This past weekend, Fast & Furious 8 (otherwise known as The Fate of the Furious, Fast 8 or even just F8) set the international record for the largest film opening, having grossed over $531,99-million (a whopping R7,086-billion).
Fans of the franchise can rest assured that after watching Fast 8 they will not be left disappointed. The storyline may seem somewhat thin and even illogical to some moviegoers, but for fans this film represents the beginning of a new chapter for their beloved characters and is billed as the first episode of the final trilogy of the Fast & Furious saga.
The charismatic characters, explosive action scenes, extreme stunts and, of course, absolutely outrageous cars remain for the duration of the 136-minute film.
Interestingly, The Fate of the Furious features a new director in the form of F. Gary Gray, the world’s highest-grossing African-American director and the man who brought us the 2003 remake of The Italian Job.
Two Academy Award-winning actresses – Dame Helen Mirren and SA-born Charlize Theron – are also brought into the fold for the new film. Here, Theron is the antagonist and performs well in the role of Cypher, a terrorist hacker who seeks to make life rather difficult for the Fast & Furious crew.
Vin Diesel’s character, Dominic Toretto, stays true to his past and even finds himself in a 1960s Dodge Charger towards the end of the film. This particular Charger is fitted with wide wheel-arches, all-wheel drive (needed to conquer a frozen lake) and, naturally, large quantities of nitrous. And, from the sound of it, Dom’s latest Charger is also fitted with a hefty supercharger.
The rest of the Fast 8 cast also have the opportunity to choose their wheels, each opting for a vehicle that seemingly suits their character. A wide-body Subaru BRZ, a Mercedes-AMG GT S, a Jaguar F-Type R, a Subaru Impreza WRX STI and a luminous orange Lamborghini Murciélago are some of the cars you can expect to see.
Letty (played by Michelle Rodriguez) chooses a red wide-body C2 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray with black wheels, arguably the best-looking car of the film.
Apart from the multitude of vehicles, viewers can also expect to be treated to dozens of one-liners and plenty of on-screen humour. The banter between the characters of Jason Statham (of The Transporter fame) and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is particularly captivating and perhaps even one of the highlights of the film.
So, if you’re looking for an intelligent and objectively correct cinematic experience, best you look elsewhere. However, if you’re a fan of the earlier Fast films, you will no doubt enjoy Fast 8. Rapid cars, enormous explosions, dramatic plot twists, mysterious new characters and big Hollywood egos define this film, and fans certainly won’t leave the cinema feeling short-changed.
Watch the Fate of the Furious trailer below.
Images courtesy of IMDB.com
