When Is A Superhero Movie Not A Superhero Movie..."The Fate of the Furious"

The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell,

Directed by F. Gary Gray

The Story:

You've seen the trailers.  Dom (Diesel) has turned his back on his team, his family. Now it's time to finally find out why.

If you've been there for the first 7 installments, you'll have no problem transitioning into the final trilogy of the Fast and Furious saga.

Yep, Vin's got plans to make 2 more, 10 total, to conclude a little street racing saga that has grown bigger and more popular with the passing of each year and each installment.

Especially once they infused the cast with new blood and new thrills starting with Fast Five and the reassembling of the largest cast pitted against Special Agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) as the only guy who could take them down.

With each passing chapter, the stakes have gotten higher and the stunts more elaborate.

And yes, it's the 2nd greatest superhero universe, right behind Marvel.

Suck it DC.

: )

Now if you don't like these movies, and I can't even fathom that prospect in all sincerity, then this movie isn't for you.

The only thing missing is Paul Walker, but there's nothing that you can do about that. He shared his vision with Vin Diesel, and they're honoring that memory as best they can.

Enjoy the ride, it's a lot of fun.

Final Grade: B+

Travel Back to Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear..."The Fast and the Furious"

Vroom Vroom!

The Story:

Undercover cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) attempts to infiltrate the street racing scene to get close to Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his gang.  It seems there have been some hijackings using street racing cars, and Brian needs to see if it's Toretto's group or someone else.  Naturally, it's not easy, and it's even harder when he falls in love with Dom's sister (Jordana Brewster).  What's an undercover cop to do?

A warning:

Kids, don't try this at home.  These are professional stunts on closed roads with professional drivers.

This warning will accompany the DVD release of this film, because apparently the American public are sheep and will mimic whatever they see in theaters.

: /

Anyhow, this is a fun picture to watch.  Pure popcorn movie with some excellent stuntwork and driving scenes throughout the film.  The world was a kinder, gentler place in 2001 when this hit the theaters that summer.

This probably cemented the course of stardom for both Walker and Diesel.  They had each worked on some films before, but I think this film serves as the coming out party for both that they were going to be around for a while.  Each have had varying degrees of success over the the next decade, but this film was a great lightning rod for the both of them.

Directed by Rob Cohen, he would be around the franchise (who knew it would be a franchise at the time?) for one film.

He knew a good thing when he had it though, and targeted the "star of the film", Vin Diesel for a film of his very own: xXx.

Walker would have to settle for a Fast and Furious sequel.

More on that....tomorrow!

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I already own it, and have now introduced it to the whole family.  It was well received.