F9, the latest Fast and Furious movie in the franchise, has been out for a while now. The AMC theater we went to placed it in one of the smaller venues this week, so if you want to see it in the theater, you should probably go in the next couple of weeks before it leaves. We are fortunate to have theaters with reclining seats, but this means the theaters hold fewer people. The smaller theater size at this AMC theater has six rows with 13 or 14 reclining seats in each row. Customers must make a reservation for seats. Each group of people must have at least one seat between each group. I say all this to tell you, this theater was full last night. By my own observations, people are starting to go back to see the movies.
AMC allows customers to pre-order their concessions online before arrival so that all you have to do is pick it up in a bag at the concession counter. For the last two weeks in a row, the theater has not had any butter or popcorn salt due to supply problems. We are experiencing supply problems in a variety of industries lately.
Anyway, on to the review. If you like car acrobatics and car chases, or if you just like cars, you will like F9. I mean, who goes to a Fast and Furious movie for an intriguing plot? Out of all the Fast and Furious movies, I don’t think this one was the best, but it was OK. The plot is a bit dubious and some of the scenes made me raise an eyebrow. A scene in space was something that Jeff Bezos would not even be able to pull off! If you came to see the cars and what animation can do with them, you have come to the right place. The car acrobatics begin within the first 15 minutes as the plot is set up (assuming you can recognize a plot).
Vin Diesel reprises his role as Dom Toretto, who is the main character. There are other familiar faces in the cast, including Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster and others. Somehow, the story takes the audience to cities around the world with no real explanation of how they got there or how any of these places relate to the story as they search for one half of a mysterious orb that somehow creates a computer virus that turns off all technology in the world. I am going to call it the “Ball of Doom.” There was one city, I had never heard of and had no clue what country it is in. The action scenes are sprinkled with some corny humor, but the one-liners will create a giggle or two. The movie ends with the theme of family, which is a very minor focus in all of the movies.
All in all, I give a thumbs up on the action scenes and a thumbs down on the plot. I think this balances out into just a “meh.”
