'The Fate of the Furious' Reviews: Here's what critics are saying about the sequel

Culture

Your favorite heist crew is back with the latest sequel in the Fast and Furious franchise, The Fate of the Furious

Vin Diesel, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris and much of the rest of the crew is back for the franchise's eighth installment. Joining them are new additions to the ensemble cast, including Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren  

In The Fate of the Furious, the beloved crew is at odds. Theron, who plays the villain Cipher, convinces Dom to join her side, putting him at odds with the rest of the gang and causing a battle within the family. As of Monday afternoon, with reviews starting to pour, it's currently sitting at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The good

The latest entry in the franchise gives fans what they want, expect and love from a Fast and Furious film. There are over-the-top action scenes, all the drama and, of course, cars:

Tom Huddleston, Time Out:

A soap opera ... [that] just happens to cost millions of dollars and feature souped-up sports cars jumping over submarines.

Gregory Wakeman, CinemaBlend:

The Fate Of The Furious doesn't 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.

David D'Arcy, Screen Daily :

This eighth installment of The Fast And The Furious franchise, directed by F. Gary Gray, is reliable, containing plenty of deafening car pile-ups to keep the core audience satisfied while also stirring witty new flourishes into the old recipe.

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly:

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.

Mike Ryan, Uproxx:

This isn't my favorite of the series ... [but] these movies know what they are. These movies know they are fun. These are fun movies!

The bad

Unfortunately, it seems this may be the weakest entry in the franchise yet, at least to some critics. The plot twists are just too grand, even for a Fast and Furious movie:

Haleigh Foutch, Collider:

If you've spent the last sixteen years investing in the family and their ragtag tapestry, you might find yourself a little disappointed.

Dan Callahan, The Wrap:

The plot twists in The Fate of the Furious suggest the kind of games that 11-year-old boys put together on the playground during recess, with women in peril and so many different parts for everyone to play that you begin to lose track of who everybody is.

Scott Mendelson, Forbes:

Is it entertaining? Sure. Is it consistent with the last film? Absolutely not. And for a franchise that prizes itself for an almost Saw-like devotion to continuity, it's a little odd how much this one requires you to either forget what you know or ignore the inherent drama of what came before.

David Ehrlich, IndieWire:

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. 

Though the movie has received some mixed reviews, you'll be able to judge for yourself once The Fate of the Furious hits theaters on Friday, April 14. 

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