The Fate of the Furious - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Fate of the Furious

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie

At this point The Fast and the Furious franchise is one THE most lucrative and hilariously fun series of the last 15 years or so. Back in 2001 no one thought the flashy movie about hot cars, hot women and crime would be raking in as much money as Marvel and Disney movies. Back then it was just a niche film that had a young Vin Diesel and Paul Walker hamming up all California style and adding in the classic Point Break mentality, just with good old American muscle cars. The sequel was pretty stinking weak (although a bit fun), and the third didn’t even star Vin OR Paul Walker (besides a small cameo). At that point the series was pretty much dead in the water. Then the unthinkable happened. The original cast decided to come back for a big reunion in Fast & Furious, a moderate hit that was an incredible revitalization of the franchise. People reacted EXTREMELY well to the return of Paul Walker and a hulked up Vin Diesel, and they actually attached it to the original 2 films (Tokyo Drift chronologically falls between Fast and Furious 6 and Furious 7, or at least running parallel to #6 at the minimum) and continue the story on from there. Amping up the volume to level 10, they brought in The Rock for Fast 5, and changed the series from a series of races and criminal underpinning (with Bryan pretty much COMPLETELY out of the FBI at this point) to a heist movie. A move that was both gusty AND a sure fire slam dunk for raking in the millions. Fast and Furious 6 followed directly in those footsteps, but on an international level, bringing in hard hitters like Gina Carano and having Gal Gadot return as well. Furious 7 would have been the end for most series. Paul Walker’s untimely death just before the premiere of the film caused a MAJOR stir and fans were sure that the powers that be would cancel the show as Bryan and Dom were the life blood of the series in many ways. Paul Walker was in all but one film, and his and Dom’s commitment to brotherhood and family was too visceral. However, when you’re raking in over a billion dollars per movie with each sequel making MORE than the one before it, you can be sure that the powers that be had no intention of letting this cash go away.

The last time we left our intrepid heroes they were honoring Bryan’s decision to leave a life of crime and commit to raising his son with wife Mia (Jordana Brewster). Letty (Michelle Rodriquez) and Dom (Vin Diesel) are finally back together, Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is coaching his daughter’s soccer league, and rogue British ghost Deckard (Jason Statham) is behind bars. That is until the team is called out of retirement one last time to steal a weapon, only this time one of their own is compromised. It turns out that Dom’s old flame Elena (Elsa Patakya) from Fast 5 had given birth to a son, and the super hacker/terrorist/mayhem creator, Cipher (Charlize Theron) is leveraging the two of them as hostages in order to turn the very leader of the crew against them (we all know this series is REALLY into family, Dom especially).

While the audience is clued into this little secret very early on in the film, Hobbs, Letty, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris) and the other members of Dom’s extended “family” are left wondering why their rock (no, not to be confused with THE Rock) just put a knife in their back. Well, they have a chance to find out as Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) has a little job for them. It seems that Cipher is using Dom to get ahold of a Russian submarine with nuclear weapons, something that NO independent agent of evil should have access to, and he wants them to hunt Dom, for him. A proposition that they leap at, as they ALL want answers. Now with Dom out of the leaders chair, it means that someone just as ruthless and dangerous has to step in and join the team, and that particular job is just perfect for one Mr. Deckard, despite the vicious opposition by Hobbs and the rest of the team, who have not forgiven him for Killing Han and causing mischief and Mayhem last film.

Needless to say, The Fast and the Furious franchise has become one giant super hero movie. If you pay close attention you can almost say that each trio of films that comes out is its own distinct trilogy. The first three films were about the hot cars, racing ¼ mile at a time and mixing in some petty crime with Bryan the FBI agent going all Point Break on them. With the 4th film bringing back the original cast they were outlaws, on the outskirts of society and pulling heists in a Robin Hood fashion. Furious 7 turned the crew from petty criminals and outlaws into agents for good, with ridiculous stunts that go above and beyond anything seen before, and being backed by the U.S. government when they work with Agent Hobbs. Fate of the Furious continues this trend of amping up the levels of ridiculous to new heights and turning the entire cast into super heroes that rival James Bond, Batman, Superman and whoever else they can possibly dream up. Each movie has always had those moments where you were like “ok, that’s a bit over the top”, but the 7th and 8th film basically said ‘let’s just take those ridiculous moments and fill the ENTIRE film with them, leaving no place for anything else”! It’s dumb, it’s stupid, but it’s hilariously fun at the same time.

The best way of describing the turn in the franchise is that the series is out Michael Baying Michael Bay. Bla bla BLOOM!!!! Is the message of the day and Fate of the Furious delivers nonstop action in what can only be described mayhem in true Michael Bay style, complete with quick cut editing fight scenes (although not nearly so nauseatingly fast and ….shall I say it?.....furious as some of Bay’s more recent works), guns, knives, one liners that are ridiculously bad (the dialog between Hobbs and Deckard is painfully funny) and more explosions than you can shake a stick at. Oh, and some cool looking cars too.

With Paul Walker’s passing I was sincerely worried that the comradery and life of the movie would be severely diminished, and while I really do miss Walker’s presence, it’s the ensemble nature of the film that allows a few puzzle pieces to go missing without detriment to the entire whole. The series has been progressively getting bigger and bigger with each movie. Effectively adding main cast members at the rate of one (sometimes two) characters per film. Fate goes completely balls to the walls here and adds EVERYONE and the kitchen sink, bringing back everyone they possibly could from the first 7 films. There are cameos from the two Jamaican’s from Fast 5, Elena, Deckard, Shaw from Fast and Furious 6, Kurt Russell’s Mr. Nobody, Hobbs (given much more screen time than he has previously), Nathalie Emmanuelle as Ramsey, and several more old friends and just blended them all together in one big action extravaganza.

The film does have its downsides and flaws. Mainly in the logic centers of some of the sub plots, and the blending of too many people into Dom’s “family”. Jason Statham was amazing as the villain Deckard Shaw in Furious 7, but it was just TOOOOOO cheesy and easy for the crew to forgive him for killing Han, nearly killing ALL of them, and turning him into a sympathetic hero for the team to eventually team up with and ask to join their little club. The same goes for the little cameo with younger brother Owen Shaw (Luke Evans from Fast and Furious 6 ). His coming back as with a wink and a nod to play for the good guys in the final fight sapped some of sinister appeal he had as the incredibly talented ex SAS inspired villain. The same can be said for the sheer lunacy of the film. I LOOOOOOOVE the stupidity at times, but there are some REALLY bad lines uttered by everyone, and the only reason these films aren’t in the garbage is because of the incredible chemistry that the onscreen characters show at every turn.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for prolonged sequences of violence and destruction, suggestive content, and language




Video:

Fate of the Furious is nothing if not absolute digital perfection on home video. Shot using a variety of digital cameras (the main one being the famous Arri Alexa), and finished on a 2K digital intermediary, Fate is nothing short of jaw droppingly amazing. The film is graded with cool blues and some golden undertones, but everything is impeccably sharp and full of vibrant colors. Primaries pop off the screen with orange Lamborghinis, grey tanks, Red sports cars, shiny golds and blacks of custom 1911s flashing around the screen. The last battle sequence in the icy outskirts of Russia is soft blue and white, but everything is so perfectly sharp and full of fine detail that you can pick up on individual flakes of snow on the actor’s gloves and clothing. Long shots are usually the ones to suffer from softness, but there is NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING that mars the image in any way, shape, or form here. Digital anomalies are nonexistent and black levels show everything as clearly as if it was broad daylight. Simply put, one demo worthy disc.








Audio:

Universal is luckily one of the studios that puts the hi-res, next gen, audio track on BOTH the 4K UHD and the Blu-ray, so no matter which version of my review you’re reading, the audio portion will be identical. Just like the video, the audio is nothing short of sonic perfection. I’ve compared Fate of the Furious and the direction of the franchise to Michael Bay many times, and the comparisons continue once again with a stellar audio track that is viciously aggressive and subtly nuanced at the same time. Dialog is crisp and clean, while balancing well with a mix that has a MASSIVE dynamic range. The nonstop gunfire and explosions rip the walls down with some seriously “Transformerish” bass lines, along with the highly directional use of bullets bouncing off of bulletproof glass, or the sounds of a heavy-duty engine roaring from one side of the room to another. I have to make special note that the LFE track is not only heavy and thunderous (with a few moments of deeeeeep extension), but it also knows when to take a back seat and not overwhelm the track with bass in a way that could be seen as overbearing. Songs have ample weight to them, gunfire sounds explosive and powerful, yet they don’t dominate the track. The really deep and aggressive shock waves come out of nowhere and go from a level 4 LFE attack up to level 11, and then shift back down to level 4-6 again without missing a beat. It’s nice to see bass used in a more nuanced and varied way than just cranking it up to clipping levels and leaving it there for over 2 hours.









Extras:

• The Cuban Spirit - As the first major studio motion picture to shoot in Cuba in decades, the country's effusive spirit permeates the making of the film. (Blu-ray exclusive)
• In the Family - In The Fate of the Furious, family ties are put to the ultimate test. Get an inside look at the family divide. (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Car Culture - It's time to put yourself in the driver's seat of the supercharged vehicles showcased in The Fate of the Furious. (Blu-ray exclusive)
• All About the Stunts - Go behind the scenes to witness how The Fate of the Furious accomplished the most epic stunts in franchise history.
• Extended Fight Scenes
• Feature Commentary with Director F. Gary Gray

Final Score: ​

The Fast and Furious franchise is a series that seems to be getting bigger and bigger as time goes on, directly contradicting the old mentality that sequels get smaller and smaller the more there are. The fans have fanned the fires into a frenzy, bringing with it giant box office returns, and bigger and bigger ensemble casts with more and more lunacy and action along the way. Much like Michael Bay films, the series is short of intelligence and high on energy, but it’s an infectious sort of energy that is a blast to experience. The audio and video for the Blu-ray and 4K UHD is nothing short of amazing demo material, and the extras are decently substantial in this time of diminishing extras for home video releases. I only have ONE complaint, and that comes in the form of the director’s cut of the movie. There is a 13 minute extended director’s cut available for the film, and it was heavily advertised as coming with the Blu-ray and 4K release, and Universal has delivered. Although it comes as a bit of a bitter pill for physical media enthusiasts. Universal made the silly decision to include the extended cut ONLY as a digital copy, exclusive to ITUNES and Ultraviolet, meaning that if you want to watch the Director’s cut, it has to be through a digital file instead of the superior audio/video quality of the 4K or Blu-ray media format. The silver lining to this little faux pas is that the Director’s Cut IS the inferior cut of the movie by a hair. There’s some extra conversations and a few minutes added to some of the action, but it changes the pacing of the movie in a distinct matter, and feels a bit awkward. Even Director F. Gary Gray admits as much in the special features. However, for those who want to watch it, you’re going to have to do so the digital way instead of enjoying it on disc. Still, highly recommended as a mindlessly fun action romp.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriquez, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Written by: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS:X (DTS-HD MA 7.1 Core) , English DTS Headphone:X, Spanish, French (Canadian) DTS 5.1
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 135 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: July 11th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[Asere]

I think I am going to buy this one.