Just a quick one today, gang. I’ve got some make-up work to do with regards to the ever-expanding Fast Saga franchise.
It’s wild—I’ve basically grown up with these movies, though I’ve still yet to see all of ’em. The new trailer looks great, of course. I appreciate the commitment to their increasingly large and eclectic ensemble, and tapping reliable utility player (and human redwood) John Cena as the new antagonist is a masterstroke. I look forward to F12, when Cena, like the Rock, will give up his grudge and join the Toretto clan.
I don’t have much else to offer, except a reminder to read the incomparable Wesley Morris’ essay about this series’ admirably diverse cast and worldview:
If you reach back to 2001, you’ll see the list of top-grossing movies has recurrently featured a hit series whose nod to diversity goes far beyond sassy neighbors, illiterate linebackers, or Will Smith. It’s a collection of movies that in its Utopian way puts blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics, and their various combinations on equal footing. It would be like a grown-up “Sesame Street,” except for the deadly road races, and the fact that the puppets have tattoos, guns, muscles, bald heads, and a ton of moving violations.
Go on and laugh your Benetton, Kumbaya, Kashi, quinoa laugh, but it’s true: The most progressive force in Hollywood today is the “Fast and Furious” movies. They’re loud, ludicrous, and visually incoherent. They’re also the last bunch of movies you’d expect to see in the same sentence as “incredibly important.” But they are—if only because they feature race as a fact of life as opposed to a social problem or an occasion for self-congratulation.
Also worth a look is my friend Vito Lapiccola’s delightful podcast about the series, So Fast So Furious.
Robert J. Peterson, Author 