King of California (2007)

Justin Lin's F9: The Fast Saga, or, as it was originally titled simply F9 (known internationally as Fast & Furious 9), the penultimate installment in the series about fast automobiles had a tough job to do: Out-crazy the previous eight movies in the franchise, which started to get ludicrously (pun intended) over-the-top, around the fifth installment, Fast Five, which Lin also helmed. By having two of its most beloved characters go to space in a car attached to a rocket, among other antics, the film overwhelmingly achieves that task. Is the film entertaining? With its series of increasingly more unrealistic set pieces, Vin Diesel's characteristic one-liners, and a surprising amount of heart and story, of course it is. However, even with the inclusion of virtually every character from the previous films in the franchise, the space travel, and the inclusion of Brian's (played by Paul Walker before he tragically passed away) storyline, it's still somewhat forgettable, however decent it is for its genre of thrill-seeking, race car-driving adrenaline junkies breaking law.

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*

F9: The Fast Saga delves into Dominic Toretto's (Diesel) troubled past with his somehow absent-until-now brother, Jakob (John Cena), not only marking the impetus of the film's central conflict, but also bringing all of the diverse characters together again, some of whom we haven't seen in quite some time, namely, the surprising "resurrection," if you will, of the beloved Han (Sung Kang). F9 takes the viewer back to Dom and Jakob's childhood during their father's final race on the track. After Dom almost beats their father's rival racer Kenny Linder to death for bumping their father into wall and killing him, he goes to jail. When he gets out, he confronts Jakob, who he saw tamper with their father's car during the race. After he challenges Jakob to a street race, Jakob loses, agreeing to the terms and never returning to the family again (convenient plot point).

Fast forward to present day, and Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) are quietly raising their son Brian, named after Paul Walker's character in a nice tribute. Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) inform Dom that Jakob killed Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell), who captured Cipher (Charlize Theron). Lo and behold, Dom agrees to come out of retirement. Who would have guessed that? Readers shouldn't be let down by the fairly predictable plot, as the always-wowing action more than makes up for narrative familiarity. What ensues is a series of increasingly tense confrontations between Dom's team, now joined by Mia and, eventually, Han, to the surprise of the gang. Han was assigned by Mr. Nobody to protect Ares, a device that can hack into any computer-controlled system, and the second piece of which lies in Elle's (Anna Sawai) DNA. This is where Lin and his co-screenwriter, Daniel Casey, do a bit of plot retconning to insert Jakob into the history of the Fast franchise, as he was an agent of Mr. Nobody's who broke his assignment and went rogue, as they say, attempting to capture Ares. As a result, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) was ordered to fake Han's death during the events of the film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, so that he could protect Elle.