The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Furious 7 wasn't a great movie. It was quite a mess, to be honest, but at least it provided a nice ending to this worn-out franchise. What I'm trying to say is that The Fate of the Furious wasn't necessary at all. They made it anyway because these are the movies that make money which is why they made another mediocre action flick.

Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) are on their honeymoon, enjoying their 'normal' life. All of a sudden, a mysterious woman (Charlize Theron) seduces Dom and makes him betray his family, and the old team must team up with Mr. nobody (Kurt Russell) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) to bring Dom back home. 

Furious 7 (2015)

Genre

Action | Crime | Thriller

Director

James Wan

Country

USA

Cast

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Lucas Black, Elsa Pataky, Noel Gugliemi, John Brotherton, Ali Fazal, Luke Evans

Storyline

Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family for his comatose brother (Luke Evans).

Opinion

I don't want to sound mean or like an awful person or anything, but I believe the reason why this film made all those money - and got a quite positive response - it's because of the dead of Paul Walker, and now I'm telling you why.

First of all, "Furious 7" is quite stupid, boring and predictable, it looks like a parody of the franchise and it doesn't even fall into the action category because it is so unreal it should be listed as science fiction. But let's move on.

Chris Morgan, the screenwriter, was probably high when he wrote the script. The plot, well once again there really isn't a plot, it is just something resembling a story of revenge that eventually ends in the most predictable way, is utterly ridiculous, full of holes and illogical developments that will make your head hurts if, like me, you're trying to make sense of it.

But it is an action flick right? Why am I even thinking the film should make sense? Unfortunately for the film, it doesn't even work as an action movie. There is plenty of action and I gotta admit that it's great action but was it necessary to make it so unreal? Vin Diesel and Jason Statham fight for 15 minutes maybe and they barely have a scratch. Not to mention the impossible car stunts. It does seem more like science fiction than action.

"Furious 7" biggest strength - and mostly like the only one - is the final tribute to Paul Walker. I'm not talking only about the scenes from the old films, but about that last scene, when Toretto keeps driving and Brian turns left, a turn toward the unknown. All the film should have had this kind of depth.

Furious 6 (2013)

Genre

Action | Crime | Thriller

Director

Justin Lin

Country

USA

Cast

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Luke Evans, Gina Carano, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham, Elsa Pataky, David Ajala, Kim Kold, Thure Lindhardt, Joe Taslim, Rita Ora, Jason Statham

Storyline

Criminal tracer Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) has Dominic (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker) reassemble their crew to take down a team of mercenaries among which there is Dominic's deceased girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).

Opinion

Money's the motivation is one of the verses of 2 Chainz's "We Own It" which is this film theme song. The lyrics is spot on, because the only reason to make another film of the Fast & Furious series is money. Luckily this time the filmmakers also managed to make a good film.

"Furious 6" isn't by any mean brilliant but it is fun and enjoyable because of the humour and terrific action sequences.

Just like the previous entry's, the plot to this is decent, it does make a little sense and there are even, wait for it, twists. It sounds unreal, I know, and because of those unexpected turns, the story will keep you interested for most of the film. I said most because some moments are confused and rushed and could have definitely been executed better. The romantic subplot involving Dominic and Letty also kind of works.

Just like all the other films in the series, the character development isn't particularly strong, and it does show. However, even though at first he doesn't seem like a huge threat, villain Owen Shaw turns out to be a decent antagonist.

As mentioned before, there is plenty of humour to keep you entertained and only a few jokes fall flat - which is incredible considering what kind of film this is.

And if you are an action flick freak you'll definitely love the action sequences, the gorgeous fast cars, the fighting and why not the explosions.

Fast Five (2011)

Genre

Action | Crime

Director

Justin Lin

Country

USA

Cast

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, Joaquim de Almeida, Elsa Pataky, Tego Calderon, Don Omar

Storyline

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) plan a massive heist to buy their freedom while in the sights of a powerful Brazilian drug lord (Joaquim de Almeida) and a dangerous federal agent (Dwayne Johnson).

Opinion

After several unappealing films, and when one would have never expected anything good, Justin Lin comes back with his third entry in the franchise, and it's surprisingly good. I am not saying "Fast Five" is Oscar worthy, but it definitely does what it is supposed to do, it entertains, which is not that granted considering the previous entry(ies).

Once again the plot isn't particularly strong or witty, but it is quite decent and it involves one of my favourite things ever on films, a heist. Sure, it isn't "Jackie Brown" or to stay on topic "The Italian Job" - yes, I like that film - but it is pulled off nicely.

The film also features something that resembles character development. The personalities of the main characters are kind of explored a bit, and fear, vulnerability and humour are shown.

Another huge improvement on its predecessor is the action. There is no lack of races or fast and beautiful cars, and the action sequences are actually gripping - they sure will draw your attention.

As for the acting, there isn't much of an improvement here. Dwayne Johnson is a great addition to the series and Vin Diesel sure can do action films, but the acting still leaves much to be desired.

Fast & Furious (2009)

Genre

Action | Crime

Director

Justin Lin

Country

USA

Cast

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Gal Gadot, John Ortiz, Laz Alonso, Jack Conley, Shea Whigham, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Sung Kang, Liza Lapira, Mirtha Michelle, Greg Cipes, Ron Yuan 

Storyline

Working again for the FBI, Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) teams up with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) to bring down a heroin importer (John Ortiz) by infiltrating his operation. 

Opinion

I'm laughing so much right now because the Italian title says "Original parts only", and this film is basically a copy and paste of the other entries in the franchise. In a few words "Fast & Furious" is a sometimes fast but never furious film that is also tedious beyond words.

I'm getting tired of criticising the lack of a plot but since there isn't one, I have to point that out, and I'm also going to waste some time talking about how ridiculous this already-seen-a-million-times storyline is, how many clichés there are throughout the whole film, and basically how dumb it is in general. I guess this is what happens when you make a useless sequel. Or a useless franchise.

While I forgave those flaws to the previous entries because of the characters and/or action sequences and pace, "Fast & Furious" cannot be saved. There's nothing good about it. The characters, first of all, are goddamn awful. All of them. Character development is an unknown concept to the writers, and the characters are basically what they were in "The Fast and the Furious" 8 years earlier. And the bad guys - wait, I thought they all were bad guys - are two dimensional and dumb.

Earlier when I said "sometimes and fast but never furious" I was of course talking about the action. The bloody awful action. Which is a huge shame for an action flick. There is one, maybe two sequences that are fast and decent, but they are so not thrilling. And the massive use of CGI completely ruin them.

I could spend more of my time, and yours, to talk about the cast, but I think saying the acting is beyond bad will do.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

Genre

Action | Crime

Director

Justin Lin

Country

USA

Cast

Lucas Black, Sung Kang, Nathalie Kelley, Bow Wow, Brian Tee, Leonardo Nam, Brian Goodman, Zachery Ty Bryan, Nikki Griffin, Jason Tobin, Keiko Kitagawa, Lynda Boyd, Sonny Chiba, Vin Diesel

Storyline

To avoid time in jail because of illegal street racing, American teenager Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) moves to his father's, in Tokyo, Japan. As soon as he arrives he discovers a new, dangerous way of street racing in the underworld of the streets of Tokyo.

Opinion

This is the only film of the franchise I own on DVD. And it's also the only film of the franchise I've watched too many times, I just can't get enough of it. That being said, I'll do my best to be impartial.

"The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" is a refreshing and enjoyable action flick that surpasses its predecessor.

The writing is still not the series strongest suit. The plot indeed is paper thin and quite predictable too - even though there's kind of a plot twist in the end I did not see coming the first time. To be noted I was 12-13 year old at the time -, but at least it is engaging.

And that's because of the series' change of direction. Instead of going good guys vs bad guys, it goes more like bad guys vs bad guys, and the story is focused on the rivalry between the main character, an American teenager, and the nephew of a Yakuza member. It does get cheesy because they are fighting for a girl, but what were you expecting?

The film features none of the original characters - Vin Diesel's Toretto makes an appearance at the end, but I could have done without him because he has no use other than tricking people into watching the film -, but the new ones are quite good, even though they lack proper development.

The action flick part of this is good. The cars are beautiful, and the action sequences are very well choreographed - drifting is so much cooler than regular street racing. And for the guys, it is plenty of gorgeous women - among which there's Nathalie Kelley, the most beautiful in the franchise in my humble opinion.

There's a tremendous problem with one casting though. I don't care how hard Lucas Black does or does not try, he just looks (and is) too damn old to play a 17-year-old kid. Oh, and no matter how many Vin Diesel they throw into the film, Sung Kang as Han would still steal the show.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Genre

Action | Crime

Director

John Singleton

Country

USA

Cast

Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, Devon Aoki, James Remar, Thom Barry, Amaury Nolasco, Michael Ealy, Jin Auyeung, Mark Boone Junior, Mo Gallini, Roberto Sanchez, John Cenatiempo, Eric Etebari

Storyline

While actually working undercover, former cop Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) teams up with his ex-con friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) to transport a shipment of dirty money for drug lord Carter Verone (Cole Hauser).

Opinion

Usually when the first film in a series is good, the sequel is even better. But I guess that doesn't really work with the Fast and Furious franchise because "The Fast and The Furious" isn't that good, and "2 Fast 2 Furious" manages to be even worse.

Just like the first time, there still are fast cars, gorgeous girls, Paul Walker, and basically no plot at all - and like I said a week ago, nobody watch an action movie for the plot. Only this time it is a problem. The story is ordinary, there's really nothing new, it's just a collection of dejà vù.

"2 Fast 2 Furious" also lacks the first entry's greatest strength, the characters. There aren't any interesting or well developed characters this time around - and it's quite difficult to take them seriously -, and, above all, Vin Diesel's Toretto is missing. Over the years, he has becomes the face of the franchise along with Walker, and his absence is the real deal here.

However, and I really don't know how exactly they managed to do that despite all the crap previously mentioned, the film manages to be quite engaging and to have your attention for more than an hour and a half.

Probably it's because of the action. It really isn't anything special, but it makes the film watchable.

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Genre

Action | Crime

Director

Rob Cohen

Country

USA

Cast

Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune, Chad Lindberg, Johnny Strong, Matt Schulze, Ted Levine, Thom Barry, Ja Rule, Vyto Ruginis, Stanton Rutledge, Noel Gugliemi, R. J. De Vera, Beau Holden, Reggie Lee, David Douglas, Peter Navy Tuiasosopo, F. Valentino Morales, Neal H. Moritz, Rob Cohen

Storyline

LAPD officer Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) undercover into Los Angeles' street racing circuit to take down Toretto (Vin Diesel), the leader of a street gang that is under suspicion of stealing expensive electronic equipment.

Opinion

It happens very often that the first film of a series is also the best – or one of the best -, but this is not the case. Other than being an action movie cult and having inspired many sequels in years to come, "The Fast and the Furious" isn’t anything special and doesn’t really stand out from the crowd.

There isn’t much of a plot here. All the film has to give is a simple and predictable plot filled with clichés of the genre, like the gang’s leader being the only one trusting the new guy, and the rest of the gang, expect for one guy, eventually following him. There’s the typical problems with rival gangs, and the pointless romantic subplot.

However, what really counts here is the characters. They are not brilliant, but they are well defined, a bit developed and quite interesting despite being very stereotypical, and Toretto definitely stands out.

But I doubt people who watch this kind of films care for a solid plot, mind blowing characters and great dialogue. It is all about the action and adrenaline, and the film does deliver that wonderfully. Despite all the flaws above mentioned, the film manages to be quite engaging and exciting.

Also people like eye-candy, and this film is filled with gorgeous, hot girls, and stunning, fast cars.

Just like his character, Vin Diesel has a dominating screen presence and does a fairly good job as Toretto. The rest of the cast is okay.