{"id":25058,"date":"2017-04-20T12:09:24","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T16:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=25058"},"modified":"2017-04-20T12:09:24","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T16:09:24","slug":"the-fate-of-the-furious-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/20\/the-fate-of-the-furious-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fate of the Furious (2017)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>At this point you know what you\u2019re getting with the \u201cFast and the Furious\u201d movie series, but they also seem to be thinking of new ways to get ridiculous. While you can\u2019t really expect realism with these movies (seriously, gravity does not exist in this world), \u201cFate of the Furious\u201d reaches new heights of absurdity that it becomes comical; and not the good kind of comical, either. Where James Bond had \u201cDie Another Day\u201d where he surfed a tsunami on a plane door and parachute, \u201cThe Fate of the Furious\u201d has its own \u201cjump the shark\u201d moment. But this one involves a missile chasing a car, and Dwayne Johnson merely leaning out of a high speed car and pushing the missile away with his hand, allowing it to divert in to the car of a bad guy. It\u2019s that point where I realized that it\u2019s about time for the series to come to an end.<\/p>\n

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Since Paul Walker passed, the writers seem to now be working over time to fill his slot, and have done everything including bringing back old villains to become anti-heroes for Dominic Torreto\u2019s team. The problem is that the movie only succeeds in being a really long and boring sequel mainly because there are no stakes in this new battle. Yes, we meet a villain who convinces Dominic to go rogue on his \u201cfamily\u201d but beyond that no one dies. No one is killed. No one unexpectedly crashes and burns. No one drops out or turns coat. I think at this point we might even seen Asian character Han pop up out of nowhere, back from the dead, before the series comes to a close. So since the stakes are rock bottom, it\u2019s impossible to grab any tension or suspense from what unfolds. We all know Dominic will get out of his jam, we all know his group of racers and risk takers will help him, we even will sit through thirteen high speed chases sans casualties.<\/p>\n

And what would a \u201cFast\u201d movie be without the series\u2019 trademark scene of Dom praying with his friends over dinner. Even the addition of Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren fails to add any spice in what\u2019s a sequel that feels like it\u2019s just going through the motions. Yes, Theron\u2019s character has dreadlocks for some reason, but that\u2019s about as unique as she ever gets. Even with the new twist of events, \u201cThe Fate of the Furious\u201d fails to muster up an interesting villain, or any kind of tension between characters. The writers even think the narrative is smarter than us by delivering a ton of plot twists in the second half, and reminding us as if the movie has been impossible to follow. The new characters have all but picked up where the classic cast members have dropped the ball, with Kurt Russell being the only one who seems to know how silly the movie is, delivering every line with a half smirk.<\/p>\n

Jason Statham also gives a charismatic turn as heel turned hero Ian Shaw, while Dwayne Johnson is fun as heroic meathead Luke Hobbs, who delights in smashing bad guys like Mongo in \u201cBlazing Saddles.\u201d Hell, Johnson and Statham get the best moments, including Statham who has his very own moment reminiscent of \u201cHard Boiled.\u201d In either case, for a movie that pretends to be an elaborate thriller, it\u2019s ridiculously simple, and just doesn\u2019t even seem to be trying anymore. If anything I hope we get a buddy action comedy spin-off between Luke Hobbs and Ian Shaw where they fight bad guys in a muscle bound bromance.<\/p>\n