Fate of The Furious starts out a little while after the ending of Furious 7. Brian (Paul Walker; Furious 7) and Mia (Jordana Brewster; American Heist) are out of the life, Dom (Vin Diesel; xXx: Return of Xander Cage) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez; The Assignment) are on their honeymoon. Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson; Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) is coaching girls soccer, and the rest of the team are out relaxing from the chaos the ensued in the last film. Enter Cipher (Charlize Theron; Atomic Blonde), a criminal the likes of which the world has never seen. She has plans, plans that involve Dom, and she has the leverage she needs to get it done. For him to forget his code and turn his back on all he loves. It will take the help of the entire team (including old enemies) to stop her.
It is with this premise that we are thrust back into the world of fast cars, over-the-top stunts that defy gravity, and characters we love trying to keep their family together and save the world. The entire cast is back (save from the O'Conners) from Furious 7 including Kurt Russel (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) and Jason Statham (Expendables) as well new members, Scott Eastwood (Suicide Squad) and Helen Mirren (Red 2). The chemistry of the cast is top notch and you feel like you are watching old friends the entire runtime of the film.
Entering the franchise for the first time is Director F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) who brings his years of experience in filmmaking to the franchise. Gray maintains the feel of the previous installments in the series and adds his own spin to it. He fleshes out characters and offers dialog that is a bit more three-dimensional last go around.
With each film, the stakes and the action get more spectacular and Fate of The Furious is no exception. From "zombie cars" to a submarine chase filmed in Iceland. There is no letting up from the gas in this film. In fact, the United States Department of Defense even lent a "Ripsaw" tank for the final battle of the film.
Fate of the Furious is presented in HEVC/ H.265 codec with a resolution of 2160p in an aspect ratio of 2:40:1. Blacks are spot on and there are no signs of articfacting anywhere to be found on the disc. The UHD colors are the perfect temperature which adds an extra dimension to the film that was barely seen in the theater.
The audio presented in DTS:X is truly out of this world. Spoken dialog is crisp and clear and relegated to the center channel which then allows the special effects channels to encompass your entire room. A few times throughout the film one can feel the entire room shake from the explosions or car engines roaring through the disc.
The Fate of the Furious 4k disc set includes the 4K UHD copy of the film, a Blu-ray 1080p version, a digital copy of the theatrical and extended versions of the film, and a good amount of featurettes compared to other discs. These features include:
- The Cuban Spirt - A look into the filming the movies opening car race sequence in Cuba and the challenges it faced.
- In The Family - A peek into the different families and their dynamics in the film.
- Car Culture - Showcasing the real stars of the film, the cars.
- Extended Fight Scene
- Audio commentary with Director F. Gary Gray
People critical that the series should have ended with number seven will be pleasantly surprised by this film. Fate of the Furious is great fun throughout the entire movie. It gives audiences all the thrills and stunts they are looking for in a Fast and Furious film and keeps pushing the boundaries of what you can do with cars (and physics).
