Ever since 2001, the Fast and Furious franchise has been tearing up the streets with their high octane, adrenaline-pumping, and outrageous action-packed films, that have always gone bigger and wilder with each installment in the series. Dom Toretto and the gang are back again for the latest entry, ‘Fast & Furious 9’, and aim to take things even higher than ever before, for an out-of-this-world experience.

Vin Diesel returns once again to one of his most iconic roles as Dom Toretto, trying to live a quiet life in the countryside with his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and his son, Brian (played by twin brothers, Isaac and Immanuel Holdane). However, they know that danger is always close behind, and this time Dom will be forced to face the sins of his past, as he crosses paths with his long-lost brother Jakob Toretto (portrayed by WWE legend, John Cena).

In ‘Fast & Furious 9’, more of Dom’s past is revealed, including his father, his strained relationship with his younger brother, and what leads to their lives of street racing. Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, and Nathalie Emmanuel also return as Roman, Tej, and Ramsey respectively, to try to recruit Dom and Letty on a mission to Central America. Reluctant at first, Dom decides to join them after learning that his brother Jakob may be involved.

Of course, things are never simple in the characters’ lives in the Fast and Furious series. The star-studded cast, gorgeous-looking fast cars, and the ridiculous and explosive action sequences are all here. The series has come a long way from its beginnings that mainly focused on the lives of street racers, seeing them evolve into a highly trained team taking on the wildest missions that would only be reserved for only the best mercenaries in the world.

Seeing them take on a military team, both armed and unarmed, without receiving even a single scratch is pretty farfetched. This is something that Roman actually brings up a few times during the movie, pointing out that with all the bullets flying and vehicles exploding, he has nothing to show for it and starts to speculate there may be something supernatural going on, which leads to some comedic moments with him and other characters.

Even with all the mayhem going on in different corners of the world, the movie also doesn’t lose focus on its main story, exploring more of Dom’s younger years and even filling in some gaps from past movies, with the return of Han (Sung Kang), as well as the main cast of ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’ with Lucas Black, Bow Wow and Jason Tobin reprising their roles of Sean Boswell, Twinkie, and Earl Hu respectively. It’s really nice to see the events of the 2006 movie finally tying in with the story of the main movies in the long-running franchise.

Seeing Dom and the gang defying all odds and physics isn’t exactly something the best stunt performers in the world would even think about attempting, but it’s still fun to live out those fantasies through this movie and not take them too seriously. The special effects team does an amazing job creating the over-the-top action sequences with various sports cars and military vehicles on both land, in the air, and even a little further beyond. Complimenting those unreal action scenes is the movie’s soundtrack, which includes songs by Ty Dolla $ign, Wiz Khalifa, Sean Paul, and many more.

Fast and Furious fans new and old will find plenty to enjoy in the 9th installment or a series that has been going strong since 2001, with its adrenaline-fuelled, out-of-this-world, action-packed, and story-driven adventure. Dom’s backstory and returning characters all tying in the plots from past movies, and all the twists and turns in both the stories and cars, all help make ‘Fast & Furious 9’ a must-see.

The ending also has a moment that will likely have dedicated fans leaving the cinema with a little tear in their eye. However, the story is not over yet, with the sequel to ‘Hobbs and Shaw’, another spinoff film with a female lead and the tenth movie already on the horizon.

Written by: Sammy Hanson