BY CHRISTOPHER STAMM
GUEST movie REVIEWER
F9 The Fast Saga (Now showing in theatres)
Rated PG-13 – For language, violence and adult themes.
Suspension of disbelief is defined as the intentional avoidance of critical thinking or logic in examining something unreal or impossible in reality, such as a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for the sake of enjoyment.
Read the above twice and embrace it before attending a screening of F9.
To be honest, the Fast and the Furious saga is not my cup of tea, but people seem to love them, hence why after 20 years, we have had nine and from what I am hearing, there will be at least two more (and if Vin Diesel gets his way, one will be a musical, which I do believe is a sign of the end times).
So, that being said, this review is on the merits of its popularity.
F9 brings back much of the cast of the previous films for another action-packed romp doing what they do best: drive, outwit bad guys, and quip one liners to one another. Vin Diesel (The Riddick Film) is back as Dominic Toretto, and joining him this time is John Cena (The WWE) as his estranged bad guy brother, Jacob. Fun fact: John Cena is looking more and more like Ernest P. Worrell every day. Just sayin’.
Joining them are a cavalcade of supporting actors, including Charlize Theron (Mad Max Fury Road) and, oddly enough, Helen Mirren (The Queen).
F9 is fun, the action is solid and well-coordinated, and some of the performances were actually passable.
But let’s be clear: Nobody is going to see this movie because of its Academy Award potential; they are going to see it because of my first paragraph – the suspension of disbelief – and for the sheer fun of it. And after the year we all have had, F9 is a great distraction. I know the crowd I saw it with was howling with delight.
F9 gets a solid three out of five stars for its distracting potential and, I am embarrassed to say, the fun of watching a Fiero fly. (See it. Then you will understand.)