I like the Fast & Furious movies - I've said it before, but I have no problem with sitting down and watching something ridiculous purely because it's entertaining and nothing more, and this franchise is basically the pinnicle of stupid but fun entertainment. In preparation for the newest installment, I went back and rewatched all the previous entries (excluding the spinoff Hobbs and Shaw) and my current thoughts are that 1 and 2 are average, 3 is quite mediocre, 4 is alright, 5 is great, 6 is decent, 7 is the best, and 8 is okay. They're at their best with action and set pieces that are just the right amount of bonkers as well as memorable and with the cast being extremely likeable and charismatic. So, I didn't have amazingly high hopes for 9, I was just hoping it would be another round of the same fun.
In the film, Dom and Letty are living a seemingly normal life, but are called back into action when a new threat arises in the form of Dom's long-lost and vengeful brother. That's essentially all the plot that the film has.
After watching the entire saga of Fast & Furious films, I've deducted that the main problem with them, the most recent ones in particular, is that they generally seem to add nothing. They aren't building on what the previous films established but rather just giving us more of the same. This one is probably the most guilty of all, as it just retreads familiar ground in terms of themes and character arcs, that being that it's about family and never turning your back on your family, something that literally all the last four or five films have been about. As a result, it's just reiterating what it has already said as opposed to doing something new, which make it a little uninteresting. By the end of this film, it doesn't feel as if we're anywhere new compared to where we were at the start of it, so the film ends up feeling quite superfluous, which is also a problem I had with the last installment.
That being said, this isn't inherently a problem, especially for the Fast & Furious franchise. I and presumably many others don't watch these movies for the narrative / thematic elements, we watch them because the action and set pieces are really good fun and the stars are likeable. You can make the argument that every sequel in this franchise has been pointless, but the best ones feel worthwhile because you have such a fun time watching them, most notably 5, 6, and 7 for me. Unfortunately, this movie isn't really all that good when it comes to these aspects.
The action and set pieces are quite bland; just CGI-heavy nonsense that doesn't feel distinct or too different from what's already been. Again, the best films in the series have memorable action scenes, such as the bank vault being dragged through the streets of Rio, or the tank chase on the highway, or the cars jumping out of a plane and deploying parachutes, or the car jumping through the skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi. This film doesn't really have much memorable action. There's a lot of cars and other vehicles crashing into things and blowing up, but that's kind of all there is to it.
There is one set piece that was on par with the best of the previous films, and that was the (minor spoiler) bit where Tej and Roman went to space; not in a rocket, but in a car with a rocket booster strapped to the roof. Sure, it's utterly nonsensical, even by Fast & Furious standards, but that's exactly why it was so much fun, on top of being absolutely memorable. Other than that, the action wasn't bad, it was all fine and enjoyable enough, but unfortunately dull and forgettable.
On top of that, I wouldn't even say the cast was firing on all cylinders in this movie. The main saving grace of the eighth movie was the chemistry / banter between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham which was just so much fun. It's no surprise that they then became the main characters of a spinoff movie, and that it was such a fun movie. But, they're not here, which is really annoying! There's not really much left when you cut them out. I mean, Tej and Roman are always fun and likeable, and while they are a lot more tongue in cheek in this movie which was enjoyable, especially in the space sequence, it does feel as if they're just going through the motions at this point.
Han is also in this movie, and I enjoyed him here as much as I've enjoyed him in the other movies, but it continues this annoying trend in movies nowadays where not just presumed dead but very clearly dead characters are somehow alive all of a sudden. Seriously, can movies stop doing this? It really undermines dramatic moments, and I hate that. But, despite that, he's a very welcome presence. I like how they've continued his character trait of always having a snack.
Beyond these guys, none of the other actors were particularly fun to watch. John Cena is the notable new addition to the cast, but I wouldn't say he was that much fun. He felt like he was taking it all a bit too seriously, similar to Vin Diesel, which is kind of a shame. Then again, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham initially felt as if they were taking their roles a bit too seriously, but they managed to ooze a little bit of charisma before eventually lightening up through and through. Perhaps Cena will lighten up a bit down the line, should there be any more sequels.
As a whole, Fast & Furious 9 has enough of what I want to see from one of these movies for me to say I enjoyed it, with some decent action and some likeable performances, but there's not quite enough for me to say I liked it that much. It continues the Fast & Furious tradition of doing little to justify its existence by hardly developing or building on what the previous films have established, and it doesn't have much that's memorable about it nor does it have all the charm it once had to compensate for that. It is ultimately just another Fast & Furious movie, and based on the fact that I have similar issues with the eighth film, I think it's safe to say that the franchise is starting to run out of steam, because now it's just repeating itself. Like I said, I think there's still enough here to have fun with, but not much that makes it feel worthwhile. A passable time for sure, but I doubt I'll be coming back to it any time soon when 5, 6, and 7 are all far better.
I'm going to give Fast & Furious 9 a 6.5/10
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