Known by the more imaginative title ‘The Fate of the Furious’ internationally – but simply as ‘Fast & Furious 8’ in the UK – the eighth film in the franchise is as ridiculous, over-the-top and fun as the recent instalments, but with a far larger, globe-trotting scope.

Premise: While on honeymoon in Cuba with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is approached by the mysterious Cipher (Charlize Theron) and coerced into working for her. Soon he’s forced to betray Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and the rest of his team, who are then recruited by the mysterious Mr Nobody (Kurt Russell) to hunt down Cipher and Toretto.

Verdict:

The Fast & Furious franchise is what it is, and what it is is a series of movies that are increasingly preposterous, larger-than-life and outright daft thrill-a-minute rollercoaster rides. In this eighth film, gravity, physics and (arguably) consistent character motivations all go out the window in service of a movie that is perhaps the dictionary definition of “dumb but fun”.

If this sounds like I’m damning the film with faint praise, that’s not entirely the case. I think that by this stage, most people know what they’re getting with a Fast & Furious film and enjoy it for what it is … but on the off-chance that this is your first Fast & Furious film, it’s only fair to warn you what to expect.

“…some of the characters don’t appear to remember all of the events from previous films…”

On the one hand, now that we’re up to the eighth film there is a very convoluted backstory which viewers are expected to know already, otherwise references to "Mr Nobody", "God’s Eye" or "Brian and Mia" will be completely lost on you. But on the other hand, the film doesn’t let itself get bogged down by its own history, and the truth is, even some of the characters don’t appear to remember all of the events from all of the previous films (or even their character motivations from one film to the next). But this isn’t a franchise that’s going to let character consistency get in the way of making an awesome film, so if characters need to have an unexplained change of heart between films to get them to where they need to be to make this film spectacular, then so be it.

Again, it may sound like I’m being sarcastic, but I’m really not. I spent the vast majority of this film with a big, dumb grin on my face as I watched the vehicular mayhem unfold before my eyes. Each time I watch a new Fast & Furious film, I think they can’t possibly top the spectacle of the last one … but each time I’m proven wrong. In this film, they have opened up the worldwide scope of the franchise with on-location filming in New York City, Iceland and Cuba which adds a tangible sense of location to the proceedings, and the action itself reaches new heights of preposterousness (in a good way). The scene in New York City in particular was like nothing I’d seen before.

“…the film series shows no signs of running out of steam just yet…”

In this eighth film, the franchise once again evolves into a new sub-genre altogether, which has been one of the key reasons why the film series does not appear to be showing any signs of running out of steam just yet. The first four films in the series were very much about the criminal underworld of illegal street racing, whereas the fifth, sixth and seventh film formed a “trilogy” of what were, in effect, heist movies. Now that we’re moving into the “final trilogy” of proposed films (with the ninth and tenth films apparently intended for 2019 and 2021), the series has become a full-on spy movie, with Dom and his team now being called in by Hobbs and Mr Nobody for off-the-books international covert missions. Utter nonsense, but outrageously fun to watch.

Another key to the success of the film series is that it knows that it’s ridiculous, and it embraces it. This isn’t trying to be a gritty, realistic thriller – as is made abundantly clear in the opening sections of this film, which involve Dom being challenged to a street race through Havana, Cuba in a clapped-out wreck of an old car, and Hobbs providing an insight into what he does when he’s off-duty from saving the world. Later, once the film reintroduces Jason Statham as rogue ex-special forces agent Deckard Shaw, he and Hobbs trade insults that are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face, further upping the film’s humour levels. One of the franchise’s greatest assets has always been the chemistry amongst the cast, and the banter between the main characters (especially between Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce and Chris Bridges’ Tej Parker) is still there from previous films, only this time we also have quips from Kurt Russell’s Mr Nobody, and Scott Eastwood as his new underling, nicknamed “Little Nobody”. Kurt Russell, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in particularly are clearly having a great time playing these larger-than-life characters, and the twinkle in their eyes hints at how much fun they’re having in these roles.

“…utter nonsense, but outrageously fun…”

The rest of the old gang is also back, with the notable exceptions of Brian and Mia (for obvious reasons), while Nathalie Emmanuel has now also joined the team as the hacker Ramsey from the seventh film. The major new addition to the cast this time around is Oscar winner Charlize Theron, who appears as the genuinely chilling and sociopathic Cipher. Charlize Theron manages to chew the scenery as the main antagonist without crossing the line into full-on panto-villain territory, and thanks to a little bit of Spectre-style ret-conning, is also revealed to have been secretly involved in events from earlier films as well. The end result is probably the franchise’s most effective and memorable villain to date (even if her ultimate agenda and objectives are still a little hazy even by the end of the film).

Just as Fast Five reinvigorated the series and transformed it into something bigger, better and more ludicrous than ever before, The Fate of the Furious sets the franchise up with a new lease of life, positioning Dom and his team as globe-trotting secret agents fighting to keep the world safe from international terrorists and criminal masterminds. Not bad for a bunch of LA street racers who, in the first film, struggled to highjack a lorry from a lone truck driver with a shotgun.