This image released by Universal Pictures shows, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, seated left, and Nathalie Emmanuel, seated right, and Tyrese Gibson, standing from left, Scott Eastwood, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez in “The Fate of the Furious.” (Matt Kennedy/Universal Pictures via AP)
AH yes.
The life of the idle rich.
Nary a care in the world.
Jetting off to exotic locals and never having to worry about waiting in lines for delayed flights or screaming babies being plucked down in the seat next to you.
You get to stay at the best hotels in the world and at no charge, of course.
And drive the best sports muscle cars ever built!
Sigh.
The life of the world’s top 10 percent.
And it is a world only inhabited by “The Fate of the Furious” (or “Furious 8”) which has arrived at a cineplex near you with the usual cast of characters.
Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his bride Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) are now on their honeymoon. Brian and Mia have retired from the “game”—actually Paul Walker is dead and
Jordana Brewster has been written out of the series—and the rest of the crew has been exonerated and now leading the semblance of a normal life.
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Charlize Theron, left, and Vin Diesel in “The Fate of the Furious.” (Universal Pictures via AP)
But when a mysterious woman suddenly arrives, watch for what happens.
Two-time Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron plays Cipher, a criminal mastermind and cyber-terrorist who seduces Dom back into a world of crime and when he starts deep–throat kissing Cipher right in front of his wife, it’s all hands on deck!
The Fast and Furious franchise has been around longer than one can remember and was originally focused on illegal street racing and heists.
Today, it is more about super spies and James Bond–style locals with well-endowed men grinding with scantily–clad women who
parade around the cameras with barely a loin cloth on.
“The Fate of the Furious” is directed by F. Gary Gray, best known for directing “Straight Outta Compton” (2015) who replaced James Wan from the seventh installment of the franchise with locations including Mývatn (Iceland), Havana, Atlanta, Cleveland and New York City, continuing the tradition of filming in varied global locations.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returns as Luke Hobbs, a DSS agent who has found himself aligned with the Toretto family and has a personal death grudge against Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), a rogue special forces assassin imprisoned by Dom and the DSS after his defeat in Los Angeles during “Fast and Furious 7.”
Hobbs pulls himself into prison as an inmate to get close to Shaw and convince him to help the Toretto team take down Dom and Cipher.
My personal favorite is the seldom–seen Kurt Russell who returns as the leader of the covert ops unit who outfits the Toretto family with all of their super cool gadgets and gizmos.
Helen Mirren also joins the cast as the mother of Deckard Shaw. Mirren publicly lobbied for a role to fulfill her real-life love of racing.
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Jason Statham in “The Fate of the Furious.” (Universal Pictures via AP)
Of course, no human is really ever hurt in the world of “Fast and Furious” where no one is ever shot, wounded or maimed by the unending gunfire, except for the occasional unnamed scumbag criminal.
No one would survive the fall in a souped-up sports car from 35,000 feet (as in “Fast and Furious 7”) even with the world’s strongest parachute. None of the lead actors get hurt in any of the Fast and Furious films.
That’s right, not even a scratch as the film’s insurance company would lose a lung should that ever happen.
Movies are great escapism and “The Fate of the Furious” is all that.
Check your brain at the ticket counter for this one, folks, because the dialogue and screenplay by Chris Morgan borders on the absurd.
The exotic locals continue the franchise “tradition” of looking great by cinematographer Stephen F. Windon and sharp editing from the duo of Christian Wagner and Paul Rubell.
You can be assured that once “The Fate of the Furious” takes in a solid $100 million during its opening week in America, that Diesel and the company will be back for more fast cars, fast women (and men) and the most absurd excuses to shoot and kill our fellow humans.
Questions, comments or travel suggestions, write me at readingruffolos@gmail.com.