F9: The Fast Saga - 2/5

This movie is a tired retread of worn-out over-the-top melodrama. The action scenes are mindless fun, but the story is sub-par, even compared to other entries in the series. Surprisingly, driving a car to space is not the most unrealistic thing that happens in this movie, and the script goes out of its way to justify the logistics of it to the audience. What was more distracting to the story was the comic relief character’s meta commentary through-line about how none of the main characters in this franchise ever seem to get seriously injured.

Closest comparison: It’s the Fast and the Furious where they drive a car to space.

Setting: Action
Plot: Action
Tone: Action

Fate of the Furious - 3/5

This movie revels in its status as a dumb action flick, and doesn’t disappoint in delivering fun, vehicle-based, over-the-top action. And when it does deliver even moderate emotional payoff it hits much harder because it’s unexpected.

Closest comparison: It’s the next ratchet up in The Fast And The Furious series.

Setting: Super Hero
Plot: Espionage
Tone: Action

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - 4/5

This movie is so much better than it has any reason to be. The inter-character chemistry among the main party isn’t anything spectacular and the narrative is long and meandering. But the story never gets ahead of itself and all of the characters endear themselves to the audience so well that it carries the whole film. All of the D&D specific lore is either background set dressing for eagle-eyed fans or explained well enough that even the casual, disinterested audience members will understand what’s going on.

Closest comparison: It’s like a mix of Logan Lucky, Labyrinth, and Stardust.

Setting: Fantasy
Plot: Heist
Tone: Comedy

Fast & Furious (2009) - 3/5

This fourth entry in the Fast and the Furious saga seems like one of the weakest links at first blush, but there’s more to it than that. The story structure is some of the best in the series, unfolding the narrative with solid plot points and earned reveals. However, this is also the first movie of the bunch to start getting crazy with the over-the-top stunts and Mission: Impossible-level tech. It maintains the fun and flaws of the rest of the series, so fans will already know what to expect and everyone else won’t have gotten this far.

Closest comparison: It’s like the plot of The Third Man by way of Vanishing Point (1971).

Setting: Suave Crime
Plot: Undercover Detective
Tone: Action Thriller

The Fast and The Furious (2001) - 3/5

This is one of those movies that is made for its cool factor, prioritizing fun over narrative and all those petty concerns about the morality of grand theft. A lot of this movie revolves around buying into the central relationships, but the movie does a good job of making everything seem cool and larger than life so that the audience is just along for the ride. The surrogate family drama is couched in all of the gratuitous shots of cars and girls you would expect, landing on a time-tested foundation of style over substance.

Closest comparison: It’s like Point Break (1991), but with cars.

Setting: Underground Crime
Plot: Crime Drama
Tone: Action