Riveting And Action-packed—Review Of Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga (2021)

Directed by Justin Lin, F9 returns with the cast from The Fate of the Furious (2017) but with the addition of John Cena as a villain and the surprise resurrection of a once-dead Han Lue as an unexpected twist to the plot. This cast captivates her audience with a powerful secret device called Project Aries that can hack into any computer weapons system in the world and their action-packed efforts to stop its launch by a spoiled, rich prick in collusion with Cipher.

The plot is straightforward as already described but it's the car chase and stunts that are appealing in this film. Oh, also add the incredible fight scenes between Dom Toretto (played by Vin Diesel) and Jakob Toretto (played by John Cena).

The fights and macho posturing are terrifying and interesting at the same time. The one where they literally put each other's heads through walls to display who is stronger is funny. Then I remembered that they were both wrestlers in WWE for a while. Of course, director Justin Lin knows the audience will eat this scene up, a way of saying let's see who is stronger between the two men.

The cast's performance is outstanding as always, and themes of loyalty and family are central in the film. The return of Dom Toretto's brother, Jakob, and discovering that he's a rogue agent trying to secure Project Aries adds some intrigue to the plot. This leads to flashbacks explaining how Dom and Jakob Toretto's father died in a car crash and who was responsible for his death. John Cena did great embodying his character even though I think he overdid it. That stern face he wore all through did not work for me! I wish he didn't have to scowl all through to depict the role of a villain.

I admire the character of Cipher (played by Charlize Theron) in this film as a secondary villain. Her scenes are few but compelling. Another part that sets this sequel apart from the others is that a part of the team goes to space, yes actual space, with rockets attached to their car. I've no idea how the CGI and stunt people did this but it's impressive. Once again, Romane (played by Tyrese Gibson) assumes the role of 'joker' injecting humour into the film.

I missed seeing Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham and Luke Evans in this film. Maybe they'll feature in the next instalment.

The best scene is the final car chase/stunts where the team works together to take down a ginormous bulletproof tank, an on-the-road workstation from where the villains try to launch Project Aries. That scene is adrenaline-pumping and riveting. The editing and CGI are smooth and outstanding.

Overall, the film is thrilling, fun to watch and hilarious. The stunts and action pieces are impressive but then I wonder when this franchise will end. Every instalment features the addition of a top actor in Hollywood. This is not a bad strategy but at some point, I think the audience will get tired of the same old storyline unless the directors switch things up. I'll give this instalment 3.9 stars out of 5.

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^{Other images are screenshots from the movie}