Review of The Fate of the Furious (2017) by Patrick L — 14 Jun 2017

While Not As Good As Previous Installments, F8 Proves There's Plenty Left in the Tank.

Originally Written April 14, 2017--.

With Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) married, Brian (the late Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) retired, and the rest of the crew exonerated, the globe-trotting team has found some semblance of a normal life. They soon face an unexpected challenge when a mysterious woman named Cipher (Charlize Theron) forces Dom to betray them all. Now, they must unite to bring home the man who made them a family and stop Cipher from unleashing global chaos.

I've been a Fast & Furious fan since the first film, but especially since 2011's excellent "Fast Five," which turned the entire series on its head. But it definitely reached an emotional climax with 2015's "Furious 7," which saw the heartfelt tribute to the late Paul Walker. While "F8" can't possibly reach those same emotionally satisfying heights, it does prove that there's plenty of fuel left in the tank. Almost all of the entire cast from the last film are here for this film as well, minus Brewster and the aforementioned Walker. But unfortunately, that seems to be this film's biggest problem. A huge hole has been left without them and it's obvious that adding new castmembers such as Theron and what amounts to a cameo by Helen Mirren just isn't enough to fill it. On the positive side, the cast and crew successfully pull off another edition of this wildly entertaining franchise. Four and a half out of five stars.