F9 is, at times, ridiculous, scattershot and laughably over-the-top. But, the film's self-awareness, seasoned cast and the return of a confident Justin Lin in the director's chair produced a genuinely fun blockbuster that feels more like an experience than a film.
Following the events of The Fate of the Furious, F9 sees Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) retired from their action-packed lives. After being reunited with their old teammates Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), they soon find themselves hunting down a mysterious device known as Aries -- which gives the user the ability to hack any computer on the planet. Initially, Dom refused to join them for the mission, but he reconsiders when he discovers that his estranged brother Jakob (John Cena) is involved in the theft and the capture of the previous film's antagonist Cipher (Charlize Theron). Dom also learns that Jakob plans to hijack every major weapon on Earth.
The action film has plenty of twists and turns but sometimes it chooses not to explain a plot development. All of that would be precious time wasted when there's plenty of explosions, gunfights and gunfights during explosions to fit into two-and-a-half-hour runtime. Returning to the franchise he helped reinvigorate, Lin is constantly trying to one-up himself in terms of the film's scope and effects, playing out a mix of straightforward fights and action sequences for pure laughs. The opening action sequence alone is probably as climatic as the final act of most films; but, here, it results in an unsurprising amount of mayhem and slapstick comedy.
After surviving so much in the franchise's previous movies, F9's characters have more or less accepted their invulnerability, with Dom effectively becoming the Hulk whenever he needs to be. However, the knowing charm of much of the cast (especially Gibson, Emmanuel, and a brief appearance by Helen Mirren, who are very aware of the film they're in and having a blast going all-out with their characters) helps keep things afloat. However, the action reaches such a ridiculous peak that it's impossible to not realize just how wild everything has become. A series that once had its characters trying to steal DVD players from a moving truck now has super-magnets that shoot cars through buildings, giant men tackling each other through walls and multiple stealth jets -- and that's before they leave Earth's orbit.
However, none of this is necessarily bad. The action is often clear and crisp, even when it obviously uses CGI. The few smaller moments that are hidden throughout the film, such as the young Dom (Vinnie Bennett) being arrested for the first time, or the sight of Roman and Tej sharing a moment in the most ridiculous place ever, actually work quite well. In favor of keeping its momentum going, the film glosses over entire sections of plot and recaps roughly two film's worth of backstory into a couple of sentences. The story itself is the most basic possible, with Jakob getting little character motivation outside "He's Dom... but evil," while his criminal partner Otto (a completely wasted Thue Ersted Rasmussen) is entirely forgettable -- outside of a bizarre scene comparing himself to Star Wars characters with Cipher.
In the strictest terms, this is not a great film. The plot is all over the place and there are few stakes, which can make the CGI-heavy sequences feel toothless. Despite these flaws, the film still manages to be entertaining. In a sense, this is very much a "rollercoaster" film, light on set-up and completely dependant on its execution. Although not every action beat succeeds, it still depicts a solid series of exciting action sequences. While it may not be the best film of 2021 or even the best film in its series, F9 is still a wholly ridiculous and enjoyable experience.
Directed by Justin Lin, F9 stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron. The film arrives in theaters June 25.