For a fan of Vin Diesel, there is little better than another instalment of a franchise closely associated with him. The pace of the movie was quite consistent and even if you could see certain plot twists coming from way off, it's still entertaining.
What worked:
The humour and the stunts. While the Statham and Johnson matchup was entertaining, two supporting actors stole the show in terms of humour : Helen Mirren's matriarch of the Shaw family and the baby.
What didn't work:
Theron's villain was an extreme left (?) leaning sociopath who seemed too caught up in the complexity of her plots. The occasional intensity radiating from her just classes with the overall easy feel. It was the stranger counterpart to Eastwood's earnest rookie. Yet the latter managed to make the connection that Theron didn't. Also, though most audiences aren't watching such action franchises for the plot, the disposal of Elena was too convenient a move. Consider this: any potential angst and character conflict that may have arisen in the Elena-Letty-Dom triangle with the baby at the centre of the tensionmight have meant difficulty for Dom but bumping her off so the baby naturally becomes part of the legit Lettie-Dom marriage is a little too conveniently chauvinist a move, even for this movie.
The Unexpected:
The reintroduction of the Shaws as good guys was just a tad disconcerting. And while Statham with the baby was quite funny and entertaining, for this fan, it kinda/sorta smacked a little of borrowing from an early Vin Diesel vehicle, The Nanny.
Conclusion:
An easy film to watch and like for the majority of us Philistines (yours truly being an unabashed card carrying member of the club). Everyone else, there are other choices, non-action ones mostly but hey, to each their own.
An Unintended Lesson:
The plot of FF8 surprisingly teaches audiences an unintended lesson. I'd be surprised if Tesla or, indeed, any of the motor companies in the driverless camp would sponsor the FF8 because a key scene and message is basically a question everyone of these companies are hardly eager to answer: what happens if some group of hackers hacks your car(s)? The answer is captured in Cipher's line: Let it rain.
So imagine what if you're living in a world where there's nothing but the internet of things??
