F9 (2021)

Director: Justin Lin

Notable Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Thue Ested Rasmussen, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, Anna Sawai, Kurt Russell, Lucas Black, Shad Moss

Also known as: F9: The Fast Saga

 

While one could argue the diminishing returns in quality of the Fast & Furious & Franchise continues to plague newer entries, there is something special in how much F9 tries to rectify so much of the misfiring that happened in Fate of the Furious. Even the soap opera-inspired long-lost brother plot or the return of Han (Justice is served, nerds) are addressed in a way that says "we know, we botched a lot of the family stuff in the last one, but we're trying harder now." The intent is amicable, if not flawed in its own right. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Director: James Gunn

Notable Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Kurt Russell, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone

After the disappointing leap into the mystic and psychedelic realms of Marvel with last year’s uninspired (but still fun) run at Doctor Strange, it is a much needed boost for my moral for this shared cinematic universe to be returning to James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy for Vol. 2. Initial reviews and reports seemed generally favorable, but with my sheer delight in the Ice Pirates-esque humor, heart, and spectacle of the film first film I was ready for whatever this film was going to throw at me. Truthfully, it throws A LOT at the audience too. Not only does this film attempt to rekindle the kind of action, drama, and silliness that made the first one a sleeper hit for Marvel, but it also goes by it in the classic blockbuster sequel approach: more is more. More jokes, more drama, more plots, and more characters. It even adds in more than that. It runs with the psychedelic nature that Doctor Strange used and gives it grounding, being bombastic in its designs and color schemes all the while delivering the fun movie that people want to see. The execution is not quite as efficient as the original Guardians was, but for a sequel that was attempting to find the same balance and figure out why the original one worked so well, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is still a major Marvel success and one that pushes the franchise within the franchise into new territory while still retaining its core.

Fate of the Furious, The (2017)

Director: F. Gary Gray

Notable Cast: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren

There are now eight films in the Fast & Furious franchise so I’m not sure a review of the latest entry, The Fate of the Furious, is going to convince people one way or the other to enjoy what it must offer. At this point, either you buy into the entire concept or you don’t. The way that this franchise has embraced its own ridiculousness is kind of brilliant. I’ve said this before about the various sequels that I’ve reviewed for the site and for Fate (which I will refer to as F8 as an example of how it embraces its own outrageousness) is no different. In fact, it might even double down on giving its audience what it wants: over the top characters doing over the top things in over the top situations while blowing up things in over the top manners. In the whole, while I think F8 is not nearly as balanced as the previous handful of outings since the franchise shifted into full on action spectacle, it is a film that once again fires on all cylinders to entertain. Do we really need more than that?