The Fate of the Furious

Dom (Vin Diesel) is perfectly fine with living a quiet life. In fact, Dom and his newly-wed/team-member, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), have relocated themselves to somewhere on the island of Cuba, hoping to settle down and possibly, Letty hints, have children someday.

Yes, it’s the good life for Dom, until one day he notices a young woman having some car trouble on the side of the street. He offers his assistance, but it’s a trap! Her name is Cipher (Charlize Theron), an international, infamous, renowned computer programmer who seeks Dom’s assistance in what she calls “exacting revenge, on a global scale, on those who have it coming to them” (whatever that means). Of course, Dom’s first reaction is a strong no, until Cipher shows him something on the phone that makes Dom willingly change his mind.

Some time later, Dom and his crew are brought back in by the U.S. Government to retrieve an EMP machine in Germany. During the operation, however, Dom betrays his team by crashing the their van and stealing the EMP. Later, Dom’s crew are brought in by a mysterious government official known only as Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) and are informed that Dom has been in cohorts with Cipher. The crew are surprised, to say to least, especially Letty. To them, this isn’t the Dom they know, and there must be a reason for Dom’s betrayal.

The crew’s mission is simple: locate Dom, bring him in and stop Cipher from unleashing nuclear warheads on the United States. Easy, right?

I have never seen the previous “Fast and Furious” films before. I wanted to spend time with my nephew, and so we decided to go see “Tje Fate of the Furious.” Granted, I had to do a little research into the plots and characters from the other films before going to see this latest installment. From what I could gather, the plots of each film are relatively easy to follow, and I figured “Fate” would only build upon the previous installments. In that respect, “Fate…” did not fail to disappoint.

I’ll come out and just say it: if you haven’t seen the other “Fast and the Furious” films, you might want to do a quick brush up on the characters, as otherwise you are likely to be confused. Even as I was watching, I thought, “I really wish I had seen the other installments. It might have filled in some of the questions I had.” HOWEVER, I will commend the film on it’s design by stating that if you had not seen the other installments, “Fate…” makes it pretty easy to catch onto who the team members are and their past endeavors within the first 45 minutes or so.

Additionally, “Fate…” contains a relatively strong, but easy to follow, plot and, of course, amazing use of special effects (there were several moments in the film I whispered to my nephew, “Wow! That was awesome!”). The character development and performances (both the leads and supporting) are relatively strong. Once it is revealed what Cipher had on Dom, I could truly sympathize with Dom and his conflicting thoughts and emotions, as well as the emotions of his teammates. My only objections with the film are the objectionable material and the length of the film—around two and a half hours.

Content of concern

It’s sad that there is a large amount of objectionable content in this film, as the film could have stood on its own without it. Here is what to be aware of:

Profanity/Vulgarity—Excessive profanity, God and the Lord’s name is taken in vain multiple times: G**-d**n (5), God (2), Jesus (1), Jesus Christ (1). Vulgarities, many used in a variety of forms, include the following: f*ck (1), sh*t (18), a**(11), a**-hole (4), S.O.B. (1), d*mn (7). Crudities include “you sick b*stard,” as well as “wanker,” the phrase “the Devil’s bung-hole,” a racial comment about Santa, a woman being referred to as a Ten, some vulgar threats, someone (a woman?) being called the “hottest boogeyman,” someone exclaims “big sex coming through,” another character states, “It was your b*lls that seized up,” one character states, “I tried to take a p*ss and didn’t recognize myself (referring to his genitals shrinking up)” and someone later calls his “shrinkage,” a comment is made about sex appeal.

Violence: The violence is incredibly heavy and disturbing in a few instances. Please also be aware that this section does NOT list ALL the violence in the film, as there is just too much to list. Violence includes multiple, destructive car chases, explosions, cars are smashed by a wrecking ball, multiple car crashes (one in which Cipher takes control of people’s cars and causes large amount of traffic jams and accidents; some cars are even seen falling from buildings onto the street), shootings (characters are killed), fights (heads are slammed into objects, one person punches a wall, etc.). There is a disturbing scene in the film where a henchmen is ordered to execute a woman while Dom watches; the camera turns away as we hear the gunshot and watch Dom’s reaction. There are a few scenes where an infant is put in danger. There is also a scene involving a prison riot, where corrections officers are seen being beaten and inmates are shot with rubber bullets. Characters are threatened on multiple occasions, both verbally and physically.

Sex/Nudity: At the beginning, women are shown in suggestive revealing outfits such as bikinis, short-shorts, midriffs and tight cut-offs, with the camera showing close ups of their buttocks and cleavage (occasionally lingering on these body parts in slow motion). Sex is implied by married Dom and Letty (we see them the next morning, Letty is in a revealing top and Dom is shirtless), Cipher kisses Dom in front of Letty to make Letty jealous. Dom and and wife Letty share kisses on a couple occasions.

Morals

Throughout the film, when the main characters are approached by other characters, they are asked what they value the most, to which many of them respond, “Family.” Indeed, we witness how Dom and his team have also become a family over many years. We watch as these characters consistently demonstrate their willingness to lay down their lives for both their biological family and the family their team has become.

To be part of a family means to have unconditional love for one another, just as God’s love for us is unconditional. There is true peace, knowing that Jesus has already laid down his life for us, so that we could become a part of God’s family. There is nothing we need to do to earn God’s love and acceptance.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” -1 John 3:1-2

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” —Ephesians 2:19-22

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” –John 1:12-13

Being part of God’s family means that the love that God shares with us, we are also called to share with others, bearing witness to God’s love and greatness.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” -1 Corinthians 15:58

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” –Colossians 3:16

Closing Thoughts

As I mentioned, while this film will largely draw in the die-hard fans of the franchise, those who are new will quickly come to understand the franchise. It really is a shame that there is an enormous amount of objectionable content, as, apart from this, “Fate…” is a strong action flick that, for me, was a LOT of fun. As the overall film stands, though, there is too much objectionable content to warrant a recommendation to Christian audiences.

Violence: Very Heavy / Profanity: Very Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Very Heavy

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.