What a ride it’s been for the “The Fast and the Furious” franchise. Now spanning 20 years and nine films, this soap opera of motor fuel and melodrama has defied logic, physics and death again and again while weaving an intricate tapestry of a cinematic text that’s filled with callbacks, cameos and a deep-rooted lore that always returns to the intertwining values of family and vintage American muscle cars.
Director Justin Lin — who also helmed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth films in the series, and evolved the franchise from minor street-racing thrillers into outlandish displays of car ballet — is back behind the camera for “F9: The Fast Saga” (he also co-wrote the screenplay with Daniel Casey). Lin ups his own ante with the outrageous vehicular stunts in “F9,” and it’s hard to imagine any future installments exceeding the automobile acrobatics Lin and Casey have concocted. To describe the stunts and set pieces would be to ruin the fun of discovery for audiences; suffice to say, there will be moments where you’ll say, “they won’t …” — but rest assured, they will, and how.
Narratively, “F9” does something no other “Fast” film has done before: It looks to the past. In a flashback story line that takes place in 1989, we finally meet young Dominic Toretto (Vinnie Bennett and of course, later, Vin Diesel) and learn more about the infamous vengeful wrench attack that landed him in prison, a crime that’s been oft mentioned throughout the series. The flashback is a way of exploring some of the darker secrets of the Toretto family, specifically regarding prodigal brother Jakob (Finn Cole and John Cena), who resurfaces in Dom’s life. Turns out he’s another freelance precision driver/special agent, who frequently works with Dom’s (many) enemies. What are the odds?
With Jakob’s return, Dom has to reckon with his past, and the dissolution of his blood family, which he replaced with his chosen family. This motley crew of gear heads we’ve come to know and love over the years includes the fast-talking Roman (Tyrese Gibson), techy Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), Dom’s love Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and amazingly, against all odds, fan favorite Han (Sung Kang), returned from the dead in an especially spine-tingling resurrection.