Fast & Furious 8 film review ★★★★★

Fast & Furious isn’t about what we want. It isn’t about what you want. It’s about 'why haven’t we asked the question yet,’ a question which is almost undoubtedly 'how are we going to incorporate an even bigger finale explosion this time?’ The ante is consistently upped, to the point that Chekov’s gun becomes Chekov’s tank and is almost lost in Chekov’s extensive armoury. So really, what more could you want?

Chronicling the misadventures of a band of street-racing misfits, Fast & Furious has spent the past 16 years gaining both momentum and funding. The franchise is defined by feats of wanton destruction that break every natural and statutory law in increasingly spectacular ways whenever Vin Diesel and his team get behind the wheel of a car.

The Fate of the Furious begins with everyone’s favourite marble-chiseled criminal with a heart of gold, Vin Diesel, and his wife, Letty, happily leading a relatively normal live in Cuba until Charlize Theron’s heavily-dreadlocked Cipher enters to take centre stage as the villain. A tech-savvy terrorist with a penchant for one-liners and blackmail, she can seemingly undo seven films worth of Dom’s character development with naught but a swish of her smartphone.

Now Dom has to steal increasingly large nuclear weapons, placing him squarely as the film's antagonist-slash-hench-person, fighting against his team. What drives any of the characters in this movie? Who knows? They're the ones who drive.

The film’s weakest part is this recycled plot line (in which a member of the recurring cast turns against his/her team-members). This upcycling seems to reflect the unofficial Fast & Furious motto: let’s do it again, but bigger this time. The franchise has been supersized – the cars are faster, the characters even more furious – which is also the source of the series’ power. How will they outdo themselves this time? Can they?

The answer is, once again, yes. For years we've dreamed of seeing Fast & Furious: On Ice, and our prayers were answered in the latest instalment. Helen Mirren makes a brief yet memorable cameo, sporting a cockney accent and playing Jason Statham’s mum, and Statham himself steals the show with over-the-top action sequences.

Bigger, faster, and even more ridiculous, the ostentatious spirit of the Fast & Furious franchise shines brighter than ever in the eighth episode.