Each sequel in the Fast & Furious franchise arrives with a lot of hype surrounding it. This often leads to fans comparing what the latest entry did better than previous titles, and F9 is no exception. The ninth installment in the series was Dominic Toretto’s most personal yet, as he faced off against estranged brother Jakob Toretto and the reemergence of archenemy Cipher.
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All things considered, it’s safe to say that F9 is a worthy entry in the franchise, bringing a lot of the trademark Fast & Furious qualities the series is known for. The Vin Diesel-led actioner also actually has a number of strong points in its favor to set it apart from the previous releases, and it’s worth taking a deeper look into what these aspects are.
The Characterization Of Dom
![Dominic Toretto stands in front of his car](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/dominic-toretto-feature-image-Cropped-1.jpg)
Dom’s role has been established long enough by this point for fans to know that he shows up in each movie knowing just about everything and coming out on top. However, F9 featured a great change in his character by revealing Dom’s days as a teenager and his relationship with Jakob.
Dom was shown at his most emotionally vulnerable as a scared young man who didn’t realize his brother wasn’t to blame for their father’s death. This turned Dom into a multifaceted protagonist and made him much less predictable.
Female Protagonists Getting Involved In The Action
Female characters have been relatively underrepresented in the Fast & Furious series, with the likes of Mia and Elena usually sitting out the action in previous movies. This made Mia and Letty’s direct involvement in F9 a refreshing change that should stay in the future.
The characters got to show their fighting prowess by taking on multiple henchmen at the same time, which had previously been reserved for Dom, Roman, and Tej. In particular, Mia had more to do than just provide emotional support as she had previously done in prior films, and F9 will make fans consider her as a more intimidating character.
Comic Relief Characters Developed Further
Tej and Roman have been assigned as the comic relief characters ever since Fast Five, with the following movies turning them into a duo who constantly bicker and aren’t as relevant to the action. F9 did this better by retaining their comedic qualities but also handing them a legitimate feat to accomplish.
Their act of heading into space was both good material for comedy and a way to establish that the two were a genuine part of the team who risked their lives for the mission. It developed them from being simple comic reliefs to valuable protagonists.
Over-The-Top Action Sequences
Ever since Fast Five, the series has pushed the envelope as far as believability is concerned and the movies have become progressively over-the-top in nature without diminishing entertainment value. F9 took this the farthest, having the characters go to space, use drones in tandem with cars, and combat an armored truck.
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It was all kinds of crazy, but the choreography behind these sequences meant that F9 delivered just the kind of entertainment that fans have come to expect. It also helped that the characters in-universe acknowledged how insane their feats were, which was a way for F9 to let audiences know not to take things too seriously and enjoy the action.
Balance Between Humor & Drama
If not handled correctly, the Fast series could fall too much into funny material or go too deep into its attempt at drama. F9 juggled both tones quite well, with scenes split between the two. This was achieved by alternating between the serious and funny moments and not lingering too long on one beat.
For every sequence such as Roman and Tej’s bickering in outer space, there was a contrasting scene detailing Dom and Jakob’s family drama. There were also times where jokes were injected with the proper timing in serious scenes as a way to break the tension.
Bringing A Genuinely Sympathetic Villain
Previous Fast movies had villains like Deckard Shaw who weren’t villains just for the sake of being bad and had legitimate beef with Dom’s crew. Yet, none of them really came across as sympathetic due to their devilish actions. In contrast, Jakob Toretto was given a valid story arc where his anger with Dom was justified.
His role as the villain came about due to Dom’s mistake of considering Jakob to be their father’s killer, and the resulting estrangement turned Jakob bitter towards his brother for exiling him. Viewers were given good reason to side with the villain this time around, something that has been seldom the case previously.
Bringing Back Characters With Valid Reasons
With the Fast & Furious series now venturing into spin-offs like Hobbs & Shaw, it’s understandable if the franchise brings back old characters or creates compelling new additions simply for more potential movies. However, F9 did so in a way that made every re-introduction plausible.
Case in point, Tokyo Drift’s Sean Boswell and his friends returned to aid the heroes in their mission in F9. In the same vein, Mia’s reason to return was valid since her brothers were causing the conflict, while Han’s reappearance tied in with the Aries device as his adoptive daughter was the key to activating it.
Setting Up The Next Movie
Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez in F9
Every installment in the Fast series – from the original movies to the reboot entries – could be seen on a standalone basis as stories generally weren’t too difficult to follow. However, this resulted in reasons for sequels being relatively random, with little hints for the future in each prior film, such as when Cipher was suddenly introduced as the overarching villain in the eighth film, The Fate of the Furious, with no foreshadowing whatsoever.
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F9 presented events in such a way that Fast 10 has been set up already. With Jakob on the run with the promise to return, Cipher still at large and looking for revenge, and the clues pointing to Mr. Nobody’s status, the next movie has been well placed as a follow-up and sequel hooks clear.
Action In The Climax
This can be subjective from one fan to the next, but the reason why some feel that F9 had better climactic action than past sequels was due to its relevance to the plot, such as when Jakob decided to aid Dom and his crew in the film’s finale, signifying his turn into a good guy from the villain and supplementing the spectacle on screen with his powerful presence.
Moreover, the action was a blend of classic Fast & Furious material and over-the-top sequences, with scenes like Tej and Roman hurtling through space, Dom facing off against Cipher’s drone, and the rest of the crew stopping the armored truck. All of this upped the ante in terms of entertainment value while keeping the plot in mind.
Providing Ample Backstory For Characters
By and large, the sequels in Fast & Furious series have followed the same formula, in that the characters are often brought to chase after a MacGuffin, with less attention afforded to their characterizations. However, F9 subverted this structure by using the backstory of Dom and Jakob as its main plotline.
This is what enabled Jakob to be as sympathetic as he was, as fans knew his story. The same was true for Dom, with the movie providing his point of view so that viewers understood where he was coming from as well. Finally, F9 revealed exactly what happened to Jack Toretto to complete the family’s backstory all the way from the first movie.
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