Fast and Furious 8: The Fate of the Furious – Preview

I kind of hate the idea of a Fast & Furious movie without Paul Walker. And I say that as one of the few people who thought that Tokyo Drift was a good film and worthy of being part of this bonkers franchise. That said, I’m genuinely excited to see The Fate of the Furious.

While I’m not too keen on the “good guy gone bad” plot (especially when I’m attached to the character and their strong sense of family loyalties), it poses an interesting question about where the line between right and wrong should be drawn. In the latest instalment of the Furious franchise, Dominic Touretto (Vin Diesel) is pressured by a mysterious woman called Cipher (Charlize Theron) to go rogue and return to the world of crime that he tried so hard to escape. To add insult to injury, the movie starts with Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) on their honeymoon, and the newly exonerated crew finally having found a semblance on a normal life.

Universal has confirmed that this will be one of the last Furious movies, kicking off the final trilogy of the franchise that seemed as if it would never end and the usual suspects are all present and accounted for, plus a few newbies to round out the madhouse. Dwayne Johnson returns in The Fate of the Furious as Hobbs, alongside Ludacris as the ever-hilarious Tej and Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw. And this time, Shaw is on the crew’s side. Mostly. Kurt Russell takes a turn as Mr. Nobody, a risky move for the directors given that slick comedy and spectacular car chases aren’t exactly Russell’s forte. Whether he can hold his own against an all-star action movie cast remains to be seen.

Last summer, it was revealed that Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren has been cast as Deckard Shaw’s mother, although she sadly won’t be showcasing her impressive driving skills (last seen on UK’s Top Gear, behind the wheel of the “reasonably priced car”). A new TV spot from Universal Pictures shows Touretto meeting with Mirren’s as-yet-unnamed character, who tells him that she has a feeling he’s about to suggest something “very wicked”. Shaw is seen receiving a head slap from his mother and the video ends with Mirren stating, “That’s my boy”.

The Guardian described the trailer of The Fate of the Furious as a “reassuring, obscene platter of murder”, which sounds about right. Fate of the Furious looks to be pretty standard fare for the series and will feature everything we love about it, from insane car chases to throwaway one liners. One of the coolest scenes from the trailer shows Cipher hacking an entire fleet of cars to take control – part of an attempt to debate the serious matter of digital terrorism and the potential for terrorist to turn out own cars against us.

Are we doing ourselves a favor by upping the tech stakes in our vehicles or will it turn out to be downfall in the end?