The Fast And The Furious franchise blasts back for its eighth instalment with absolutely everything cranked up into the red zone — stars, cars, locations, concept, you name it — for a spectacle even cynics will have to see to believe.
The Fast and Furious 8 launches in South Africa with the first screenings in Ster-Kinekor’s IMAX theatres nationally and all Ster-Kinekor cinemas from 17:00 on Thursday, April 13.
Fast 8 manages to enlist basically all the planet’s reigning action stars, a couple of Oscar winners, previously unfilmable locations and dozens of cars that have never been seen on the big screen in a spectacle that betters even the over-the-top standards the series has set for itself in the previous films.
Universal’s biggest franchise of all time raked in $1.5 billion in gross takings with Fast 7. However, with the star of the film and the franchise Paul Walker having died, the Fast franchise had to out do itself and do justice to Paul’s legacy if they were going to get the team back together for this one.
From the shores of Cuba and the streets of New York City to the icy plains off the Arctic Barents Sea, this film sees the elite Fast & Furious force crisscross the globe to stop an anarchist (South Africa’s very own A-grader, Charlize Theron) from unleashing chaos on the world’s stage… and to bring home the man who made them a family. That would be our main man, Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto.
They have done just that in an almost ridiculous piece of cinematography that defines the state of action movies in 2017. This is one movie that you need to see on the giant IMAX screen, so strap in and brace yourself for the experience that is, well… Fast and Furious!
Collectors’ wet dream The Fast 8 producers were the first Hollywood film crew to shoot in Cuba, starting filming in Havana less than a month after President Obama’s meeting there with Raoul Castro. The trademark Fast “tuner party” scene features lovingly curated classic cars from the 40s and 50s, preciously preserved from a bygone time.
Cutting-edge car eye candy $17 million worth of customised cars were assembled from across the planet for a warehouse scene. The scene features everything from vintage Chevys to Ferraris, Lambos, Jaguars, Subarus and a one-of-a-kind $2-million Nissan concept car flown in from Japan.
Hot Havana Mile Taking the Fast quarter-mile race concept to a new level, the Cuban Mile scene features a street race through old Havana, showcasing the city’s architecture, the car culture, the people and the vibe in an action sequence that stops at nothing.
The showdown to end all showdowns It all goes apocalyptic as a nuclear submarine bursts through the frozen ocean crust while the Fast crew do battle in a fleet of ice-optimised cars, including a Dodge “Ice” Charger, a Rally Fighter, a Subaru WRX and a Lamborghini.
Fast 8 Fast Facts
- The Fast franchise was inspired by “Racer X”, a 1998 article in Vibe magazine about the New York street-racing scene. Fast 8 sees them return to New York for the first time.
- The Fate of The Furious is billed as the first episode of the “final trilogy” in the series. So it’s not over yet!
- The movie features two Oscar-winning actors in South African Charlize Theron as Cipher and Dame Helen Mirren as Magdalene Shaw.
- Fast 8 is the first Universal Pictures film to shoot in Cuba since the United States imposed a trade embargo on communist Cuba in 1963.
- Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, returns as Hobbs. His film star has risen since his first franchise appearance in Fast Five. His total film revenues now exceed $2 million worldwide.
- Franchise star Vin Diesel got into acting as a kid when he and a friend broke into a theatre and were confronted by the theatre director, who offered them roles instead of calling the police.
- Fast 7 is ranked the sixth highest grossing film of all time, with $1.5 billion worldwide.
- Because Cuba has no auto industry, shooting in the Caribbean nation meant the filmmakers had to transport 10 Chevys and seven Fords to cater for the carnage that would ensue during the Havana action sequence.
- Fast 8 director F Gary Gray, who also directed recent music-biopic smash Straight Outta Compton, is the highest-grossing African-American director in the movie industry.
- The Fast 8 trailer is one of the most successful movie trailers ever. It debuted in Times Square, New York City and racked up 139 million views within its first 24 hours on YouTube.
