All the best movies have post-credits scenes. The same goes for reviews so be sure to stick around until the end of this one!

Fast & Furious 9, also known as F9, is the ninth instalment in the popular franchise. It continues the story of the well-known characters and continues from where the eighth movie left off. Dom Toretto (portrayed by Vin Diesel) must leave behind his peaceful life and reunite with the crew to stop a high-stakes plot led by his forgotten brother.

I haven't seen any of the previous Fast & Furious movies so will be approaching this review from a non-biased perspective basing my opinion on this movie alone. Because I hadn't seen any of the previous movies, I was not aware of what had happened in the other movies, but F9 provided enough of a backstory to ensure that viewers such as myself understood what was going on. The movie could have explained certain elements further to ensure that it was crystal clear to all viewers but if it had, fans of the franchise may have been bored because of the repetition.

Before seeing F9, all I knew about the Fast & Furious saga was that it was about cars and had quite a bit of unrealistic action. My assumption was correct. There was no doubt that this movie was about cars; the filmmakers ensured that at every moment where there could be cars, there were cars. There was of course also a lot of action and the effects and stunts used for this action looked stunning and very convincing. The stunts themselves, though, were not so convincing. I lost count of the number of times where I rolled my eyes because of how the movie was unrealistic. Thankfully, it didn't seem that the filmmakers were unaware of this. It didn't seem that they were adding in the stunts because they wanted to make a scientifically accurate movie, but they added them in just because they could and had the budget. They didn't try to hide behind mind-blowing effects (although there were some mind-blowing effects) and even poked fun at themselves and the realism of the movie.

Unfortunately, the unrealistic nature of F9 sometimes made the movie slightly lifeless and it felt like it was not worth it. The exciting action also made the parts where there wasn't any action slow and mundane. I also thought that F9 was trying to pack too much into one movie. The movie was undoubtedly long and I think that some elements could have been scrapped completely. There was even one section of the movie which felt way too rushed and it felt like an important turning point in the movie.

The main way to sum up F9 is to say that it was a fun yet unrealistic experience. It was an enjoyable watch, from the action to the incredible effects to laughing at the far-fetched stunts. I even saw this movie in IMAX which only added to the experience. It is impossible to say that Fast & Furious 9 is remotely realistic, but I think that occasionally it's fine to have this kind of movie. So it was an enjoyable Saturday evening, but I don't think I would want to see the movie again.

Director: Justin Lin

Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster

Year released: 2021

My rating: 5.5/10

BUT......

I said before that I saw this movie in IMAX. I also said that I had never seen any Fast & Furious movies before seeing F9. I even mentioned that all I knew about the Fast Saga was that it is extremely unrealistic. So you may be wondering, why did I sacrifice my Saturday night to see a movie which I had hardly any interest in and go even further to pay the extra price of seeing the movie on the huge screen at IMAX?

Well. The sixth Jurassic Park movie, Jurassic World: Dominion, is coming out into cinemas almost exactly a year from now. Aside from a fifteen-second teaser trailer on social media, no footage has been seen of this new movie as of yet. Universal Pictures is going old-school and for one weekend, an exclusive five-minute preview of Jurassic World: Dominion was shown before all F9 screenings at IMAX.

So this is why I saw Fast & Furious 9 at IMAX. And I am so glad I did!

The five-minute footage is the first five minutes of Jurassic World: Dominion. The preview takes us back to an era in which (surprisingly) none of the Jurassic movies have ventured into before. The preview takes us back to 65 million years ago when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. We get to see the dinosaurs in their natural habitat and are introduced to seven never-before-seen dinosaurs which I am assuming will play a big role in the upcoming movie.

This part of the preview was great. Especially seeing the preview in IMAX, it felt like we were part of their world which was likely the intent of the preview. The visual effects were stunning and were on a level above anything else from the Jurassic movies. 

But the most exciting part of the preview was the second half when we got a classic Jurassic World twist. I don't want to say too much because I'm not certain that the preview was only playing for that weekend, but it got me so excited.

I cannot wait for when Jurassic World: Dominion hits cinemas next year and I would happily sit through F9 again if it meant that I got to see this incredible footage a second time.

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallace Howard, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and lots of dinosaurs!

Release date: June 10 2022

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 17/01/2022