Movie Review: F9: The Fast Saga

Fans of the “Fast & the Furious” films (and Vin Diesel for that matter) may look upon F9: The Fast Saga with more fondness and love than others, but the truth is that it may be one of the most boring entries in the series to date.

The ninth chapter in the franchise begins as Dom Toretto (Diesel) is living the good (and quiet) life on a farm with Lefty (Michelle Rodriguez) and their son Brian. But, that idyllic, picturesque scene is quickly shattered when members of the old crew – Tej (Ludacris), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), and Ramsey (Mathalie Emmanuel) – drive up with news that Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) has sent a distress call after being ambushed transporting Cipher (Charlize Theron) by none other than Dom’s little brother Jakob (John Cena).

This leads the group on a globe-trotting mission (from London to Tokyo to Central America to Edinburgh to Azerbaijan to Tblisi) to thwart Jakob’s scheme (whatever that is) complete with a few awe-inspiring and honestly breathtaking chase sequences. Sadly, all of this is lost amidst an overlong and far-too complicated of a story for a movie of this ilk to result in anything less than two-and-a-half hours of incoherence and boredom.

Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez in “F9.” Photo by Giles Keyte/Universal – © 2020 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. All Rights Reserved.

Returning to the franchise is director Justin Lin, who along with fellow screenwriter Daniel Casey, attempt to breathe life into a seemingly dormant product. For a while, the film moves clumsily from one setting to the next with no apparent direction or comprehension of an adequate endgame. But, these are simply a series of set-pieces collected together and bookended with credits to approximate the structure of a story. That being said, it might have worked if the action didn’t take as long to set up or play out as it does. It’s as though someone has constructed an elaborate display of dominoes and before the chain could be properly set off it began tumbling in spurts and offered no finality or gratifying resolution but rather just kept presenting ridiculous scenario after another before culminating in one in which a modified Pontiac Fiero drifts through space.

Ultimately, F9: The Fast Saga proves that even a series based on so little as the “Fast & Furious” films would still benefit from treating the audience as though they haven’t seen all of this before and giving them something interesting or remotely engaging to watch rather than the absurdity this film offers.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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