F9: The Fast Saga Speeds Toward Bluray

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray, DVD and Digital Code from writer/director Justin Lin and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment comes the next installment of a franchise that rides in with FAST & FURIOUS 9.

The story of the Toretto's becomes even more clear as Dominic and Jakob are part of the pit crew to their father Jack's racing career. An accident, a fight lands Dom in prison and a realization to his father's death is what brings about the two brothers having a falling out.

Now, Dom (Vin Diesel) is raising little boy Brian with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) in the quiet life away from everyone and everything. That is until Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris Bridges) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) come knocking on their quiet life. It seems Cipher (Charlize Theron) is at it again and Mr. Nobody's (Kurt Russell) plan has been shot down.

What is worse, Dom suspects that brother Jakob (Jon Cena) is involved. Finding the plane wreckage, they are looking for a device called Ares that can hack into any system with ease. They also meet up with Dom's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and they discover they need to go to Tokyo.

Joined by Han Lue (Sung Kang), the team make their way to Edinburgh, and London to meet up with Sean (Lucas Black), Twinkie (Shad Moss) and Earl Hu (Jason Tobin). Han lets them know that his ward Elle (Anna Sawai) is the thing missing to make Ares work. Looking for the other half, the gang also learns that Jakob is full of tricks.

Dom is not able to stop Cipher and Otto from launching Ares, but he and the crew know how to stop it - it’s just going to take a little ground work and a big of space to get the job done.

Diesel as Dom is back and bad with more to his story. With each film, we are given bits and pieces as to why Dom is, well, Dom and as the family expands - so does the pains of the past. With Diesel's character, it is all about family, doing what's right and making sure the bad guys do not get to close to his family. Cena as Jakob is straight faced, tries to avoid the word 'family' but also realizes you cannot avoid the past.

Rodriguez as Letty is actually the one who jumps at the chance to straight things out. Her character is strong and very, very capable of handling whatever the guys want to throw her way. Emmanuel as Ramsey is another strong female character who is tech savvy and calm as a cucumber - even when things go crashing and speeding by. Brewster as Mia joins Dom when she realizes that Jakob needs to be dealt with.

Gibson and Bridges are roman and Tej who are trying to keep it together but sometimes you have to look up and boldly go, well, you get it.  is taking care of someone special for more than the obvious reasons. Sawai as Elle can handle herself but there is a reason everyone seems to want her, and she has to keep her cool and does absolutely that.

Black and Moss along with Tobin give us three characters that add a spark that I enjoyed. Clearly, they live in a world all their own, but their world is about to become more infinite!

Other cast include Helen Mirren as Queenie Shaw, Thue Ersted Rasmussen as Otto, Cardi B as Leysa, Don Omar as Santos, Shea Whigham as Stasiak and Michael Rooker as Buddy.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Bonus Features include: Director’s Cut, Theatrical Version, Gag Reel, F9: All In, Practically Fast, Shifting Priorities, Justice for Han, A Day on Set with Justin Lin, John Cena: Supercar Superfan, and Feature Commentary with Producer/Co-Writer-Director Justin Lin.

F9: The Fast Saga is everything the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise has come to be known for. There are fast cars that let the drivers have some fun behind the wheel, fantastic stunts that make driving like a maniac look thrilling and a villain that seems to always be just a car length away from being caught.

This time, the gang are jumping around the world to find answers, unexpected surprises, realizations, secrets that had to be kept and all of that does not stop them from doing what they do best.  Leaving the end open is another trait of the FAST & FURIOUS franchise and with the sly escape of Cipher, Dom and the gang is not going to let it all go so easily.

In the end – the fast family forever!

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS Revs Up Their Engines Once Again!

Jeri Jacquin

In theatres this Friday from director F. Gary Gray and Universal Pictures come the next installment when it comes to knowing THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS.

Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) are on their honeymoon in Puerto Rico. Not there long before Dom has to put his foot to the pedal for the respect of family. Returning to the hotel, he is stopped by a woman named Cipher (Charlize Theron) who isn’t pulling any punches by letting Dom know that he will soon be working for her.

Hobbs goes from coaching his daughter’s soccer team to a job that gets him a nice stint in the slammer but Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) offers him a deal to stay out of jail. Backed up by Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) on the deal, Hobbs refuses. Waiting in a cell across from Hobbs is his least favorite person Deckard (Jason Statham) as the two immediately begin to verbally spar.

It takes no time at all before Mr. Nobody gets Hobbs, Deckard, Letty, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) in a room to tell them that Dom has gone rogue! The get the intel of Cipher but they have no idea what they are up against as the game of cat and mouse begins. Letty doesn’t believe it but the mission is to stop him.

Dom knows he is hurting his new bride and friends by working with Cipher but there is something they do not know and he can’t tell them. Every time the gang gets close, Dom has back up from Cipher and her muscle Rhodes (Kristofer Hivju) to elude them once again. That is until they all end up on the Barents Sea in the arctic for a showdown like nothing the gang has experienced before.

All of it to stop an anarchist and discover what made their leader go rogue!

Diesel as Dom returns to the hard and tough role that fans have loved about this franchise. Knowing that taking care of family, whether blood or otherwise, means taking each step carefully. His performance is totally spot on and the scenes with Theron are filled with tension that is amazing to watch from them both.

Diesel recently announced at CinemaCon that there will be a 9^th and 10^th installment of the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise. He told the audience, “We are proud of how we defied expectations with this series of films.” Of course the topic of Paul Walker came up and he said, “It was a hard decision to make the film without Paul but his legacy is in every frame we shoot. He was the concept of brotherhood! When I thought of going into the 8^th chapter, it was Paul that said ‘8 is guaranteed!’

Johnson as Hobbs is bigger and bulkier than ever bringing a softer side to his character as a soccer coach. That also brings a big of comedy to his character and it really is quite funny. That being said, when the comedy stops – Hobbs gets to business and as much as he doesn’t want to go after Dom, he will and he will without hesitation.

Statham as Deckard is a mixture of hilarious, bad ass, softy and perfection with his interaction with Johnson’s character. This actor keeps getting better and better in the sense that he can be a tough in some roles that are scary and then amazing comedy as in the film SPY (which still cracks me up every time I see it) and now a mixture of both for THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS.

Rodriguez as Letty is dedicated to her man and there isn’t anyone that’s going to convince her otherwise. Although she helps Hobbs and the gang, she sees it more as saving Dom from something she doesn’t understand and not take him down. Emmanuel as Ramsey is the high tech gal who is working overtime to stay ahead of Cipher.

Gibson as Roman is back looking for the fastest and baddest looking car in the bunch. Ludacris as Tej works well with Emmanuel trying to discover how Cipher manages to do the unthinkable with the technology she has.

Russell as Mr. Nobody is smart and witty and I’d expect nothing less form him. I’m still amazed with the diversity of his characters and the fantastic way he portrays them. Eastwood as Little Nobody doesn’t yet understand how the gang works and soon learns that they have a way of doing things and it’s not always by the book.

I’m giving a shout out to Hivju as Rhodes. He is such a cool bad guy with the ability to give anyone crazy-eye. Then again this shouldn’t be a shock for anyone who is a Game of Thrones fan of his character Tormund Giantsbane.

Theron as Cipher is frakken brilliant as this character. She is smart, doesn’t take any guff and isn’t afraid of anyone – including Dom’s gang. In fact, this character seems to find great joy in staying many steps ahead of anyone trying to stop her from getting what she wants. Using Dom is her insurance policy and he is definitely a policy worth having. I love Theron every moment she is on the screen!

Other cast include: Luke Evans as Owen, Elsa Pataky as Elena, Patrick St. Esprit as DS Allan and Janmarco Santiago as Fernando.

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS is definitely a high octane ride from start to finish. Fans of the franchise aren’t going to be disappointed with the action, car chases and even an ice breaking submarine. It is fun, humorous, and even cute in a few places which just adds more fun to the film.

This is a large cast which keeps the intensity flowing and there isn’t much time to sit back and relax. Trust me when I say I’m leaving tons of details out because this is a film that doesn’t need everything put out there. Instead, it’s a film where everyone gets together and goes to have a good time so let’s not over think it.

This weekend, do just that! Grab friends, get a huge tub of popcorn and get ready for the ride that one THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS can provide.

In the end – the ride isn’t over!