The Fate of the Furious is arriving in a few days, and due to the popularity it enjoys, its return raises a big fuss. Not many franchises could achieve what this one managed. This popularity also brought upon both positive and negative criticism in the past, mostly positive of course, and as the release of the new installment is approaching, new reactions have started to appear.
Universal Pictures is one that opened the season of reviews, and by now we have witnessed feelings of both dissatisfaction and enthusiasm. For instance, Greg Wakeman seemed to enjoy the movie, and he praised it in his review:
“The Fate Of The Furious doesn’t quite reach the heights of previous installments, but it is still an exhilarating joy ride, and proof that the franchise continues to be the most thrilling and astounding in cinema.”
On the other hand, Owen Gleiberman wonders whether the change of racing location has had a good and beneficial effect for the movie. It represents a bigger shift from the previous installments, and that is what he states in his review for Variety. He mentions that although different, the movie also makes a positive change.
“In the end, I’m not sure how I feel about our heroes being made into a pack of world-saving James Bonds, but what’s clear is that there’s probably no turning back. Most franchises, after eight films, are feeling a twinge of exhaustion, but this one has achieved a level of success — and perpetual kinetic creative energy — that’s a testament to its commercial/cultural/demographic resonance.”
As for David Ehrlich, his comments towards the next installment are not that gentle. He sees The Fate of the Furious 8 the worst movie until now.
“F8 is the worst of these films since “2 Fast 2 Furious,” and it may be even worse than that. It’s the “Die Another Day” of its franchise — an empty, generic shell of its former self that disrespects its own proud heritage at every turn. How did the great F. Gary Gray, whose surprisingly strong remake of “The Italian Job” displayed a tremendous flair for comedic vehicular mayhem, waste the biggest budget of his career on such boring smash-ups? How did Diesel and co. manage to learn all of the wrong lessons from the last two movies, delivering an episode where everything feels so fake that even the “family” matters seem forced?”
Lastly, Leah Greenblatt did not praise it but also did not criticize it much. However, it appears that she love the part of both Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham to a great extent.
“Thankfully, it’s frequently also much funnier and lighter on its feet than previous outings, and a lot of that credit goes to Statham and Johnson, whose love-hate bromance feels like the real core of the movie: Statham revels in his Cockney-you-wish-you’d-never-messed-with shtick, and Johnson is, as always, the human Humvee with a heart of gold: snapping handcuffs in half like breadsticks, bench-pressing cinder blocks for kicks, and lifting opponents by the scruff of the neck as if they were wayward kittens. (He’s also super committed to his daughter’s soccer team.)”
We’ll see whether these reviews will affect the general acceptance of the audience.
