I'm glad you liked this one. I think it's underrated in the F&F series. People turned the whole #JusticeForHan thing into a whole movement. Here was an Asian-American character who defied most of the usual tropes and was hugely beloved in one of the biggest franchises of all time, and they had some white villain kill him, and worse, now everyone's gonna be friends with the white guy. As an Asian-American man, I get it, and I'll even ignore the fact that half of that plot was retconned in after the fact. That said, I think as far as these movies go, this has a surprisingly coherent script, thematically. That Cuba opening, as you say, is the whole series in a nutshell, and not only that, this one clarifies that coherently with that one scene and then plays it out the whole movie, with Cipher's opposing philosophy being the thing that sinks her as Dom calls on friends and enemies to help him. It's obvious but honestly pretty inspired to reframe Deckard as just acting in his brother's best interests, giving him and Dom common ground (and providing an excuse to bring in Helen Mirren, as well as reason for Statham to be funny). In the end, Dom chooses to look past the killing of Han to get his son back, which I think is fair. (Maybe it's a little dumb he attends the barbecue though.)
I also personally think Diesel is pretty good in this one. He doesn't have to do much in these movies, but in some of the plane stuff when Cipher is threatening Elena, he's actually putting in some emotional effort.
"In perhaps my favorite scene Cipher uses her hacking genius to control automobiles from a distance and sends a bevy of cars plunging from a third story window to the merciless concrete in a wild set-piece that recalls the only good scene in The Happening but with cars. "
I am having a hard time envisioning how the described actions could recall a guy feeding his own arms to a lion, but I am curious to find out!
The Fast and the Furious series isn't for me but I can't hate on it. It deliriously, gloriously knows what it is and provides it's fans exactly what they want with no apologies. It's the best Roger Moore 007 movie plot combined with Goldeneye sized set pieces featuring some of the biggest stars in the world.
::Also, I don’t recall Citizen Lame having even a single scene where a dude rides a car over a submarine. ::
Only because Orson Welles never had enough money to do it.
If he hadn't had to beg pettifogging bureaucrats for money, or raise it himself reading ads for frozen peas and fish sticks every time he wanted to make another film? You know he would have the GREATEST driving a car over a submarine scene ever—which would then launch itself into space like something out of Gerry Anderson's UFO!
I'm glad you liked this one. I think it's underrated in the F&F series. People turned the whole #JusticeForHan thing into a whole movement. Here was an Asian-American character who defied most of the usual tropes and was hugely beloved in one of the biggest franchises of all time, and they had some white villain kill him, and worse, now everyone's gonna be friends with the white guy. As an Asian-American man, I get it, and I'll even ignore the fact that half of that plot was retconned in after the fact. That said, I think as far as these movies go, this has a surprisingly coherent script, thematically. That Cuba opening, as you say, is the whole series in a nutshell, and not only that, this one clarifies that coherently with that one scene and then plays it out the whole movie, with Cipher's opposing philosophy being the thing that sinks her as Dom calls on friends and enemies to help him. It's obvious but honestly pretty inspired to reframe Deckard as just acting in his brother's best interests, giving him and Dom common ground (and providing an excuse to bring in Helen Mirren, as well as reason for Statham to be funny). In the end, Dom chooses to look past the killing of Han to get his son back, which I think is fair. (Maybe it's a little dumb he attends the barbecue though.)
I also personally think Diesel is pretty good in this one. He doesn't have to do much in these movies, but in some of the plane stuff when Cipher is threatening Elena, he's actually putting in some emotional effort.
"In perhaps my favorite scene Cipher uses her hacking genius to control automobiles from a distance and sends a bevy of cars plunging from a third story window to the merciless concrete in a wild set-piece that recalls the only good scene in The Happening but with cars. "
I am having a hard time envisioning how the described actions could recall a guy feeding his own arms to a lion, but I am curious to find out!
The Fast and the Furious series isn't for me but I can't hate on it. It deliriously, gloriously knows what it is and provides it's fans exactly what they want with no apologies. It's the best Roger Moore 007 movie plot combined with Goldeneye sized set pieces featuring some of the biggest stars in the world.
Well said. I find myself flip-flopping between if 7 or 8 is the better movie. The best part is that it doesn't matter at all! Can't wait to read more.
Furious Kane: 2 Fast 2 Rosebud
::Also, I don’t recall Citizen Lame having even a single scene where a dude rides a car over a submarine. ::
Only because Orson Welles never had enough money to do it.
If he hadn't had to beg pettifogging bureaucrats for money, or raise it himself reading ads for frozen peas and fish sticks every time he wanted to make another film? You know he would have the GREATEST driving a car over a submarine scene ever—which would then launch itself into space like something out of Gerry Anderson's UFO!