The Fast and The Furious Rides Again

Jason R. Sakurai
by Jason R. Sakurai

The ninth Fast and The Furious epic was announced during Super Bowl LV in typical Fast fashion, with an over-the-top trailer to herald yet another chapter in a franchise where the stars outgrew the cars central to the theme.

Living in L.A. and working in the automotive industry, my connection to the original film was through a number of friends involved in the production. RJ DeVera, who had already developed a reputation for creating some of the most stunning and innovative show cars, played the part of Danny Yamato. Craig Lieberman, whose Supra became immortalized, served as technical advisor. Scott Centra, who worked for Wings West, a manufacturer of body kits, also had his Volkswagen Jetta in the film. Nitrous Oxide Systems, which was founded by Mike Thermos, had as big a part as any vehicle, coining the phrase, NOS, for the use of nitrous injection, and as a part of car culture going forward. It was their creative energy brought to the production that made the movie more exciting, and successful.

Fast and The Furious has been around for two decades, long enough to inspire a legion of fans and aspiring racers. Worldwide, it has earned more than $5 billion. This time around, Vin Diesel’s character, Dom Toretto, is living a quiet life off the grid with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), and his son, little Brian. His solitude ends when Dom’s long-lost brother, Jakob, played by John Cena, is about to execute a nefarious scheme that rocks the world, or at least as far as Toretto is concerned.

Jakob’s skills as an assassin, in addition to those as a driver, are the most formidable Dom has ever encountered. To defeat Jakob requires Dom to reassemble his supporting cast, played by Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Sung Kang.

Somehow added to the mix are Oscar award-winners Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron, Grammy winner and Pepsi commercial shill Cardi B, and reggae-rap-hip hop star Ozuna. That Cardi B as Lesya is being introduced as a new franchise character indicates that FF9 is not the end of the road.

F9, The Fast Saga, opens in theaters on May 28th.

[Images: Universal Pictures]

Jason R. Sakurai
Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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  • JMII JMII on Feb 09, 2021

    My wife, who will literally watch anything, couldn't make it thru 10 minutes of the first movie. At this point I believe the "Fast" franchise works the same way Sharknado does - its so bad you have to see the train wreck to believe it.

  • Moparmann Moparmann on Feb 11, 2021

    I was never a fan, and I don't care for the destruction of classic cars. Whatever interest I MIGHT have had in watching (just for the sake of the old cars) was destroyed upon watching a trailer of a high speed, unbelted, head on collision between two cars, and the principals got out and walked up to each other (with NO apparent injuries)!!

  • SCE to AUX The fix sounds like a bandaid. Kia's not going to address the defective shaft assemblies because it's hard and expensive - not cool.
  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
  • Analoggrotto NoooooooO!
  • Ted “the model is going to be almost 4 inches longer and 2 inches wider than its predecessor”Size matters. In this case there is 6” too much.
  • JMII Despite our past experience with Volvo my wife wants an EX30 badly. Small, upscale, minimalist EV hatch is basically her perfect vehicle.
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