The Fate of the Furious

“A Guilty Pleasure”

Rating:  PG-13

Runtime:  2hr 16mins.

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, and Charlize Theron

Life is full of things people enjoy despite the feeling that is not generally held in high regard –guilty pleasures.  Some of your movie and television guilty pleasures may be Love & Hip Hop Atlanta, The Kardashians, Say Yes to The Dress, Gossip Girl, or The Fast and Furious franchise movies.  Yes, The Fast and Furious, a film franchise that is comprised of a world in which people jump and roll out of speeding cars racing 100 mph on a long stretch of highway and come out unscathed with exception of a dirty t-shirt and a few holes in their pants.  A world in which people can drive cars on ice going exceptionally fast, shooting bombs out of cars while dodging bullets being chased by a submarine that breaks its way through ice pummeling cars with torpedoes.  Yes, only in the world of The Fast and Furious.  It’s like when Prince (his purple badness) strutted out on stage in 1991 at the MTV VMAs with high heels and pair of seat less yellow pants with his butt cheeks hanging out.  If it was anybody else, then it would look absolutely ridiculous.  But because it was Prince, we understood.  The Fate of The Furious keeps up with the franchise brethren with the abundance of car chases, gun fights, hand to hand combat, and a ton of explosions.  But, I must admit, although it is very unrealistic by ordinary standards, in the world of The Fast and The Furious franchise, it was certainly entertaining and stands up as one of the best in the series.

The eighth installment of the franchise begins with Dom (Diesel) and Letty (Rodriguez) enjoying their honeymoon until mysterious woman named Cipher (Theron) persuades Dom into the world of crime.  But Dom’s betrayal will force his friends and family to face trials that will test them to their breaking points.  They must travel all over the world (Cuba, New York City, and the arctic Barents Sea, just to name of few) to find the reason behind Dom’s deception.  The crew must find a way to stop Cipher and save the man who calls them family.

This movie is action on steroids with comedy sprinkles mixed in.  The fight scenes with Johnson and Stratham are creatively done and entertaining fitting the strong attributes of the characters.  Johnson’s fight scenes are high impacted, hard hitting WWE style action while Stratham’s are fast pasted, quick, with a martial arts twist.  In fact, there is one scene if Johnson would have turned green, you would swear he was The Hulk.  The film is full of surprises.  The most hilarious moments of the movie involve a baby, guns, an airplane, and a soccer team; not necessarily in that order.

Just remember, if you are not a dedicated member of The Fast and Furious fan club, it is okay.  But make sure you take your take off your reality shades before you enter the theater.  Then put on your “everything is possible” cap and embrace The Fast and Furious Universe in which you have entered for the next two hours and have fun with hundreds Furious fans that surrounds you in the crowded theater.  Throw away any concerns that you are indulging in your guilty pleasure, because although it may be guilty to some, it is certainly entertaining; I mean, pleasurable.