By  HALEY PITTMAN

Danville High School

From street racing to robbing banks, the Fast and Furious crew never seem to fail when it comes to giving the audience what they want (although Tokyo Drift was eh, to say the least).

“The Fate of the Furious,” the eighth movie in the Fast and Furious series, was released in theaters on April 14, a little over two years since Furious 7 was released.

The plot consists of so many twists and turns throughout the film that it’s easy to get lost if you decide to get up during the movie, so I suggest you take a bathroom break beforehand. The movie begins with Dom and Letty (played by Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez) spending their honeymoon in Cuba. After an action-filled race, Cipher, a cyberterrorist who plans to start a nuclear war, blackmails Dom into working for her. This is when government official Mr. Nobody (played by Kurt Russell) and his protégé (played by Scott Eastwood) decide that the best way to find Dom is to use his own team against him. The feds create a prison break for ex-cop Luke Hobbs (played by Dwayne Johnson) and his mortal enemy Deckard Shaw (played by Jason Statham) in order to create the strongest team possible to go against Dom and Cipher. This is one of my favorite scenes because of the epic fighting scenes, amazing soundtrack and special effects the directors incorporated. Each slow motion body slam to the floor or front flip off a ledge will have you at the edge of your seat.

When I’m deciding which movie I want to see, the amount of action it has is something that catches my eyes. Action is very present throughout the whole movie. From cars raining into the streets of Manhattan (literally) to blowing up a submarine, the directors do a phenomenal job at inserting epic action scenes that keep the audience drawn in. Although some scenes aren’t realistic and defy multiple laws of physics, the action scenes are pleasurable to watch.

Although the movie did explain the absence of Brian O’Conner (played by late Paul Walker), the movie didn’t seem the same without him. However, Dom’s betrayal gives the series a new perspective and gets our minds off the fact that Paul Walker is no longer in the series.

The acting in the movie was exactly what you would expect, good but cheesy. Actors like Vin Diesel or Michelle Rodriguez do a good job at showing the emotion of heartbreak, anger, vengeance, and love. As someone who appreciates good acting, I tend to nitpick the small details. Other than the cheesy dialogue, and over-the-top stunts, the movie was really enjoyable to watch.

“The Fate Of The Furious” ends like the rest of the movies in the franchise (with a nice barbecue and some cliche family closing line), and similar to Furious 7, this ending will leave you in tears. Ultimately, “The Fate of the Furious” was better than I expected, but has room for improvement. The ending left room to continue the series as the crew’s loose ends were not tied. Overall, I recommend this movie to anyone who loves action-thrillers, and give it a 4 out of 5 anchors.