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As it heads into its final lap, the “Fast and the Furious” franchise has pretty much run out of gas long before the finish line. This film series has reinvented itself several times, and thanks to the growing cast of characters, it has extended its lifetime well-passed what should have been possible. However, with each film the cracks in the armor become harder to ignore. There’s not much new here, but they do mix things up to make it interesting. The biggest change here is that the team spends much of the film separated and dealing with their own sets of problems. This works for a while, but these stories aren’t balanced out enough. Some have very little going on, some are interesting but get little screen time, and the biggest one takes up so much of the plot that it makes it feel less like an Avengers-level team-up and more like Iron Man and Friends. The action is a little bland overall and when it’s ridiculous, it’s pretty ridiculous. (With the hand-to-hand battles being more interesting than any of the car stuff.) Jason Momoa is hit-and-miss and the big bad. While he shows off both his brains and his physicality, the over-the-top flamboyance doesn’t suit him…even though I appreciate him playing against type and having some fun with the roll. This film is part 1 of 2 (possibly 3), and I’m not quite sure the story is strong enough to carry on for that long. On that note, there is a mid-credit scene that’s worth checking out and leads into the next film.
** out of *****