F9

Directed by Justin Lin, F9 follows Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto as he and his crew attempt stop his rogue brother (John Cena’s Jakob) from capturing (and using) a powerful weapon. It’s a predictably broad premise that’s employed to periodically watchable yet mostly underwhelming effect by Lin, as the filmmaker, armed with his and Daniel Casey’s screenplay, delivers a wildly padded-out actioner that progresses through a sluggish, needlessly overstuffed narrative – with, especially, the movie’s digression-heavy midsection wreaking havoc on the picture’s increasingly tenuous momentum. And although the novelty of the famous faces littered within the cast does hold some appeal, F9‘s inability to hold the viewer’s interest for more than a minute or two at a time paves the way for a second half that couldn’t be less compelling (or more tiresome) – with the arms-length vibe perpetuated by an ongoing emphasis on gravity-defying, hopelessly distracting special effects. (Even the car chases, presumably meant to be a highlight, suffer from a disastrous weightlessness that strips such moments of their energy and excitement.) By the time the typically overblown climax rolls around, which even contains a trip into outer space (!), F9 has cemented its place as just another lackluster entry within a franchise that should’ve ended several movies ago.

*1/2 out of ****