Review – The Fate of the Furious

I have seen quite a few reviews pan this installment of the series. While there is some call for panning, there is not as much as I have seen. After all, it’s only the installments without Vin Diesel that suck.

Bringing Jason Statham’s character onto the team after he killed a member of the team does strain credibility a bit. I’m all for the “guys fight and become best buddies” theme, but his character did more than fight. Don’t get me wrong, if you haven’t seen the previous movie, this one would be really good. It’s a story line thing.

This franchise has a real problem with the story line though. You see “Tokyo Drift” was the final movie in the arc. These other ring the cash register installments are mostly filler. They’ve done stretched the story line enough they just might not be able to get to “Tokyo Drift.”

Adding insult to injury, this “stretch” also had them rather ham-fisting the issue of Paul Walker’s absence. Just one brief mention of not bringing him or his wife into it anymore was how they were forced to acknowledge it. The scene felt rather forced as well. There had to be some rather deep emotion for at least some of the actors, once again on the set without him there.

Thank God they’ve added Kurt Russell to this franchise! His character brings a style and charm to the humor. It’s also nice to see him in roles where he doesn’t get beat up. He has had a really long career and delivered some incredibly enjoyable work. “Tango & Cash,” “Tombstone,” and “Backdraft” just to name a few.

Yes, there are a few issues with this movie. Those issues have more to do with the outside world than the film itself. Watched in a vacuum this isn’t a bad film. When you start considering the reality around it though, it starts to fall apart.

Order your pizza, grab a cold beverage and put this movie on. This is a fine beer and pizza movie.

For more movies to add to your rental list please check out list one and list two.