Fate of the Furious - Snapshot

What started out as an illegal street racing flick for petrol head's, over one and a half decades has transformed itself into a full-blown action blockbuster franchise, taking on the world's deadliest criminals, and cyber villains. In the Fate of the Furious, Dominic Toretto goes rogue, aligning himself with a mysterious terrorist, while Hobbs and the rest of the team try to stop them.

Between franchise writer Chris Morgan, Universal Studios, and the producers including Vin Diesel, they've figured out a successful formula that can be rehashed without end. What's even more intriguing is that in large part it works. While the plots change, and new villains are introduced, the team, the plan, and the impossible antics in cars remain constant. For Fate of the Furious, there's a good deal of well-choreographed car chase sequences, with the hacked car sequence being a new addition, one which was visually lasting. The game is certainly taken up a few notches, from tanks in previous installments to a gargantuan nuclear submarine in this installment; nothing unexpected though if you've watched the trailers. From a narrative perspective, Fast & the Furious is becoming an action soap opera, re-introducing old characters, giving them slightly modified roles, but keeping them all in the mix. Also notable is the slow assembling of an elite squad, similar to Sly's band of brothers in The Expendables movies; regular cast heavyweights now including Vin Diesel, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and Jason Statham. All of this predictability, coupled with the clearly impossible circumstances, would point towards sure failure, but surprisingly results in an entertainment extravaganza like no other. With the right amount of action, humor, and cool cars, it's not surprising that Fate of the Furious set the global box office record, earning an estimated $532.5 million worldwide in its opening weekend. With that, the Fast & Furious franchise is one of Universal's most successful, grossing over $4.4 billion to date. As a viewer, if you can overlook the sometimes-failed logic, and overly macho dialog, you can expect to be supremely entertained!

My Recommendation: Watch It + (High speed entertainment, now on ice)