The Fate of the Furious - Hollywood's Most Expensive Self-Parody

I'm not gonna lie.... I never caught on to this ongoing gag that the Fast and Furious sequels were essentially self-parodies up until this point. Granted, the sequels are certainly more exciting and stylish in the second half of the series than they have been in the first, but to go as far as to call them self-parodies would be a stretch; 5, 6, and 7 are not really any more over-the-top than any other action-packed blockbuster these days. However, this is not the case with the 8th film in the series, as the film drenches itself in self-parody and extravagantly over-the-top stunts..... And I loved every second of it! The Fate of the Furious is, thus far, one of the more exciting blockbusters I have seen this year!

The film starts with Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel, and Letty, played by Michelle Rodriguez, on their honeymoon, which soon gets interrupted by a woman known as Cipher, played by Charlize Theron, who, through some secret leverage, forces Dom to turn against his crew and commit a series of crimes that would send the world at war once more. However, Letty holds hope that Dom isn't doing this intentionally and proposes that they attempt to retrieve Dom to get some answers out of him.

If you're going into this flick expecting something practical or plausible, let me shut off those expectations here and now. The stunts here are so unpractical and insane that anybody with a Physics degree would most likely lose their mind. On the flip side of that, though, they're so insane and over-the-top that you can't help but not only keep your eyes on it, but feel the thrills and excitement of every stunt. Where else are you going to see tanks and new model cars chasing after a submarine in the Arctic? Seriously, name one other movie.

As far as comedy goes, there's a lot more of it than there was in the previous flicks. Granted, Roman Pearce had a lot of funny lines in the previous movies, but while he still has his share here, many of the other characters have their slices of the banana pie as well. The Rock and Jason Statham in particular have this ongoing chemistry that is just a riot every time they're on screen together.

The only problem I have with this flick is the villain, Cipher. Her character is very one-dimensional, not having very many clear motives for what she does other than to just send the world into chaos just because somebody has to be the antagonist, and Charlize Theron's performance is very one-note, having a monotone vocal and facial expression in which it just sounds like she's reading her bland lines. Some might argue that this is just part of the self-parody aspect, but in that instance, I probably would have liked a more over-the-top, funny villain (like Jason Statham in Furious 7) over this stick in the mud.

All in all, though, I had a blast with The Fate of the Furious. The stunts are impressive in their over-the-top fashion, the characters are a lot of fun, and the direction is slick as always. It's not a perfect movie, but it's thrilling and hysterical in spite of its flaws.... in some instances, even due to its "flaws". I recommend it for anyone looking for a fun time at the theater!

My rating: