A strong story. A compelling antagonist. A return to form.

For the most part.

I technically went to two theaters to go see this today. The first, to see in 4DX. Due to certain circumstances and feeling nauseous after 10 minutes of my seat shaking, I went to the AMC near me that is essentially my second home. And I think that was the best way to see this.

Unapologetically, I am a big F&F fan. The way the series intertwines its stories with character being it strongest element is what keeps me coming back time and time again. After 10 entries, of course they are retconning a previous favorite entry. It’s smart on paper to continue to get people in the theater. What’s better is that they actually pull it off! This gives Jason Momoa the opportunity to have a legit reason to be upset. Better yet, the way he portrays this as a sadistic villain is ultimately the highlight of this film. It is true when people compare him to the Joker and has become the best villain of this franchise. I didn’t ever think that anyone would be able to beat Owen Shaw from Fast & Furious 6.

The best way to explain the movie is that it is a greatest hits of all of the previous entries. This can make the overall movie quite enjoyable between callbacks and reusing some prior plot points, but remixing it to fit a different narrative, which honestly was something I was worried about. No spoilers, but the movie’s trailers definitely felt like it was going to reuse the same plots of 7 & 8. While they do, it does feel like a newer entry rather than a rehash of what came before, and I give credit to franchise director newcomer Louis Leterrier. He came in and give the franchise the new life it needed. While I think F9 was pretty good at best, Leterrier succeeded in making this entry feel more grounded. Between the way everything is shot & edited, and how certain characters have good character arcs, I feel confident with Leterrier bringing this franchise to the finish line.

Where the movie begins to feel like the gas is getting empty is within certain plot points. Things can feel very jumpy at times, especially when it cuts back to characters off doing something else. There were moments where I had to spend the time to remember how they got to where they are, which can make catching up with the overall movie a bit of a challenge. Too many characters are introduced to the point where I feel like were not necessary, and could have helped bring that production budget down. Finally, some character developments in the movie appear odd when looking back at it and I don’t think it will age well going forward.

Overall, this is a great addition to this franchise. The movie could have had wrapped its ending a bit better and there are certainly a little too many characters to follow, including new ones. In the end, I think fans will feel satisfied. I know I am going to be at the drawing board for the next 2 years until the next entry comes out trying to figure out how it will wrap up based on how this one ends.

VERDICT: 4/5 (Great)