The Fate of the Furious

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Well what can I say, mind blown again from the extent of what this film franchise can accomplish.  Although this may not have been as Jaw Dropping as hauling one Gigantic Safe around with two cars on chains; or as intense as riding an Endless Runway, while epic battles unfold inside, and alongside an plane… they still managed to deliver the business nonetheless.  I’m thinking though, now more than ever, I’m missing Paul Walker’s Brian O Connor; his presence will always be missed.  Vin said it best “[Furious 7] was for Paul, [the eighth film] is from Paul.”  Moving forward though,

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**Spoilers Ahead**

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there wasn’t any end credits, and from what I’ve learned, it was because Vin Diesel found out that the scene contained the Rock and Jason Statham, he got angry, called universal and had it removed.  Other sources would go on to say, that the outtake had the Rock and Vin in the same scene, looking at Brian’s picture and wishing that he was back with the team.  I don’t know; but Vin Diesel and The Rock’s feud may have screwed the fans out of a total engaging full service. This brings up this point, the feud was so ridiculous, that it played a part in the film’s layout.  For those of you who may not have notice… there was No Shared Scene with Dom and Hobbs. Like they did not handshake, hug, nor did they stand side by side. Even in the end, Rock was at the very end of the table just smiling. Once you see this, you cannot help but notice how annoying it is; especially after the growth they accumulated in the previous installments. 

Then there’s the Han factor in Deckard Shaw. There was absolutely no mention of Han that I could hear; not as notorious villain D.Shaw, turned Anti Hero, then basically Hero.  Owen Shaw made a surprise appearance as well, as cool as it was to see the Shaw Brothers both in action for the first time, it was like… one was responsible for the death of Gal Gadot’s character, and the other was responsible for Han’s death. The Siblings killed an entire couple in hindsight, very important members of Dom’s crew! They may be saving some future beef with Deckard, for the possible return of Lucas Black’s character (not confirmed as of this post), I know we don’t always have to mention other characters in every film, but if they were, and are pivotal to what unfolds in the new plot, some things should be addressed.

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Oh and Elena dies… no one seems to mourn her besides Dom. Not even Hobbs… which… I mean they were close as heck, partners nonetheless.  One could argue his sorrow for her was felt off screen, but… com’on. :/

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Outside of the silly, but serious technicalities, there was real meat to the old bones of the franchise.  My favorite scene is definitely the Prison scene; that got me all pumped up, and into the action.  It was well choreographed from beginning to the end.  Also, I think I got movie nerd excited when I FINALLY saw the return of 2 of my favorite comedic reliefs, Tego and Rico!  I literally have been looking for those two to return ever since the end of Fast 5.  It’s been six years darnit!  Yes, it may have been a cameo, but it was better than wondering what the heck happened to them at the Roulette Table, even though they did mention it in Furious 6, we never knew the answer… did they lose it all? Heck, we still don’t know, and may never know… but it was cool to see them again.  Scott Eastwood was a refreshing face, as Little Nobody, I think he fits in more than the hacker Ramsey… she’s cute, but her character is quite the bore compared to the last installment. She practically did… nothing, besides help counter hack. That what we got Luda for :P

As always though, it will be nice to see where they take the series into, as they tread into it’s final two films.  The Hobbs/ Shaw spinoff will be an interesting angle on the Fast and Furious universe.  Probably the main reason they pushed F9 back a year to 2020, instead of 2019.

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So will we see the return of Lucas Black?  What about the character Leon? Johnny Strong, who played Leon, said he may be interested, but not just to do it for a check; he wants it to be like it was before… more wheels to the ground racing type of stuff.  Eva Mendes (Yes, Please)?

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Maybe, just maybe Cipher will return with her own Legion of Doom… Lance, D.K., Braga… Carter Verone!?!?!?

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Who can help stop these guys?  Tell Sean Boswell to call in the big guns, tell him to call Twinkie! Get’em Bow Wow!