F9: The Fast Saga

“After Michelle Rodriguez called out F8 for its dated machismo, F9: The Fast Saga regains lost traction.”

Title: F9: The Fast Saga (2021)
Director: Justin Lin 👨🏻🇺🇸
Writers: Daniel Casey 👨🏼🇺🇸 and Justin Lin 👨🏻🇺🇸 based on the characters by Gary Scott Thompson 👨🏼🇺🇸

Reviewed by Elaine 👩🏻🇺🇸

—SPOILERS AHEAD—

Technical: 3/5

There must exist some drinking game that involves taking shots—with Corona, of course—every time Dom (Vin Diesel) utters the word “family”. Since its inception in 2001, the Fast and Furious series has centered around this idea of family, both blood and found. F9: The Fast Saga follows suit, achieving some necessary course-correction after a flawed The Fate of the Furious (2018), which suffered not only from a glut of CG-laden effects but also what seemed a fundamental misunderstanding of the characters and their dynamics.

That F9 returns to form is mostly thanks to director Justin Lin, who previously helmed the series from Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift (2006) to Fast 6 (2013). Although F9 follows the unspoken rule of action sequels having to be bigger and more...explosion-ey, Lin at least moves in favor of practical stunts when possible. More importantly, he tries to earn these action level-ups with emotional storylines. Unfortunately, any payoff gets lost through convoluted narratives or bogged-down flashbacks.

Moreover, F9 never gives us an instance where we’re worried that the heroes won’t win, or that they’ll even get out of this with more than a few scratches. And now that we’ve had fan-favorite character Han (Sung Kang) resurrected, it lessens the impact of any death that might happen because it feels about as reversible as an Infinity Gauntlet snap.

But despite its narrative pitfalls, F9 never fails to entertain. Lin knows exactly how to handle action sequences that range from straightforward to cleverly choreographed, and you can practically feel his glee at being back in the seat as he concocts harebrained schemes for the characters to accomplish. Sure, nothing storytelling-wise surprises the audience, but maybe we need something comforting as many of us are intrepidly returning to the theaters for the first time in years. And there’s nothing more comforting than being able to join Dom and his crew as they gather for another victory BBQ in his backyard.

The Fast and Furious series’ sweet spot has always been a self-aware embrace of its own ridiculousness, while somehow remaining in the realm of possibility. F9 admittedly crosses that line not even a half hour into the film, but thematically it feels like we’re back with the family we grew to love over the course of the franchise, setting us up for what’s sure to be a heartfelt and thrilling two-part finale.

Gender: 4/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES

Hearing an interview about putting women in the “front seat” of F9 initially made me leery of potential pandering, akin to the way Avengers: Endgame (2019) spends a scene arranging all its women together in support of Captain Marvel. But Lin has more subtlety than a Marvel movie, at least in the inclusion of women.

After Michelle Rodriguez called out F8 for its dated machismo, her character Letty regains lost traction. Even as Dom’s ride-or-die, she makes decisions independent of him, and has her own skill set and feelings separate from him. In fact, now she’s saving Dom from certain death.

Neither is Letty’s character the only woman to finally get some much-needed love from scriptwriters. In previous films, we were left wondering if Dom’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) was capable of fighting, as she was often the one left at home or relegated to the sidelines. We finally get our answer in F9: In one of the film’s best fight scenes, Mia gets her hands dirty in a rough and tumble skirmish. Furthermore, Letty holds a conversation with her as her sister-in-law which serves as an important emotional anchor.

Teammate and tech savant Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) also receives some more welcome screen time. In F7, she existed as a prize to be won by the male team members and in F8, served no discernible purpose. F9 finally takes her from behind the keyboard to behind the wheel, symbolizing her actual inclusion into the team. Neither is her driving just a consolation prize: A combination of Ramsey’s brains and driving technique culminate in the final and most climactic stunt of the film.

Unfortunately, these strides are undercut with the way F9 criminally underutilizes Charlize Theron. It’s hardly a first offense; in her return as super hacker-villain Cipher, we still never see her behind the wheel. Worse yet, she spends almost all of F9’s running time in a glass prison doing even less than before—only simpering as she bats her eyelashes and shows off her immaculate eye shadow. Theron could do so much more as Cipher, instead of just operating a drone from the safety of a bunker. The Fast series could honestly use a better villain, too, so this seems like a no-brainer.

In a broader sense, the Fast and Furious series had become synonymous with a routine montage of women’s butts and boobs during street racing scenes. While this sets a low bar, F9 is the first in the series to actually refrain from subjecting its audience to such an overt male gaze. These are baby steps, but Lin’s certainly facing the right direction at least.

Race: 5/5

The Fast series remains one of the most racially diverse franchises in Hollywood, with representation on both sides of the camera. Our previous review of F8 gives a breakdown of the main cast, which mostly holds—minus Dwayne Johnson, who is Black Samoan, and with the addition of Kang, Korean American. F9 is also directed by Taiwanese American filmmaker Lin.

F9 also thankfully starts to address the wrongs incurred by its predecessor, which rallied a cry of #JusticeForHan and was brought to larger attention by Jen Yamato for the LA Times. Although F7’s impetus was seeking revenge against Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) for murdering Han, F8 not only forgave Shaw, but made no mention of Han at all.

I’m going to take a moment to dive into this, not least because the character of Han is near and dear to my own heart. His introduction to the series in 2006’s F3 heralded the appearance of not only the coolest character of the series (with the best hair), but one of the only cool Asian American characters in mainstream media, years before Steven Yeun made his debut as Glenn in The Walking Dead in 2010. Han’s effortless swagger stood in defiance of the confused executives who asked, “How do we make an Asian American dude cool? What does that mean?” So to erase Han’s presence felt like a gut punch.

As Philbert Dye, a Filipino film critic, puts it: “They killed off the one Asian character, and now they’re working with another white man. … These movies are not supposed to be super thematically consistent, but come on man, that was basic.”

When Lin heard of #JusticeForHan, he told Variety, “This is one of the most beloved characters, and it felt like it was just being treated as if he was nothing. So, when I came back, I thought, ‘Well, we’re gonna have to do something about it.’” While Han’s resurrection in F9 amounts to a hand wave, it still feels like restitution after the events of F8. Besides F9’s stinger hints at a welcome larger role for Han in future outings.

Mediaversity Grade: B 4.00/5

Although far from flawless, F9 brings us back to the series’ core values: ludicrous stunts and down-to-earth monologues about family. More than anything, it feels good to be back in the seat with Dom’s crew. F9 sets up the two-part finale well, and it’s difficult to say how they’ll one-up themselves after reaching the final frontier of space. However, with Lin already confirmed to direct, we can rest assured in his capable hands.

Like F9: The Fast Saga? Try these other automotive adrenaline rushes.

Grade: BLiJuly 10, 2021Great for: Race