‘F9’ Is As Stratospheric As It Is Formulaic: Review

★★★✰✰

F9 provides the bonkers fun we’ve come to expect from the franchise, but a stale script dampens proceedings. James Hanton reviews.

F9 was one of the most high-profile blockbuster casualties when the pandemic hit last spring, and as such we have been apart from Dom and his family of petrolheads for far too long. It is disappointing, then, that the latest entry in the Fast & Furious saga is powered by a misfiring engine, mostly because of a script that cannot get the best out of its characters. That being said, the preposterous action sequences, humour and vaguely touching mutterings about family (pushed to its limit here) are all present and correct. On those counts at least, F9 is a triumphant return for the Fast & Furious series.

Living the quiet life, Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) have turned their backs on a life of international espionage and fast cars. That is, until their crew returns with news of a plot to reshape the world order courtesy of a mysterious weapon. It’s enough to bring Dom and Letty out of retirement. They soon cross swords with super spy Jakob (John Cena), a leading figurehead in this latest plot who also happens to be Dom’s estranged brother. Cue many familiar explosions and the ridiculous stunts of the variety that make the Fast & Furious films so enjoyable. And it is more of the same here. 

F9 relishes detail at both the stupidly obvious and the deliriously minute levels, from armoured trucks flipping onto their roofs to a woman throwing herself in front of her husky to protect her precious pooch from bullets (give her a medal right now). The set pieces are reliably out of this world; rocket thrusters, powerful electromagnets and cars swinging precariously from ropes are all present and correct. Then there is the bizarre world logic and execution that make these films so strangely enjoyable, personified at its best when Cena spends an utterly ridiculous amount of time on a zipline. Yet, if you came prepared with your Fast & Furious bingo card (who doesn’t?), you would struggle to leave with anything short of a full house. For all the jaw-dropping action, it feels a touch too predictable. 

Read more: Fast & Furious: Living A Quarter Mile At A Time

Not helping matters at all is a villainous trio, badly handled by the script. Cena does what he can with Jakob, but a stony face and frustrating smirk are not enough to craft an enjoyable villain. Jakob and Dom have nothing like the chemistry enjoyed by Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw in the 2019 spin-off. At his best, Cena can be incredibly emotive when cast as a character with even a hint of vulnerability—just look at his surprisingly nuanced turn in Blockers. But here, there is nothing in the script that allows Cena to break out of his hardened shell. Compared to the renegade charm of the wise-cracking Shaw, Jakob is instantly forgettable. The same is true of billionaire mastermind Otto (Thue Ersted Rasmussen) and the returning Cipher (Charlize Theron), who at one point share a hopelessly awkward conversation about Star Wars.

The Fast & Furious saga has always had family at its core: a thematic anchor that has never led the films too far astray. It’s what rescues F9 from the scrapheap, providing just enough heart for all the ridiculous action to feel like it genuinely matters. The return of Han quite rightly steals some headlines, but recurring flashbacks to Dom and Jakob’s childhood also feel indispensable, thanks in no small part to Vinnie Bennet and Finn Cole as a young Dom and Jakob. Rodriguez, meanwhile, is by far the highlight: a no-nonsense and passionate performance rising head and shoulders above the rest of the cast.

F9 seems aware of its legacy, with this being the tenth instalment and the overall franchise turning twenty this year. There is a throwback to the series’ street racing roots that brings back very pleasant memories of the early films. And at times the characters come dangerously close to breaking the fourth wall when talking about how they stick by the rules of physics (they don’t) and musing about whether or not they are invincible (they’re not). These moments lend themselves to some of the better moments of humour, ones that happen naturally as opposed to being forced into place by heavy-handed writing.

The energy and excitement of Fast Five or better still Furious 7—the two films that set the standard for the entire saga—are not present. The action is rewardingly stupendous, be it on the road or a close-quarters grudge match, but you cannot help but feel that Fast & Furious is running out of ideas.

The Verdict

You can second guess much of what is coming, and the lack of attention given to the bad guys is frustrating. Still, the heroes of the story are there to save the day and save the film. Family always comes first, which is just as well since F9 would be in the doldrums without this central message at its core.

Words by James Hanton

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