charlize Theron.  I’ve always thought she was so gorgeous ever since I first saw her in Mighty Joe Young. I was curious how she was going to turn Dom away from his family in this movie's plot.   

Everything about this movie is high octane and ridiculously over-the-top, just the way fans of this franchise like it.  If you’re a fan, you’ll get a kick out of this new addition.  No, it's not going to win any Oscar's, but it's pretty good fun.

Uplifting theme: 

• “You make a deal, you gotta live up to it.” – Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)
• Family
• Obligation, accountability, respect

Things I liked:

• The chemistry of this “family” is undeniable.  This installment features Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, Elsa Pataky, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Scott Eastwood.
• The cast's quick one-liners and jabs at each other are entertaining as always.
• You get to take a little trip to Havana, Cuba in the beginning of the movie.
• So funny watching The Rock do the fierce Hakka dance with a bunch of little soccer girls.
• Helen Mirren just made the franchise better.  Rumor has it that she lobbied for a role in the movie because she loves racing so much.  I love her in everything she does.
• It’s fun to watch Scott Eastwood’s career unfold.  You know he’s the legendary Clint Eastwood’s son, right? 
• Tough bald guy banter.  Ha ha
• The set pieces are as gigantic as Dwayne Johnson’s biceps.  
• The stunts are OFF THE CHAIN!
• SPOILER: I never really thought about how self-driving cars could be hacked into to create havoc.  Interesting, right?  There’s an awesomely fun and destructive scene with a bunch of them on New York City streets.
• Some of the action sequences are soooooo impressively long.
• I think it's funny that Kurt Russell's character name is "Mr. Nobody."  His assistant, played by Scott Eastwood, is called "Little Nobody."
• Jason Statham has some absolutely great moments with The Rock, Helen Mirren, and a little baby.  

Things I didn’t like:

• Lots of butt cheeks and scantily clad women.
• Some of the characters talk about being free, with no obligations to anyone, as if that’s the ultimate form of happiness.  Thankfully, the ultimate theme of the movie is that it’s family that gives life meaning.
• The plot is extremely predictable.  There is nothing super surprising about how the story is going to play out, but the ride is pretty doggone fun.
• So many things are just so unrealistic that if you require that in a movie, you'll hate every minute of this.

Funny lines:

• “I will beat you like a Cherokee drum.” – Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson whose arms are ridiculously massive while he holds them up during this line.)
• “We’re gonna need a bigger truck.” – Hobbs
• “Your team is about to go up against the one thing they can’t handle.” – Cipher (Charlize Theron)

“What’s that?” – Dom 

“You.” –  Cipher

• “Manis and pedis later on at the mall.” – Hobbs
• “It’s neon orange.  The U.S. space station could see it coming.” – Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood)
• “Ouch.” – Cipher
• “What’s it gonna be, Rook?  Are you gonna close your eyes on this one too?  Pray that the Apocalypse doesn’t come knocking on your mama’s front door? Or are you gonna saddle up and be a man and save the entire Gxdxxmn world?” – Hobbs
• “Why are you always yelling?” – Hobbs
• “Time to get my young Selfie levels up!” – Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson)

“You realize this is classified, right?” – Little Nobody

“Not today!” -Roman

Interesting lines:

• “See, that’s the funny thing about fate: it’s cunning.  It can bring you beautiful things and it can also bring you moments like this…” –  Cipher  
• “Have you heard of choice theory, Dom?  There’s a bunch of axioms, but only two you really need to concern yourself with: 1) The only person’s behavior we can control is our own, and 2) The only thing we can truly give another person is information…” – Cipher 

Tips for parents: 

• Lots of profanity, including an F-bomb, surprisingly by the lovely Helen Mirren.
• There are some subtitles that you’ll have to read to kids who can’t read fast.
• As expected in a movie designed for men, there are a lot of scantily clad women.
• TONS of explosions and MASSIVE amounts of destruction.
• Tons of violence in many forms, including hand-to-hand combat, shootings, stabbings, and beatings. 

Did you miss some of the previous movies? You can start here: The Fast and the Furious
Fast & Furious (2009)
Fast & Furious 6
2 Fast 2 Furious
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Fast Five (Extended Version) Furious 7

@trinaboice