F9:The Fast Saga Review: Fast and Furious Turn Your Brain Off Fun

Thanks to some new and returning characters, F9: The Fast Saga is a step up from 2017’s The Fate of the Furious.

If you’re looking for a logical plot and sound physics, F9: The Fast Saga isn’t going to work for you. However, if you embrace the film for the sheer insanity of it all, there’s a lot of fun to be had.

John Cena is the latest name to board the franchise. The chemistry between Vin Diesel and Cena is what allows F9: The Fast Saga to rise above the worst plot in the franchise. Cena provides the right amount of toughness and intelligence for the role. I could have used a few more action scenes featuring Cena. However, the actions setpieces utilizing Cena are great.

Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster and Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey also deliver strong performances. Behind Cena as well as cameos by Michael Rooker and Helen Mirren, Emmanuel delivers the best performance in the film. Charlize Theron returns, but outside of a couple of scenery-chewing scenes, I don’t know why they brought Theron back.

Unfortunately, most of the comedy lands with a thud. The reunion featuring a long-lost character left a lot to be desired. The scenes revolving around rocket engines and the eventual space mission are truly terrible.

Physics has never mattered less. Essentially, a character can fall from 10 stories up, but as long as they land on a car, they’re safe. If you can embrace vehicles as the ultimate protectors, then you’ll probably have a blast with F9: The Fast Saga.

I’ve alway enjoyed Ludacris as Tej, but outside of bantering with Roman played by Tyrese Gibson, he’s not given much interesting to do in the film.

There’s one action setpiece that feels similar to the climax of the 4th film, Fast & Furious. Outside of that sequence. all of the action is quite creative. In Fate of The Furious, the crew faced off against a submarine. In Fast and Furious 6, the crew took down an airplane on a runway. With F9: The Fast Saga, the crew battles and uses super magnets for maximum destruction. The result of this new weapon is the type of ludicrous fun that only this franchise can get away with.

With the overview out of the way, lets dive deeper into F9: The Fast Saga. Please note there will be some minor spoilers. F9 The Fast Saga is available in theaters.

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Flashbacks Galore

F9: The Fast Saga from beginning to end is full of flashbacks. Not only is Han’s crash in Tokyo Drift revisited, but a young Dominic Toretto is shown.

If you’re a fan of the franchise, you will enjoy the flashbacks. You get to see how Dom’s father dies and Dom’s actions which land him in prison as a young man. Director Justin Lin also uses flashbacks to show how the brothers go their separate ways.

Lin does a great job capturing the traumatic crash that took Dom, Mia and Jakob’s father from them. Dom’s spiritual connection to cars is put to good use. He serves as his Dad’s crew chief during a stock car race. Jakob is shown working on the engine. The flashback sequences are some of the best moments in the film. The anguish on young Jakob’s face after losing a race to Dom is probably the best piece of acting in the film.

Assuming you watched the trailer, you probably know Han returns in this film. His first scene sniping people attacking Mia and Letty from the shadows of Tokyo is terrific. The explanation as to how he survived the car explosion in Tokyo Drift is embarrassing and the worst part of the film. The emotions from Roman, Tej and Dom are perfect during the initial reunion with Han.

Make sure you stay past the credits. There’s a mid credits scene featuring Jason Statham that should set things up for an interesting future.

Brother vs Brother is F9: The Fast Saga

The plot is bad. There are two pieces of a device in different parts of the world. If somebody can piece them together, then they can do whatever they want. Jakob is looking to capture the two pieces and upload the data to a satellite. Dominic is trying to stop him. Jakob’s worked for Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) for years as an agent, which is how he knew about the device.

The scenes featuring Cena and Diesel work well. You can tell early on where Jakob’s character is gong to go. There’s an early scene featuring Cena and Theron that’s as subtle as a super magnet.

The super magnet car chase scenes are ridiculous in the best way. Watching a car get pulled through a building into a trailer is action nirvana. A car chase scene through a minefield in South America goes on for too long. The scene doesn’t really get interesting until Jakob gets into the mix. No matter how much reality is stretched in this series, I will never believe the slingshot maneuver that’s used in the sequence. I did mildly chuckle at Roman’s one-man army routine.

Another highlight of the film was seeing Mirren’s Queenie behind the wheel. Watching her talk casually to Dom while evading cops on a police chase in London is the type of lunacy I can get behind.

The Space Race Revisited

While the Toretto siblings work on their issues, Roman and Tej head to Germany. They meet with Sean and Twinkie from Tokyo Drift. Sean and Twinkie have strapped a rocket to a Pontiac Fiero. The only purpose behind the scene is to introduce Roman and Tej to the Tokyo Drift pals.

There comes a point in the film where Roman and Tej have to go space in order to knock a satellite offline. The less said about this plot development the better.

During a car chase sequence in Germany, Ramsey has several great scenes. She’s the one person on the crew who doesn’t know how to drive. Emmanuel is so effortlessly charming in this role. I’d like to see more of this character in other spinoffs.

F9: The Fast Saga Final Thoughts

F9: The Fast Saga isn’t on the same level as Fast Five, Fast and Furious 6 or Fast 7, but is a nice return to form after the pathetic The Fate of the Furious.