The Fate of the Furiousteased a Toretto family civil war, but it ended up wasting theFast & Furiousfranchise’s best storytelling opportunity on a predictable blackmail storyline. There’s a case to be made thattheFast & Furiousseries should’ve ended withFurious 7.Furious 7was retooled into a tribute to Paul Walker when the actor sadly passed away during filming. The final scene of Dom and Brian having one last street race before Brian takes an exit and leaves Dom behind would’ve been the perfect ending to this epic saga.
But since Universal wanted to keep making money, it kept makingFast & Furiousmovies.The Fate of the Furiouswas teased as the highest-stakes chapter yet. The trailers showed Dom betraying his team — the people he considers family — forcing them to reluctantly fight back. This set up what could’ve been the greatestFast & Furiousstory of all: a Toretto family civil war. Like the Avengers’ fallout inCaptain America: Civil War, it would’ve been a great way to test the characters’ loyalty and bring some real drama to an action blockbuster. But the civil war was oversold.
The Fate Of The Furious Was Marketed As The End Of The Family
“Family No More” Was Used On Some Of The Posters
The marketing forThe Fate of the Furiousteased the end of Dom’s family. The premise was set up as Dom’s family being forced to fight him after he inexplicably betrays them. The tagline “Family no more” was used on some of the film’s posters andthe trailers left it a mystery as to why Dom had suddenly turned on his team. It seemed as though there had been a huge falling-out that caused Dom and his family to take sides, which was really exciting. But that’s not quite how it panned out in the actual movie.
The Reason Why Dom Turned Against His Family Made It Less Impactful
The Blackmail Storyline Was A Total Cop-Out
The reason why Dom turned against his family inThe Fate of the Furiouserased all the drama promised by that premise. As it turned out, he didn’t want to turn on his team; he was being blackmailed by a cyberterrorist named Cipher. There was no animosity between Dom and his team — it was all for show. So,Dom’s long-standing loyalty to his family wasn’t tested and the team didn’t have to fight himas much as they had to save him. This allowed the filmmakers to comfortably return to the status quo in time for the end credits.
It would’ve been much more interesting if Dom had been put in a position where he actually had to choose to go against his team because of something he thought was right.
This blackmail storyline was a total cop-out. It was the most obvious answer for why Dom had a sudden change of heart and turned against the people he loves. It allowed the filmmakers to have their cake and eat it, too. They could have Dom turn against his team and fight them without having to really break up the family or take any risks with the narrative. It would’ve been much more interesting if Dom had been put in a position where he actually had to choose to go against his team because of something he thought was right.
The Fate Of The Furious Wasn’t Really A Toretto Family Civil War
It Was Sold As Dom Vs. Hobbs, But It Was Dom Vs. Everyone Until Dom Came Back Around
The Fate of the Furiouswasn’t really the Toretto family civil war that the marketing promised. The posters and trailers suggested thatThe Fate of the Furiouswas going to be theFast & Furiousversion ofCaptain America: Civil War. A disagreement like the Avengers’ debate over the Sokovia Accords would break Dom’s family apart and split them into two factions led by Dom and Hobbs. Like Iron Man and Captain America, Dom and Hobbs would each lead their half of the group into battle against the other.
Fast & Furious Complete Timeline (Including Fast X Flashbacks & Retcons)
Here’s a complete breakdown of the Fast & Furious franchise timeline, including new details provided by Fast X’s flashbacks and Tokyo Drift retcons.
And based on the blockbuster box office success that marketing campaign yielded, it seems as thoughFast & Furiousfans were excited to see that storyline play out. ButThe Fate of the Furiouswasn’t really the Dom vs. Hobbs movie that the marketing suggested it would be.It wasn’t Dom’s team vs. Hobbs’ team; it was everyone vs. Dom until Dom escaped Cipher’s influenceand rejoined their side. Hobbs’ presence in the trailers was apparently just an attempt to cash in onDwayne Johnson’s then-thriving star power.
The Fate of the Furiouswas the secondFast & Furiousfilm afterFurious 7to gross over $1 billion.
Captain America: Civil Warpresented the Marvel Cinematic Universe with all-new storytelling challenges and brought some compelling drama to a comic book movie universe that had previously played it safe. It led to the mind-blowing events ofAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame.The Fate of the Furiouscould’ve done the same for theFast & Furiousseries, but it continued to play it safe and failed to reach the MCU’s heights of greatness.
The Fast Family Falling Apart Could Have Made For A Great Movie
A Toretto Family Civil War Would’ve Reinvigorated The Franchise
Dom’s family falling apart could’ve been the ultimateFast & Furiousstory. Dom has been extremely loyal to his family and the otherFast & Furiouscharacterssince the beginning — so much so that it’s become a meme — andfamily is the central theme of the entire series. There’s nothing dramatically satisfying about that family staying happily bonded together for 10 movies in a row. Even when a member of Dom’s family dies, they’re usually revealed to be alive a couple of movies later.It’s much more dramatically engaging to take a happy family and push them to the edgeand turn them against each other.
10 Hidden Details Everyone Missed In The Fate Of The Furious
With the eighth Fast and Furious movie officially in theaters, it’s time to point out a few details most viewers may have initially missed.
The movies that have followedThe Fate of the Furious—F9andFast X— have been massively underwhelming, because they’ve failed to raise the stakes or shake up the formula in any significant way. TheFast & Furiousfranchise keeps doing more or less the same thing over and over again. Dom’s family faces a new villain, they defeat the villain, then they have a barbecue. On the ninth or tenth go-around, that formulaic approach started to become painfully obvious.Fast Xends on a cliffhanger, but it’s still the same mindless action and stakes-free family drama.
IfThe Fate of the Furioushad followed through on the Toretto family civil war storyline that it initially promised, then it would’ve set the series on a completely different trajectory.
IfThe Fate of the Furioushad followed through on the Toretto family civil war storyline that it initially promised, then it would’ve set the series on a completely different trajectory that would’ve allowed the filmmakers to explore new ideas and storylines with the warring characters. The following movies could’ve built on that civil war and continued to test the characters’ loyalties and relationships with each other. But that would’ve been a creative risk, and most big-budget franchise filmmaking is steadfastly risk-averse.
The Fate of the Furious
Cast
The Fate of the Furious is the eighth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, released in 2017. Vin Diesel stars as Dom Toretto, who is drawn into the world of crime by a mysterious woman, pushing his loyal crew, including Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez, to face unprecedented challenges.
