TheFast and Furiousmovies are known for going over the top, butF9actually taking the franchise into space was seen by many fans as its “jump the shark” moment. DespiteThe Fast and the Furiousstarting the street-level originsof the franchise, the movies have gradually gotten bigger and wilder, becoming international spy movies that feel unrecognizable compared to the relatively grounded first movie. While there was joy in seeing how ridiculous the movies would get over the years, there seems to have been a breaking point thatF9eventually found.
There are a number ofmovie franchises with “jump the shark” moments, referring to an infamousHappy Daysepisode and meaning the moment a story goes too far for audiences. It might have seemed as thoughtheFast and Furiousmovieswere incapable of throwing off their fans with the increasing silliness, but seeing Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) turn an old car into a spaceship and actuallyleave Earth’s atmosphere inF9might have been that moment.
Tej & Roman Going Into Space In A Case Was One Step Too Far
The Fast And Furious Franchise Went Into Space And Left Reality Behind
Given how increasingly ridiculoustheFast and Furiousmovieshad been getting over the years, there was an ongoing joke that the franchise would eventually have to go to space to top itself.F9took that challenge by concocting a premise in whichTej and Roman modify a Pontiac Fiero with some rocket boosters, strap it to a plane that flies into the upper atmosphere, and take out the villains' satellite.
Going into space was just a laughable moment that might have entertained some people initially, but made things too cartoonish going forward.
The important thing to note is that the fan demand for taking the franchise into space was largely seen as a joke. It has become as common as “jumping the shark” that a movie franchise that has run out of ideas suddenly throws in a space element. However, this has rarely been received well, withJason X, Moonraker,andLeprechaun in Spaceas prime examples. TheFast and Furiousfranchise didn’t seem to understand that by actually going through with this, they would be taking the franchise to a point it could never come back from.
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As much as Dom was becoming more of a superhero than a grounded street racer in these movies, theFast and Furiousfranchise was still keeping one foot in reality for the most part.However, going into space was just a laughable moment that might have entertained some people initially, but made things too cartoonish going forward. Much likeHan’s return inF9, it is an example of theFast and Furiousfranchise conceding to fan demand without considering how damaging it is for the actual story.
Fast & Furious Has Nearly Jumped The Shark Several Times Before
The Series Is Known For Going Over The Top
While it is easy to point to the space sequence as the moment theFast and Furiousfranchise jumped the shark, these movies have been getting closer and closer to that moment for quite some time now.Fast Fivewas the movie that amped up the action of the franchise, butFast and Furious 6was when they really started to ignore the laws of reality in these movies. This includes the soap opera-esque storyline ofLetty coming back from the deadwith amnesia, as well as the moment Dom jumps from a car to catch her in midair.
The Fast and the Furious
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In retrospect, these moments were quite tame asFurious 7only embraced this kind of thing more, including Dom and Brian jumping a car from one building to the next and parachuting cars out of a plane. However,even without the space sequence, it is likely thatF9would have been seen as the franchise turning point in ridiculousness. Several storylines also took cues from soap operas, with the convoluted return of Han and Jakob Toretto revealed as Dom’s long-lost brother. The sequence of Dom attaching a rope to his speeding car and swinging across a canyon also received backlash.
There have been hints thatthe finalFast and Furiousmovie will return to its street-level roots, which could be an ideal way to close out the franchise. However, with the return of Gisele (Gal Gadot) inFast X, it seems as though they are still very willing to be ridiculous. In the end, as much as fans have been wanting to see the franchise go back to something smaller scale, moments like the space mission inF9make it hard to imagine that ever working out.
