In the first really spectacular action scene of F9, our heroes realize they need to drive through a literal minefield at 80mph or more — any slower, and they’ll get caught in the explosions when the mines go off. So zip over them they do, at exhilarating speed, leaving fantastic destruction in their wake. It’s the movie’s approach to storytelling in a nutshell: If you can just move fast enough, with any luck you’ll outpace the mess before it can catch up to you.
For another movie, that might be a flaw. For F9, it’s a selling point. As the series has grown more and more baroque over the years, with enough fake deaths to rival any daytime soap and action so ridiculous it makes your typical Marvel climax look grounded, some of its more recent installments have seemed to be running on fumes. But F9, directed by Justin Lin — the man who helped shepherd the franchise from cheesy Point Break knockoff to nine-figure action extravaganza in the first place — reaches heights of absurdity that break through into the transcendent. By the time one character is reassuring another that “as long as we obey the laws of physics, we’ll be fine” while simultaneously breaking every law of physics, there’s nothing to do but sit back and gape with glee. Read more…
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