The Fate of the Furious (Blu-ray) (Bonus Disc) (2017)

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General		Extras
Category	Action Adventure	Featurette-Behind The Scenes-The Cuban Spirit Featurette-Behind The Scenes-In The Family Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Car Culture Featurette-Behind The Scenes-All About The Stunts Additional Footage-Extended Fight Scenes Audio Commentary-with Director F. Gary Gray Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Heating Up Iceland Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Wrecking Ball Featurette-Behind The Scenes-How To Stop A Toretto Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Touring The Toy Shop Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Behind The Scenes Family
Rating
Year Of Production	2017
Running Time	135:57
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	F. Gary Gray
Studio Distributor	Universal Sony	Starring	Dwayne Johnson Vin Diesel Jason Statham Michelle Rodriguez Tyrese Gibson Ludacris Charlize Theron Kurt Russell Scott Eastwood Nathalie Emmanuel Helen Mirren Luke Evans
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	$29.95	Music	Brian Tyler

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS-X English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    It remains baffling that a terrible movie like 2001’s The Fast and the Furious could beget a few equally terrible sequels before suddenly transforming into one of the most profitable franchises of all time. As a matter of fact, it’s about as baffling as the primary characters graduating from street-racing reprobates who steal DVD players to skilled mercenaries saving the world from nuclear weapons. The Fast & Furious series probably should have been retired after 2015’s Furious 7, especially with star Paul Walker tragically dying halfway through production, but its $1.5 billion box office gross guaranteed further sequels. The start of a proposed new trilogy of Furious pictures, 2017’s The Fate of the Furious provides what fans are after: cars go fast, there are explosions, tone-deaf rap is blasted on the soundtrack, the scale is enormous, and credulity is strained to breaking point. However, unlike the leaden Furious 7, this seventh sequel actually manages to provide exactly the type of high-octane, entertaining action ride that it promises on the tin, despite its many flaws.

    While honeymooning in Cuba as he contemplates starting a family with his main squeeze Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is visited by powerful cyber-terrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron), who blackmails him into turning against his “family.” DSS Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) recruits Toretto and his crew to retrieve an EMP in Berlin, but the now-rogue Dom betrays the team after the extraction, stealing the weapon for Cipher and promptly disappearing. The act leaves Dom’s crew - including Letty, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Tej (Ludacris) - bewildered that their faithful leader has ostensibly betrayed them. Enter covert government operative Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) and his offsider, Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood), who enlist their help to track down Cipher and Dom, and stop a nuclear war. For extra muscle, Mr. Nobody also recruits former enemy Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) who wants revenge against Cipher.

    What distinguishes Fate from prior instalments in the franchise is Dom going rogue, effectively reducing him to a supporting role (and keeping him as far away from The Rock as possible...), which provides a welcome break from the standard Fast & Furious formula. However, this aspect of the storyline is a bit of a letdown on the whole. See, it’s made explicitly clear from the very beginning that Dom is being manipulated against his will, taking away any sense of intrigue or gravity that the story arc might have otherwise provided. Dom’s “family” are kept in the dark about his motives the whole time, but the reveal to the audience comes far too soon into the game. This is not Captain America: Civil War. Furthermore, it seems that returning screenwriter Chris Morgan (his sixth consecutive Furious sequel) still hasn’t mastered pacing or dialogue. Outside of some uproarious macho bantering (which was likely improvised), dialogue is stilted and uninteresting for the most part, and blatant exposition is lathered on. This is meant to be a fun action blockbuster, but these movies continually insist on unnecessarily exceeding the two-hour mark, becoming bogged down with flaccid dramatic subplots that are difficult to care about.

    Pointing out the movie’s lapses in logic, as well as its proud defiance of the laws of physics, is about as futile as writing a review of a critic-proof blockbuster. Suffice it to say, The Fate of the Furious is a huge, expensive cartoon, though new director F. Gary Gray often manages to make it look just real enough to sell the illusion. It’s easy to understand why Gray was recruited for Fate, as he gained experience with car action on 2003’s The Italian Job remake (starring Statham and Theron), and he directed Diesel in the underrated A Man Apart. However, there’s still far too much CGI in a franchise that was previously so reliant on practical effects, and there are a few “nuke the fridge” moments which will likely have audiences roaring with laughter. Of course, the flick gets creative with its primary action sequences - Cipher even creates an army of “zombie” cars by hacking into self-driving vehicles, and the finale features a f***ing submarine because why the hell not? There’s enough mayhem here to please loyal fans of the franchise, though it’s hard to shake the feeling that all of the big set-pieces are car-related because of pure contrivance and obligation - it would be interesting to see the franchise branch out a bit more. (Also, why continue to use beautiful multi-million dollar vehicles like Lamborghinis for dangerous jobs when they’re just going to be destroyed?)

    It goes without saying that Deckard’s sudden switch to the “good guy” side strains all sorts of credibility, especially given that Deckard killed one of Dom’s guys, and Dom left Deckard’s brother almost disabled. But at this point in the franchise, and with Hobbs’ allegiances having already changed, you just have to roll with the punches. It does seem that the arrival of a new, worse bad guy means that the gang’s previous nemesis gets an invitation to one of the “family” cookouts. Still, Statham is so much fun here that he’ll likely win you over, and his magnificent solo action sequence during the final act stands as the best set-piece in the movie, even though it doesn’t involve cars in any way. It is pleasing to see Statham being given the chance to show off his insane martial arts skills as he fights his way through dozens of nameless goons.

    This series is no stranger to humour, but the studiously unfunny Gibson (who’s still completely useless) is usually given most of the “comedic” material. Luckily, Fate does right by letting the likes of Johnson and Statham pick up the slack. These two are, after all, highly adept at comedy but are rarely given the opportunity to flex these muscles, and it’s an absolute joy to watch their riotous bantering as the pair try to hold back from pummelling one another. Diesel remains something of a dead-weight at this point, and could easily be ditched in favour of Johnson, Statham and Russell. (A spin-off with all three would be very enticing.) As a matter of fact, Diesel is the only actor who doesn’t seem to understand what type of movie he’s in. Even the likes of Eastwood seem to be having a good time, but Diesel delivers his dialogue (including his bizarre pronunciation of the oft-repeated word “family”) as if he’s appearing in an Oscar-calibre drama. At least Tokyo Drift star Lucas Black is kept away.

    As perhaps is to be expected, the absence of the late Paul Walker in the group dynamic is really felt, as he functioned as the necessary glue to hold all the other personalities together as a unit. Certainly, it was wise to exclude Walker’s Brian O’Conner given the circumstances, but none of the other performers can replace him, and the group is without a solid anchor. Still, efforts from most of the ensemble are acceptable, with Johnson again showing why he’s become such a huge star in recent years, and Russell making a good impression as per usual. Theron could be mistaken for a James Bond villain due to her hammy performance here, even sporting dreadlocks to top off the image. However, Emmanuel’s Ramsey (carried over after her intro in Furious 7) has no purpose, and only serves to beef up an already crowded ensemble. On a more positive note, Helen Mirren pops in for a brief cameo, espousing a hilariously uncivilised British accent that will remind you why we all love her so much. Mirren’s scenes are some of the most charming in the whole movie.

    The Fast & Furious franchise reached its peak with 2011’s surprisingly solid Fast Five, and it’s only been downhill from there, unable to maintain the same level of quality. Still, the fact that this eighth instalment is watchable in any way has to be some type of miracle, and it’s worth watching if you’re seeking a fun time without any brain power required. At this point in the franchise, however, it would be far more interesting to see a Fast & Furious sequel which doesn’t abide by the “bigger is better” adage, and drastically tones down the scale in favour of intensity. After all, movies like Bullitt, The Driver and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive didn’t need $250 million budgets to provide thrilling car chases. (Plus, the original movie only carried a modest $38 million price-tag.) The Fate of the Furious may be enjoyable in fits and starts, but it’s much too long and over-the-top, in need of some discipline. At least two more instalments are imminent, which is preposterous for a franchise as hit-and-miss as this.

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Disc 1 - Blu-ray:

The Cuban Spirit (HD; 8:04)

In The Family (HD)

• Betraying the Family: Cipher and Dom (6:35) - Ludacris delivers the cheesy intro for this behind the scenes extra, which as the title implies is all about Cipher and Dom. The actors talk about the characters and their motivations, but it's amusing to watch them take the material so seriously.
• Leaderless: A Family Lost (5:00) - Rather than focusing on the crew and their respective abilities, this whole segment is all about the crew not believing that Dom went rogue (a phrase said every three seconds here). Diesel must love the ego stroke.
• Shaw Family Values (3:56) - Perhaps the funnest segment on the disc, this is all about the Shaw family, as played by Statham, Luke Evans and Helen Mirren. Mirren and Evans are interviewed, but Statham is curiously left out.
• Meet the Nobodys (5:45) - Apparently Russell and Eastwood's characters constitute a "family," too... As usual, all of the interviewees speak in clichés. Of limited interest.
  

Car Culture (HD)

• The Hero Cars of 'Fast' (10:24) - This segment (mercifully free of a cheesy EPK intro) runs down many of the cars used by the primary characters in the movie. It goes through the modifications required and the destruction said cars endured.
• Zombie Cars (5:35) - Ludacris return for another fluffy intro ("Take a look at how this insane sequence was made!") preceding this featurette about the creative "zombie cars" set-piece. Again, it's nice to see practical effects and real cars being used to pull off the carnage.
• The Ripsaw (5:22) - A brief behind the scenes piece on the ripsaw military vehicle seen in the Iceland sequence. The crew all wax lyrical about it, and there's plenty of footage of the thing in action.
  

All About The Stunts (HD)

• Malecón Street Race (6:15) - We've already had a featurette on shooting in Cuba, but this is a more focused segment on the street race itself, from prepping to shooting. The crew talk about choosing to up the ante whilst getting back to the street racing roots of the franchise (heh), and there's plenty of behind the scenes footage.
• Iceland Stunt Diaries (6:45) - Another behind the scenes segment about the big Iceland-set action sequence. The practical effects are still great to see, though of course the submarine was digital. Again it's too brief and fluffy to provide a substantial glimpse at making the set-piece, but the interviews and behind-the-scenes footage nevertheless remains interesting enough.
• The Streets of New York (5:27) - The crew explain that NYC is a legendarily tricky place to film car chases, due to the density of the city and the restrictions on speed. The challenges of shooting in Time Square are touched upon, and of course there's plenty of on-set footage.
  

Extended Fight Scenes (HD; 5:01)

Audio Commentary with Director F. Gary Gray

Disc 2 - Bonus DVD:

Heating Up Iceland (SD; 6:12)

Wrecking Ball (SD; 5:29)

How To Stop A Toretto (SD; 5:24)

Touring The Toy Shop (SD; 7:30)

Behind The Scenes Family (SD; 4:03)

    The American release does not come with a bonus disc. There is a Walmart exlusive which does offer the same featurettes available on our bonus disc, but only as a digital download on the service VUDU. With this in mind, I'm giving the win to the local edition, as there's less of a muckaround with these extras and a physical disc trumps all.

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