I saw the first Fast and Furious movie when it came out on DVD in 2001 with my dad. He was a car guy growing up, so I missed some of the dialogue in the film with stories of quarter mile heroics, and Dukes of Hazard stunting in small town Alberta. I wasn’t a car guy like him. I have driven cars, but after seeing these movies I know automatics don’t count, and certainly not a hand me down granny car I got from…well, my granny. Seeing Paul Walker’s character mix with the undercover street racing world made me think anything is possible. I still can’t drive standard, but I tried once in a grain truck, and once in a friend’s car who was drunk but gave me step by step instructions. I drive an SUV now.

This is now the 8th film in the franchise and I became personally invested many films ago. I grew up seeing these movies with family, friends, and now with my wife. How appropriate that this franchise just won the 2017 MTV Generation Award. In addition to pointing out how boring my daily commute is, the films continue to highlight the importance of family, diversity, pimping your ride, and driver’s training. Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster did not have their driver’s licenses or learner’s permits before filming began on the first film. I took driver’s training and got my license before watching film 4. Not to prepare for the movie, I just didn’t work from home. Try not to pay too much attention to the trailer for this film, (way too much is revealed), but do see this movie…and be careful driving afterwards.

Adding Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham to earlier films in the franchise allowed more action scenes not tied to car racing, these two know how to throw down. They also have strong chemistry, beaking each other off adds a fun, whose side are you on dynamic. As with the action sequences in each film, the banter is elevated in this one, and I want a spin off! The riffing between Tyrese Gibson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges has always balanced the more serious moments too. As much as these movies are about cars and family, I always appreciated the ying and yang dynamic. Dom was the criminal and Brian was the lawman. Scott Eastwood joins the franchise, balancing the older Kurt Russell, who was a hero of his growing up. He also grew up with cinema royalty as his real life father is Clint Eastwood who gave him a tip about on set behavior. Do not race back to your trailer after your scene is done, get to know the crew and learn about the craft of film making. Also, shut up and listen. My favorite song from the soundtrack is “Good Life” by G-Eazy and Kehlani. With 2 singers the balance is there (ying/yang) and it puts out a positive message, “We put the bad in the past, now we alright.”

Links

(please do not continue reading if you have not seen the movie and do not want to read a spoiler)

This film has noticeably fewer bootie shots than in past entries, but thank you to all of the extras in Cuba for your contributions. While the production was partly filmed in Cuba, filming in Cleveland and Atlanta would be used in place of New York and Germany. In the real world, there are cars that drive themselves and some have been hacked like what we saw in this film. Please car companies learn from this and keep it from happening. I realize this is a movie where anything can happen, (Hobbs knocks out a prison guard wearing a helmet with a head butt), but seriously don’t let this happen. To the makers of the trailer, please also don’t let this happen again. Way too much was revealed in it! You see parts of every scene. The Cuba car, Germany wrecking ball, prison, Cipher history and kiss, remote control cars, 2 flight suits landing in a plane, and nearly the entire ice sequence with all the vehicles, “We got a tank.” If you didn’t know a submarine was coming, it would be a killer way to end the film. Too bad we even know how Dom deals the finishing blow. Using footage and audio from the movie, picture a trailer starting like this instead…