Film Review: "F9: The Fast Saga" (2021).

"Not All Blood Is Family" in F9: The Fast Saga. This action film directed by Justin Lin, written by Daniel Casey and based on the Characters by Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to The Fate of the Furious (2017), as well as being the ninth main installment, and the tenth full-length film released overall in the Fast & Furious franchise. Dom Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he’s going to save those he loved most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom’s forsaken brother, Jakob.

In November 2014, Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley told The Hollywood Reporter that there would be at least three more films in the franchise after Furious 7 (2015). In October 2017, Vin Diesel revealed in a Facebook live video that Lin, director of Fast & Furious 6 (2013), would be returning for the ninth and tenth films. In May 2018, Casey was hired to pen the script after Morgan left due to his work on Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019). By June 2019, Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron reprise their roles, whilst new comers John Cena and Michael Rooker round out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early November. Filming took place in Rustavi and Tbilisi, Georgia, as well as Edinburgh, Scotland and Greenham Common, England, UK. The film was originally set for a May 22nd, 2020 release date , but in mid March 2020 it got pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was then pushed to April 2nd, 2021, taking over Fast & Furious 10. In early October 2020 it was pushed back yet again to May 28th, 2021, in order to avoid competition with No Time to Die (2021).

The film stars Diesel, Rodriguez, Gibson, Ludacris, Brewster, Emmanuel, Kang, Mirren, Russell and Theron reprise their roles, whilst new comers Cena and Rooker. Despite how over-the-top all the action scenes are, the cast earned nothing but eye-rolls from me, and while we can argue that each character deserves their moment to shine, I am of a mind that these characters are expendable. Moments that should've been emotional, are quickly forgotten thanks to the cast's robotic and cartoonish acting.

Who would have thought that a street racing movie from 2001 starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker would still be going... But there's no setup, no details, and no plan - just the getaway, where things explode and collide with one another like objects in a cartoon.

Simon says F9: The Fast Saga receives:

Also, see my reviews for Star Trek Beyond and The Fate of the Furious.