Those are some hot wheels…. care for a ride? Sex puns!

You’re probably surprised that Fast and Furious 8 has come up for review now as opposed to when it came out in the cinema some time ago. At this point, you’re more likely to be waiting for the DVD to relive those moments on a tiny screen at home. Well it may have come out decades ago at this point but it’s still worth visiting for a few reasons. One of which, is that this is the first film without Paul Walker, who of course died in a car accident. Which in some ways, only went to show that life is not without a sense of sick irony.

However, to me, Fast and Furious still remains one of the go to brainless film franchises for me. That’s despite the laws of time and space having no meaning in this franchise along with plot holes so big, you’d lose the entire solar system through it.

So for this installment what over the top madness would await us?

Well Dom and Letty are having fun around Cuba to start with, destroying a car to win a race, only to then gain respect from some random hard man who ends up respecting him. After scenes of everyone being happy at the car being destroyed and people not getting killed, Dom gets cornered by a nasty woman in the guise of Charlize Theron.

Next thing we know is that The Rock is being put into prison after throwing Kurt Russel’s new agent into the wall and would you believe it, he ends up in a cell opposite Jason “Hard Nipples” Statham. Remember, he was the bad guy from the previous installment and got put into isolation. Why he was now in a cell block with everyone else now, again, don’t ask as it’s a plot hole.

But oh dear, stuff be going down now as Dom appears to have turned to the dark side, now actively working for Charlize Theron stealing shit and causing all sorts of damage. He even kisses her in front of Letty but doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself. What does she have on him to force Dom to be evil?

Well, remarkably the twist there is genuinely something you will not see coming. And actually it also raises another question as why no-one knew about this before? But forget all that as to be honest, the most interesting aspect of the entire film, is the middle third. In a way this film goes in a direction the Fast and Furious series has never truly gone down. What happens when the main guy that holds the group together becomes the potential point where they are smashed apart?

This is what happens when they just nip to the shops for some milk….

There’s even attempts at acting at times from Vin Diesel along with others in the film, and it’s a really refreshing change too. Honestly I’ve never been rooting for a bad guy than I had in this with Charlize Theron. She was intelligent, had a clue of what she was doing and you actually do start to question whether or not that for once, the bad guys can win? It held my interest far more than I thought it would and so I can only be thankful this was way better than the vomit comet that was XXX: Return of Xander Cage released earlier this year.

The effects and stunts are again purely over the top and remarkably enjoyable as usual, especially as you know there are far too many things which happen which honestly couldn’t really happen in real life. But screw it, you know that the laws of time and space don’t apply here and you won’t care. The absolute standout scene however which made my day will be a mild spoiler but will only make sense (if that’s a thing in this universe) if you watch the whole film; Jason Statham, on a plane kicking everyone’s ass while also holding a baby.

I will repeat that; Jason Statham, on a plane kicking everyone’s ass while also holding a baby.

Yeah, it’s that that point you will be laughing and enjoying it all the more. Yes again, there are plot holes and lots more WTF moments within Fast and Furious 8 but as I have the past few films, it was utterly enjoyable. So if you get the chance to see it on the big screen, please do. It’s absurd, over the top, at times insane. But god damn if it’s still a huge amount of fun.