The Fate of the Furious was always going to have a hard time surpassing Furious 7, particularly because of the unexpectedly powerful and poignant way F7 dealt with the death of Paul Walker. And after dropping cars out of planes and jumping them between skyscrapers, how many more places can you put a car? Underwater, outer space, and cars that actually fly are likely the only automotive realms left to conquer. Watch the trailer for the Fate of the Furious below.
So where could the franchise go after F7? Adding a powerful, badass woman to the series with cyberterrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron) was a good move, though she spends too much of her time typing and looking at screens from the safety of a control room. Elevating Roy Hobbs (Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson) to an official FF family member is obviously an improvement, since history has shown that “more Rock” always equals “more awesome”. Some may say the same about Jason Statham, though his character Deckard’s newfound alliance with the family requires ignoring the fact that he previously murdered family member Han (Sung Kang). The addition of Scott Eastwood as the protégé to Kurt Russell’s Mr. Nobody is mostly a wash, likely setting up Eastwood as the blue-eyed pretty boy to fill Walker’s shoes.
But after watching F8, and with Vin Diesel announcing that F8 is the first film in a trilogy that will end the franchise, I think the filmmakers may have something else in mind to evolve and finish the series. And it may be even more difficult to pull off than transforming street racing films into international spy/heist capers.
The FF films — with their fast cars, barely-dressed women, and logic-defying, over-the-top action — have always been squarely aimed at teenagers and teenagers at heart. But the very real death of Walker during the making of the biggest, silliest, most joyful film in the franchise was a cold bucket of reality that the filmmakers, cast, and fans had to face. The fact that Walker died while going 94 mph in the type of souped-up speedster that is the signature and lifeblood of the FF series only made that reality more harsh.
But instead of killing off Walker’s character, the makers of F7 retired him by having him embrace the joys and responsibilities of fatherhood. No longer would Brian O’Connor risk his life chasing the rush of speed, bullets, and defending his makeshift, motorhead family. He had a wife and son — a real family — to protect and provide for. Put another way, he grew up.
Which brings us back to F8. The film’s biggest hook is the idea that Dom (Diesel), the crew’s father figure, has gone bad and betrayed his family of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), and now Hobbs. It’s certainly an intriguing premise, but it totally shatters the theme of “family above everything” that is as vital to the FF franchise as fast cars. While having O’Connor leave the crew to be with his wife and son was a smart, elegant, moving way to deal with Walker’s death, F8 unfortunately builds on this idea that there is a bright line between a “family” of friends and real family — something the previous seven films consistently and repeatedly reject.
So what do I think all this means? That perhaps, after sixteen years, the Fast & Furious franchise may attempt to grow up.
Now don’t get me wrong — F8 is still full of the huge, fast, car-smashing action that fans of the franchise love and will continue to hurl money at. But with F. Gary Gray — the director of the critically acclaimed Straight Outta Compton — at the helm, the action feels slightly more reality-based (dare I say grounded?) than previous installments, which had audiences both laughing and cheering at stunts that stubbornly defied logic, physics, and the limitations of human bodies. There’s a bit less joy, brightness, color, and mischief at defying authority in F8, which is fitting for a movie about a father figure who turns on his adoptive family and puts the safety of the world at risk in the process. While there’s still fun to be had (particularly from the Rock), I doubt many will say that F8 is more fun than F7. And it definitely has fewer slow-motion close ups of butts.
The Harry Potter films, tracking the growth of their young audience, got darker and more mature later in the series as its heroes grew into adolescence and confronted a world of very real threats. Marvel’s franchises — like Iron Man, Captain America, and the Avengers — have done the same as their heroes grapple with the realities of civilian casualties, PTSD, world-ending threats, the military-industrial complex, and politicians and a public demanding accountability.
Will the Fast & Furious films attempt to do the same in its final installments with less absurd action and a re-examination of the concept of family? Can a franchise that’s remained stubbornly, joyfully juvenile pull it off? And will its fans go along for that ride?