Fast & Furious 9 (2021) Movie Review: High-Octane Action and Family Drama

Fast & Furious 9 (2021): When Family Goes to Space (And It Actually Works?)

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Okay, let's address the elephant in the room right away: yes, they go to space. In a rocket car. With a freakin' Pontiac Fiero. And you know what? I'm not even mad about it anymore. Twenty years into this franchise, F9 has officially moved past any pretense of realism and fully embraced being the most ridiculous, over-the-top action series ever made. And honestly? I'm here for it.

I'll be real with you - I've been following this franchise since the original back in 2001. I remember when it was just about street racing and stealing DVD players (remember those?). I've watched it evolve from Point Break with cars to essentially live-action anime, and F9 might be the most anime thing they've ever done. Dom literally has superpowers at this point, and I'm not complaining.

The Plot (Such As It Is)

Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) is living peacefully with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and their son when his past comes back to haunt him in the form of his younger brother Jakob (John Cena). Turns out Jakob is working with some bad guys to get a device that can hack into any computer system in the world, and also he killed their dad? It's complicated.

Meanwhile, Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) literally go to space to destroy a satellite, Mia (Jordana Brewster) comes out of retirement, and we get flashbacks to young Dom and Jakob that somehow make the family drama even more convoluted. Oh, and Han is back from the dead because... reasons.

Look, if you're looking for a coherent plot, you're watching the wrong franchise. This is pure spectacle filmmaking, where the action sequences are the story and everything else is just an excuse to get from one impossible stunt to the next.

Action That Defies Physics (And Logic)

Let me just list some of the things that happen in this movie: a car swings through a jungle on a rope like Tarzan, magnets are used as weapons (and somehow work perfectly), people survive explosions that should vaporize them, and Dom drives a car off a cliff and somehow uses the momentum to swing across a gorge.

The space sequence is absolutely bonkers. Roman and Tej, who are supposedly just mechanics, put on spacesuits and pilot a rocket car to the International Space Station like it's no big deal. The physics are completely wrong, the science is nonsensical, and it's probably the most entertaining sequence in the entire movie.

Director Justin Lin knows exactly what kind of movie he's making. Every action sequence is bigger and more ridiculous than the last, but they're all staged with this incredible attention to detail and practical effects work. Even when CGI is obviously involved, there's still a commitment to doing as much as possible for real.

The Edinburgh sequence is probably my favorite - it's this insane chase through the streets where cars are flying everywhere, buildings are exploding, and Dom is literally using a massive electromagnet to fling cars around like toys. It's completely ridiculous and absolutely thrilling.

Family Drama With a Capital F

The family theme has always been central to these movies, but F9 really leans into it. The relationship between Dom and Jakob is the emotional core of the film, and both Vin Diesel and John Cena commit fully to the melodrama.

The flashbacks to their childhood are actually pretty effective, showing how a tragedy split them apart and set them on different paths. It's soap opera-level drama, but it's played with such sincerity that it somehow works. These movies have always been about chosen family and loyalty, and F9 explores what happens when family betrays family.

John Cena is surprisingly good as Jakob. He brings this quiet intensity to the role that makes him feel like a genuine threat, not just a muscle-bound villain. The scenes between him and Dom crackle with genuine tension, and you believe these are brothers who have been carrying this pain for decades.

The Han situation is handled better than I expected. His return from the dead (again) is explained in typical Fast & Furious fashion - through retconning and conveniently placed plot devices - but Sung Kang slides back into the role like he never left. The character's popularity basically forced the filmmakers to bring him back, and they do it with enough style that it doesn't feel completely ridiculous.

The Core Cast Still Delivers

After nine movies, these actors know these characters inside and out. Vin Diesel is still grumbling about family and looking constipated during dramatic moments, but there's something endearing about his commitment to Dom's mythology. He plays this character like he's a Greek hero, all gravitas and noble suffering.

Michelle Rodriguez continues to be the franchise's secret weapon as Letty. She brings real toughness to the role without sacrificing the character's emotional core. The scenes between her and Dom feel lived-in and genuine, even when the dialogue is pure cheese.

Tyrese and Ludacris have perfected their comedy double-act at this point. Roman's increasing awareness that they should all be dead by now becomes a running gag, and it's actually pretty funny. Their banter during the space sequence had me laughing out loud.

The newcomers hold their own too. John Cena brings surprising depth to Jakob, and Charlize Theron returns as Cipher with more of that icy villainy that made her so effective in Fate of the Furious.

When Ridiculous Becomes Sublime

Here's the thing about F9 - it's completely stupid, and it knows it's completely stupid, and it doesn't care. There's something liberating about watching a movie that has absolutely no interest in being realistic or grounded. It's pure id filmmaking, where the only question is "what would be cool?" and the answer is always "more explosions."

The space sequence is the perfect example. It makes no scientific sense, it's completely unnecessary to the plot, and it's absolutely glorious. It's the kind of scene that exists purely because someone said "wouldn't it be awesome if Roman and Tej went to space?" and then they figured out how to make it happen.

This is action filmmaking as pure entertainment, unencumbered by concerns about logic or physics. It's cartoonish in the best possible way, like watching a live-action superhero movie where the superpower is being really good at driving cars.

Where It Falls Short

Even by Fast & Furious standards, F9 is pretty thin on character development. Most of the cast is just going through the motions, hitting their familiar beats without much growth or change. The film is so focused on spectacle that it sometimes forgets to give us reasons to care about what's happening.

The pacing is also pretty uneven. At 143 minutes, it's definitely too long, and there are stretches where the momentum flags between action sequences. Some of the flashback scenes drag, and not all of the comedy lands.

The plot is incredibly convoluted, even for this franchise. There are double-crosses, secret organizations, MacGuffins, and character resurrections that are hard to follow even if you've seen all the previous movies. New viewers will be completely lost.

Technical Spectacle

The action choreography is genuinely impressive. These sequences are massive undertakings involving hundreds of people and incredibly complex logistics. The practical stunt work is still the franchise's calling card, and F9 delivers some truly spectacular vehicular mayhem.

The production design creates this heightened reality where every car is perfectly modified for whatever insane situation it needs to handle. The attention to detail in the vehicles themselves is incredible - these aren't just cars, they're characters in their own right.

Brian Tyler's score hits all the right notes, building on themes established in previous films while adding new musical ideas. The music knows when to be bombastic and when to pull back for the emotional moments.

A Love Letter to Absurdity

What I've come to appreciate about these movies is their complete commitment to their own mythology. F9 doesn't apologize for being ridiculous - it celebrates it. This is a franchise that has created its own internal logic where loyalty and family can literally overcome the laws of physics.

There's something pure about that approach. In a world where so many blockbusters try to have it both ways - grounded enough to be "realistic" but spectacular enough to be entertaining - the Fast & Furious movies have chosen spectacle every time. They're not interested in being plausible; they're interested in being awesome.

Final Thoughts

F9 is not a good movie in any traditional sense. The plot is nonsensical, the dialogue is cheesy, and the action defies every law of physics ever discovered. But it's also incredibly entertaining, surprisingly emotional, and completely committed to its own brand of insanity.

If you've made it this far into the franchise, you know what you're getting. This is comfort food filmmaking - familiar characters in increasingly outrageous situations, all held together by the power of family and really expensive cars.

Is it dumb? Absolutely. Is it fun? Hell yes. Sometimes that's exactly what you need from a movie.

Bottom Line: F9 is the most ridiculous Fast & Furious movie yet, and that's exactly what it should be. It's pure spectacle filmmaking that chooses awesome over logical every single time.

Perfect For: Fans of the franchise, action movie lovers who don't mind absurdity, anyone looking for pure entertainment without deeper meaning, and people who want to see cars do impossible things.

Content Warning: Intense action sequences, some strong language, and physics-defying stunts that might make science teachers cry.

Best Viewing Experience: The biggest, loudest theater you can find. This is meant to be experienced as a spectacle, with surround sound and a screen large enough to appreciate the scale of the mayhem.