The Fast and the Furious series always confuse me, because I stopped after the first three movies, and then jumped back at the eighth one. By that point, it no longer resembled anything I remembered, other than a couple of characters, and even though I was entertained by the much improved action sequences and fight scenes, the plot became so ridiculous, to the point that I thought it insulted my intelligence. Honestly, I did not know if the series became better or worst. I have argued that it had jumped the shark some time before the eighth one, because I thought an idea could also do that, but others here disagreed, since they thought that there has to be some failure, and by box office numbers alone, that is clearly not the case. Of course, to put the argument to rest, I had to watch the whole series, but at the time, there were 9 movies, which are over 18 hours long altogether, so I was reluctant to do that for a series that I am not exactly enamoured with. Now, with the tenth one out, my curiosity is piqued once again, so I decided to give it a shot. Hence, it partially explains my long absence from this sub forum.
Even though The Fast and the Furious kickstarted the future franchise all the way back in 2001, so a lot of people do view it rather favourably, I never liked it even back then. The plot is weak, and it is a dime-a-dozen Hollywood mass produced action flick that did not stand out at all at the time. On my second watch, over 2 decades later, it is just as terrible as I remembered. In fact, I dislike even more now, because I noticed that the director may have coloured Paul Walker's eyes to make them even bluer, so that they practically shine every time he is on screen. While it is likely a cheap ploy to make him into a Christ-like figure, for no reason at all as it does not advance the plot, nowadays, it can be considered to be racist. The fact that one of the authority figure who openly sabotages and belittles the main character is played by an African American actor only reinforces the point. With that said, the chase and race sequences are somewhat entertaining, and I do think the development of the friendship between the two leads is believable, so I will give it a 5/10. The movie is bad, but it does not exactly fail. Plus, it does give a base the future franchise to work with.
John Singletary took over director duties for the second one in 2003, and as someone whose works specialized in racial tensions, he must had realized the racial undertone of the previous movie, because suddenly that character who gave the lead trouble does an 180 and becomes very supportive and helpful. While it is admirable on his part, it is also indicative of a major problem, as the movie is a sequel in name only. Other than the street races, the movie barely makes any connection or even mentions of events in the first movie, and while Paul Walker's character is still there, he feels completely different. Clearly, the studio rushed to make this one after the original turned out to be a surprise hit, but it had no plan, so it gave Singletary free reign to create his own vision. Unfortunately, Singletary knew little to nothing of the subject matter, so in the end, this blatant cash grab by both parties became a jumbled mess that did not entertain one bit, as even the action sequences are mostly weak, other than the major one. Frankly, this one has no redemptive qualities, and for better or worst, it introduces two characters that later become mainstays for the series, though the one who specializes in comic relief is rather annoying, so I give it 3/10.
The third one, Tokyo Drift in 2007, was even more of a cash grab, because this time, the plot has no connection to the previous two films at all, and all the main characters are gone, until the very end by Vin Diesel, but that appearance seems tacked on, at best. Even though I do not like the original characters all that much, they at least have lead charisma. These new ones, unfortunately, are just bland and forgettable. Furthermore, since this is basically the director Justin Lin's first mainstream movie, his inexperience showed, as the car sequences are just boring overall. While it does introduce another character that later becomes a mainstay of the series who is a lot more likeable this time, the movie is just terrible overall, and a very forgettable experience. Honestly, I was surprise this is not the death nail, because I have it at a 2 or 3/10. It is certainly worst than the previous movie, but not by much.
As I wrote this review, I actually want to know if people knew about drifting when the movie was released. It seems like a complete new thing to the Western audience, but I watched Initial D back in the early 2000s, so I knew actually what it was. While drifting was all the rage back then, it seemed to have done nothing in North America. My guess was that it was because the movie was bad, so it did not make a dent in pop culture, and geography was not favorable for the technique. North America just did not have too many narrow or tight turns to allow the practice of drifting to flourish.
Justin Lin returned to make the fourth one, Fast & Furious, in 2009, and this time, the studio finally had a plan in place to make this a franchise. As a result, the movie gets a bigger budget that allows it to escape the B-movie quality of the previous movies, and the money is put to good use with much better and exciting action sequences. Plus, it helps that the two leads from the original movie are back, and they are given more time to develop their characters. As a result, by the end of the movie, they are no longer caricatures as the previous movies portrayed them as, but full three-dimensional characters, which helps the audience to make a firm connection and subsequently create a bigger fanbase. It is also the first full introduction of the family theme that becomes the underlying basis for all future movies, which helps the franchise to establish a firm direction. That said, the plot is still rather run-of-the-mill, with a major plot hole as Paul Walker's character somehow becomes an FBI agent despite his federal crime of aiding and abetting a criminal as a member of law enforcement. Plus, even though the villain is actually interesting, the ending basically destroys all the good groundwork the movie laid out, as it is rather pathetic at how he is defeated. Thus, I have it at 6/10. I do enjoy it, and the major plothole is not exactly fatal, but it is also apparent that this franchise has a clear ceiling, as this is likely as far as the production team can take the street race genre.
Fast V in 2011 basically turned the series on its head, as it suddenly changes from street races to a heist movie, as the races are not even shown. The heist is very well filmed, and it is likely an inspired choice, because a lot of possibilities open up, and it bypasses the ceiling issue the previous movie demonstrated. However, there are signs that the franchise is on the verge of being a bloated mess, as logic has started to be ignored in parts, and people will return from the dead, but overall, the movie is still within an acceptable range where the audience is not completely intellectually insulted. Thus, I have it at 6.5/10. Honestly, it is a very good popcorn flick, but I do feel a sense of whiplash with the sudden genre change.
Fast & Furious 6 in 2013 saw another change in direction, as the franchise is now a spy film more akin to Mission Impossible or James Bond. While there were hints before in previous movies, logic is optional now, as the endless runway became endless fodder for Internet gossip and discussion back at the point of release. I did not care for the franchise at that point, but I remembered that I read a couple of articles about it. Frankly, it was a meme, before the term was even invented. Again, it is a well-done mindless popcorn flick, but the movie makes very little sense. These people started out as simple small time criminals, and now they are international spies who are tasked to save the world, after which they are all pardoned for all previous crimes as well. For me, it is a 6/10, because it is entertaining enough, and the endless runway is basically the only major assault on intelligence, so I can forgive it as a one-time offence. However, it is clear that the franchise will only become even more bloated.
James Wan took over the director reins for Furious 7 in 2015, and while there are still some frivolous scenes that only adds screentime and does nothing, like how the whole cast spends some time next to a pool, and one of the new character exits the water in a bikini, it is clear he is a better director than Justin Lin, as he has better techniques, and I like how he draws inspirations from his horror works to create different looks. The movie is also the last movie by Paul Walker, who died 2 years before the release of the movie. Most of his scenes were completed at the time of his depth, and the production team used a combination of CG, archival footages, and his lookalike brothers as stand-ins to finish the movie. Since he was one of the leads of the franchise, there is an added layer of emotional depth, both by the deliberate efforts of the production team who wanted to dedicate the movie in his honour, and the audience who wanted to pay their respects to him. Consequently, this focus on emotions actually balances and perhaps even distracts the over-the-top illogical nature of the movie. As a result, this becomes one of the better movies of the franchise, and frankly, it gives the franchise a second life. It also helps that Jason Statham plays a great character, and Tony Jaa was still at the top of his game at the time the movie was filmed, because even though his stunts are mere rehashes of his previous movies, they are still incredible to watch. Overall, it is a 6.75/10. The heavy emotional aspects certainly give the movie another dimension, but by the final scene, it just feels too manipulative and exploitative. Thus, even though it is probably more in the 6.5 range, it is also slightly better than Fast V, so I push the score up a tiny margin too.
The Fate of the Furious in 2017 was the one that got me back in the franchise again, and I remembered that even though I liked it as a mindless popcorn flick when I watched it the first time, I was also uncomfortable with the complete disregard for logic. When I watched it a second time recently, I actually feel fatigue, as the whole exercise has become repetitive and very tedious, in particular the theme of family. By this point, the "family" has gone from five to double digits, as blood relatives, good friends, some acquaintances, and even former enemies are all included. Frankly, the definition is so loose, that it no longer means anything. Theron is great as the villain, but she alone cannot make me invested in the movie. Thus, even though I had it at 6.5 or 6.75 when it was first released, I have dropped it to 6 now, as I am very familiar with the storyline now, and have no gaps in knowledge.
If there were still confusion about rather or not the franchise ever jumped-the-shark, F9 in 2021 left no doubt, because they drive a car into space now. That is just the tip of the iceberg too, as character backgrounds can be reconfigured so new characters can be added, with John Cena as Vin Diesel's never-before-mentioned real brother, and death is not final, with the return of a long deceased character. This one is so over-the-top, that it can be argued that it is a parody. I disliked it the first time I watched it, and I still dislike it on a recent second watch. Thus, I have it at 5.5/10. At least the last villain from the previous movie is still an enemy, and the action sequences are good, but the main antagonist never feels like a threat, and the amount of suspension of disbelief required for this one feels like work, to be honest.
When the James Bond franchise gets too ridiculous, it always pulls back and becomes more grounded. Since the Fast and Furious franchise is clearly modelled after the James Bond series at this point, it does the same thing with Fast X. However, it is only a slight step back, because while the plot is no longer a complete assault on intelligence like the previous outing, past offences that has plagued the franchise are still present, as the family extends again, a character returns from the dead, and past characters' pasts are reconfigured in order to add new characters that were never mentioned before, even though they are blood relatives. Jason Momoa steals every scene he is in, and he is probably the best villain from the entire franchise, but the series is definitely on its last legs. From the box office numbers, the audience probably has enough too, because the domestic gross is very weak, and the worldwide box gross is probably not enough for the movie to break even. At this point, it is a classic case of diminished returns, because no amount of budget can reinvigorate the franchise anymore, and it is clear that it is just not worth it to make anymore. For me, I give it a 6.25/10. I definitely like it than most critics, because I am not bored by it like I was the last one, but there are just too many issues with it to give it a higher grade.
Frankly, this franchise is a miracle. It should be similar to the fate of blatant money grab franchises like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween from the 80s and 90s, since they all have multiple sequels that reaches or even surpasses ten, but somehow, it becomes a blockbuster moneymaker despite its many flaws. As for the moment it jumps the shark, I personally think it happens at the sixth movie, because while it might not fit the traditional definition of the term, as the box office numbers remains strong afterwards, this is the point where everyone decides to disregard logic, and each subsequent release gets closer and closer to parody. However, for the more traditional definition, it is definitely F9, because parody is finally reached, and box office numbers has suffered immediately afterwards.
There are likely two more movies in the franchise, but so far, I will rate it at 5.5/10. The first three movies are really bad, but it starts to find itself in the fourth one, as the budget is bigger, and more importantly, there is a plan. From that point on, they are mostly enjoyable mindless popcorn flicks. That said, I am not sure I will ever recommend it to people, because I just spent over 20 hours to finish this franchise, and it feels more like a chore than entertainment. There are a couple of enjoyable movies, for sure, but they are not worth it to get into the franchise for, since they get very repetitive and tiresome even after just two. However, I am also not sure they can be enjoyed as standalone fares either, because one needs to at least watch the first one to understand the basic outline of that universe, but I honestly cannot recommend it to anyone in good conscience.
