“F9: The Fast Saga” (2021), Equally Ridiculous as the Rest, Doesn’t Quite Live Up (Part I/II)
7/10
“F9: The Fast Saga” is a ridiculous movie.
Take the opening thirty minutes of the film. The familiar Toretto gang led by Dom (Vin Diesel) is chased by the national military of a fictitious country called Montequinto and manages to drive through landmines unscathed because, as they explain, they’re driving their cars and bikes so fast they can outrun the mines before detonation in 0.5 seconds. I’m no landmine expert, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how landmines work.
Or take the final thirty minutes. Two of the gang, Roman Pearcegoes (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej Parkerinto (Chris Bridges), enter space in a Pontiac Fiero by launching from an airplane 50,000 feet in the air. The two survive in space by wearing an early 20th century diver’s gear and duck-taping leaky holes, but I’m pretty sure what they should have been worried about was a supply of oxygen.
These scenes, and much more, are way beyond any credibility, but in fairness, that’s nothing new for the Fast & Furious series.
The films in this series follow a tried and true formula. First, there are lots and lots of cars. Second, there are one or two new “that’s cool” tricks to distinguish it from others. Finally, there’s a strong theme of camaraderie.
All three are couples notches below the series’ best in this ninth installment.
After eight movies it’s hard to show anything new with the cars, although director and screenwriter Justin Lin certainly tried with a “rocket car” that’s been retrofitted with rocket engines. I hate to say, this seems a bit desperate.
The cool factor is also underwhelming. The trick in F9 are electronic magnets so powerful that they have the ability to attract and repel metals the size of trucks. Apart from the fact that these magnets seem to have the uncanny ability to have impact on select metals at times that are most convenient for the Toretto gang, it’s hard to get overly excited about motor vehicles that are attracting and repelling other metals as the gang drives down the street. The gimmick gets old pretty fast.
(Continued to Part II)
