The Fate of the Furious 8 (2017)
The Fate of the Furious (alternatively known as F8 and titled on-screen as Fast & Furious 8 internationally) is a 2017 American action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to Furious 7 (2015) and the eighth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. The film stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron. In the film, Dominic Toretto has settled down with his wife Letty Ortiz, until cyberterrorist Cipher coerces him into working for her and turns him against his team, forcing them to find Dom and take down Cipher. Plans for an eighth installment were first announced in March 2015 when Diesel appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and announced that the film would be set in New York City.Preparations for the film began immediately after the release of Furious 7, with Diesel, Morgan, and producer Neal H. Moritz re-signing. After setting an initial release date in that same month, casting took place between April and June. In October, Gray was announced to direct the film in the place of James Wan, who had directed the previous installment. Principal photography began in March 2016 in locations such as Mývatn, Havana, Atlanta, Cleveland, and New York City, continuing the franchise’s tradition of filming around the world. With an estimated production budget of up to $270 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made.
The Fate of the Furious premiered in Berlin on April 4, 2017 and was theatrically released in conventional and IMAX theaters in the United States on April 14 by Universal Pictures.
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The film received mixed reviews from critics who praised the performances and action sequences but criticism for its story, Theron’s character, self-referential humor and runtime. Others deemed the film unnecessary in the wake of Walker’s tribute in Furious 7. Despite the mixed reception, the film was a box office success, grossing over $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the nineteenth film (and the second in the franchise, after Furious 7) to gross over $1 billion, the third-highest-grossing film of 2017, and the eleventh highest-grossing film of all time. It also grossed $541.9 million worldwide during its opening weekend, which made it the highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time until the release of Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The sequel, F9, was released internationally in May 2021 and released in the United States in June 2021.
Plot.
Following the defeat of Deckard Shaw and Mose Jakande, Dominic “Dom” Toretto and Letty Ortiz are on their belated-honeymoon in Havana when Dom’s cousin Fernando gets in trouble owing money to local racer Raldo. Sensing Raldo is a loan shark, Dom challenges Raldo to a race, pitting Fernando’s 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline against Raldo’s 1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria, and wagering his own 1961 Chevrolet Impala. After narrowly winning the race, Dom allows Raldo to keep his car, saying his respect is enough and leaves his cousin with his own car. The next day, an elusive woman named Cipher coerces Dom into working for her by showing him something on her phone. Shortly afterward, Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs recruits Dom and his team, comprising Letty, Roman Pearce, Tej Parker, and Ramsey, to help him retrieve an EMP device from a military outpost in Berlin.During the getaway, Dom goes rogue, forcing Hobbs off the road and stealing the device for Cipher, who is a cyberterrorist.
Hobbs gets arrested and locked up in the same high-security prison which holds Deckard Shaw. After Hobbs and Shaw both escape the prison, intelligence operative Mr. Nobody and his protégé Eric Reisner recruit them to help the team find Dom and capture Cipher. Deckard reveals that Cipher had hired his brother Owen Shaw to steal the Nightshade device and Mose Jakande to steal God’s Eye, Ramsey’s software program, which has made Cipher target Dom due to having interfered with her plans.
The team tracks Dom and Cipher to their place, moments before the latter two attack the base, injuring the team and stealing God’s Eye. Roman suggests that Brian O’Conner would know what to do, but Letty reminds him that they promised not to bring him and Dom’s sister Mia in any more dangerous activities for the sake of their children.
When Dom shows signs of frustration with Cipher, she takes him to see his ex-lover and DSS agent Elena Neves, and their son, of whose existence Dom was unaware, having kidnapped both to secure his loyalty and turn on his team; if Dom defies Cipher, she will execute Dom’s son. Elena tells Dom that she wanted him to decide the child’s first name, having already given him the middle name Marcos.
In New York City, Cipher sends Dom (in a 1971 Plymouth GTX) to retrieve a nuclear football held by the Russian Minister of Defense. Prior to the theft, Dom briefly evades Cipher—with the help of Raldo—and persuades Deckard and Owen’s mother, Magdalene, to help him rescue his son. Cipher hacks into the electronics systems of many cars, remotely controlling them via auto drive, causing them to disable the convoy so that Dom can take the football. The team intercepts Dom in their cars, but Dom escapes, seemingly killing Deckard in the process.
Letty catches up to Dom and steals the football, but is ambushed
and nearly killed by Cipher’s right-hand man, Connor Rhodes, before Dom stops him and forces Letty to give the football back. In retaliation, Cipher lets Rhodes execute Elena in front of Dom, threatening to kill his son next should he defy her again.
Dom infiltrates a Russian paramilitary separatist base in Russia in a modified 1968 Dodge Charger to use the EMP device to disable their security and to disable a nuclear submarine, enabling Cipher to hijack it and attempt to use its arsenal to trigger a nuclear war.
They are once again intercepted by the team, who are able to shut down the submarime’s nuclear weapons, and then drive out toward the sea gate that would prevent the sub from leaving into open waters while being pursued by the separatists. Meanwhile, Deckard, who faked his death with the help of Magdalene Shaw, teams up with Owen, and at Magdalene’s behest, infiltrates Cipher’s plane to rescue Dom’s son while Owen takes control of the plane.
Development.
In November 2014, Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley told The Hollywood Reporter that there would be at least three more films in the franchise after Furious 7. In April 2015, Vin Diesel stated that the possible sequel that “Paul Walker used to say that [an eighth film] was guaranteed. And in some ways, when your brother guarantees something, you sometimes feel like you have to make sure it comes to pass.” Diesel further hinted at an eighth film on Jimmy Kimmel Live! when he stated that Kurt Russell’s character would span multiple films. He also stated that the next film would take place in New York City. Chris Morgan returned to write his sixth script in the franchise, while Neal H. Moritz returned to produce. Moritz later stated, “[The story] is going to have to be something enticing for all of us. It has to be as good as or better [than Furious 7]”.RELATED:
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At the 2015 CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Diesel announced the film for an April 14, 2017 release date. In August, at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards (where Furious 7 received the award for Choice Movie – Action and Walker received the award for Choice Movie Actor – Action), Diesel gave the film the initial title Fast 8. In September, Diesel stated that the script had almost been completed, and expressed interest in Rob Cohen, who directed the first film, to direct the eighth installment. In October, Diesel announced on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray would direct the film. In July, Moritz said that Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner, would not appear in the film, following the use of CGI in the previous film after Walker died in a single-vehicle accident in November 2013,
with Moritz stating that his character had “moved on” It had previously been reported that Paul’s younger brother, Cody Walker, would either join the cast in a new role, or replace his older brother in the role of O’Conner; however, it was later announced that the character will not return to the franchise. Moritz also said that the film would shift the focus of the franchise from a series of heist films to a spy caper, following a similar change in focus from street racing in Fast Five (2011). In December 2016, the film was retitled The Fate of the Furious.
Casting.
Diesel, Russell, and Michelle Rodriguez were the first to confirm their involvement in the film, and Tyrese Gibson and Chris Bridges both confirmed their return soon after. Lucas Black had signed on to reprise his role from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) as Sean Boswell for Furious 7 and two more installments in September 2013. In May 2015, Dwayne Johnson confirmed his involvement in the film, additionally hinting at a possible spin-off film involving his character, Luke Hobbs. Jason Statham also confirmed his return that same month. In April 2016, Charlize Theron and Kristofer Hivju were confirmed as additions to the cast, in villainous roles, while Scott Eastwood also joined the film as a law enforcement agent. In May, Nathalie Emmanuel was confirmed to reprise her role as Ramsey in the film. In June, Helen Mirren announced in an interview with Elle that she would appear in the film. During an interview with Chris Mannix in July, Lucas Black confirmed he would not appear in the eighth installment, due to scheduling conflicts with NCIS: New Orleans.Filming.
In keeping with the franchise’s penchant for filming in “exotic” locations, such as Abu Dhabi and Rio de Janeiro, in January 2016 it was announced that Universal was seeking approval from the United States and Cuban governments to shoot part of the film in Cuba. Principal photography began on March 14, in Mývatn, in Iceland, where strong winds sent a plastic iceberg prop flying into a paddock. The prop struck two horses: one was wounded and the other mortally injured; it was later euthanized. In late April, filming began in Cuba’s capital city, Havana. In May, filming also took place in Cleveland. Franchise cinematographer Stephen F. Windon returned for the eighth instalment. Filming also took place in Atlanta and New York City.RELATED:
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Box office.
The Fate of the Furious grossed $226 million in the United States and Canada and $1.010 billion in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.236 billion, against a production budget of $250 million. The film was released in 64 territories worldwide, including almost all major markets (minus Japan), starting from April 12, 2017, and was projected to earn anywhere between $375–440 million in its five-day opening weekend. By the end of the weekend, it ended up earning $539.9 million from nearly 23,000 screens, way above initial projections, to score the biggest global opening in cinematic history until it was surpassed by Avengers: Infinity War (2018).Cast:
- Vin DieselasDominic Toretto:
- Dwayne JohnsonasLuke Hobbs:
- Jason StathamasDeckard Shaw:
- Michelle RodriguezasLetty Ortiz-Toretto:
- Tyrese GibsonasRoman Pearce:
- Chris “Ludacris” BridgesasTej Parker:
- Scott Eastwood as Little Nobody:
- Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey:
- Elsa Pataky as Elena Neves:
- Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody:
- Charlize Theron as Cipher:
- Kristofer Hivjuas Connor Rhodes: