F9 (film)

F9 (also known as F9: The Fast Saga or Fast & Furious 9) is a 2021 American action film directed by Justin Lin, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daniel Casey. The sequel to The Fate of the Furious (2017), it is the ninth mainline installment and the tenth installment overall in the Fast & Furious franchise. It stars Vin Diesel as Dominic "Dom" Toretto, alongside Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Michael Rooker, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron. In the film, Dom and his team aim to stop his estranged brother Jakob Toretto and his financier, Otto, from activating Project Aries, a dangerous advanced weapons program.

With a ninth film planned since 2014, Lin was confirmed as director in October 2017, returning to the franchise since directing Fast & Furious 6 (2013). F9 is the first film in the franchise since 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) to not be written by Chris Morgan. Dwayne Johnson, who appeared in the previous four films, was announced to return in April 2017, but confirmed his absence in January 2019. The rest of the cast was finalized with the addition of John Cena six months later. Brian Tyler returned to compose the score. Principal photography began in June 2019 and lasted until that November, with filming locations including London, Edinburgh, Tbilisi, Los Angeles and Thailand.

F9 was originally scheduled for release by Universal Pictures on April 19, 2019, but was delayed several times due to the release of the spin-off film Hobbs & Shaw (2019), the planned release of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's James Bond film No Time to Die (2021), and the COVID-19 pandemic. It was first released in South Korea on May 19, 2021; and then released in the United States on June 25. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the stunts, Lin's direction, action sequences and the performances of the cast, while it was criticized for its plot and revision of tropes. It set several pandemic box office records and grossed $726.2 million worldwide, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2021. It was followed by Fast X in 2023.

Plot

In 1989, Jack Toretto participates in a late model race on a short track, with his sons Dominic "Dom" and Jakob working in the pit crew. Dom argues with rival racer Kenny Linder about his dirty tactics. During the race, Linder's car clips Jack's bumper, causing his car to crash, killing him. A week after, Dom is arrested for beating Linder to near-death. While serving his sentence, Dom recalls that Jakob had worked on Jack's car the day he died and concludes that Jakob killed Jack. Upon release, Dom confronts and challenges Jakob to a race, forcing him to leave town when Jakob loses.

In the present day, Dom is retired and raising his son Brian with his wife Letty Ortiz. Roman Pearce, Tej Parker and Ramsey arrive with a news that shortly after arresting Cipher, Mr. Nobody's plane was attacked by rogue agents, who abducted Cipher and crashed in Montequinto, a fictional Central American country. Dom agrees to help them after realizing Jakob is involved. Searching the plane, they find part of a device called Project Aries, which can hack into any computer weapons system. The team is ambushed by a private army led by Jakob, who steals the device. Michael Stasiak helps Dom's crew escape to their safe house at the Caspian Sea and Dom's sister Mia arrives to help. The team learns that Han Lue is connected to Project Aries, at which point, Letty and Mia leave for Tokyo to investigate.

Meanwhile, Jakob meets with Otto, Jakob's associate and financier. Cipher, who is being held at their base, tells Jakob that the other half of Aries is in Edinburgh. Dom meets his father's mechanic Buddy, who took Jakob after his exile, and learns that Jakob is in London. In Tokyo, Letty and Mia find Han alive, along with his ward Elle. Roman and Tej travel to Germany to recruit Sean Boswell, Twinkie and Earl Hu, who have been working on a "rocket car". In London, Dom meets Queenie Shaw, who gives him Jakob's location. Dom confronts Otto and Jakob at a party held at Otto's mansion; Otto has Dom arrested, but Leysa, Dom's old friend, rescues him. Tej, Roman and Ramsey join Dom in Edinburgh, where Jakob uses an electromagnet to steal the other half of the Project Aries. Tej and Roman find the truck containing the electromagnet; as they fight Otto's men, Ramsey commandeers the truck to chase after Otto.

Dom intercepts Jakob and the two fight throughout the city. Before Otto can extract Jakob, Ramsey runs his car off the road and uses the electromagnet to capture Jakob. At the safe house, Han reveals that Mr. Nobody assigned him to protect Elle and Project Aries as Elle's DNA is its biometric activation key. When Jakob went rogue and teamed up with Otto, they used Deckard Shaw to fake Han's death and protect Elle. Otto and his men attack the safehouse and free Jakob, who reveals to Dom that Jack, wanting to escape deep debt, had instructed Jakob to tamper with his car to throw the race. Jakob and Otto kidnap Elle and take the other half of the Project Aries. Otto launches a satellite into orbit, while Jakob has Elle activate Aries. They begin uploading Aries to the satellite, moving in an armored truck throughout Tbilisi.

Dom, Letty, Mia, Ramsey and Han race to stop the upload. As Mia and Han try to breach the truck, Otto reveals that he and Cipher have teamed up and throws Jakob off the truck. Jakob is rescued by Dom and Mia, where he helps them access the truck. Tej and Roman enter orbit and destroy the satellite using the rocket car, stopping the upload. Cipher bombs the truck using a UAV in an attempt to kill Dom, but unintentionally kills Otto. Dom uses the ricocheting truck to destroy Cipher's drone, which is revealed to be simulated, and Cipher escapes. Dom and Mia reconcile with Jakob and Dom allows him to escape custody by giving him the keys to his car, finally forgiving Jakob. Tej and Roman reach the International Space Station and return safely to Earth. The team celebrates their success with a barbecue at Dom's house. While preparing to say grace, Brian O'Conner's car arrives in the driveway.

In a mid-credits scene, Deckard comes face-to-face with Han and is shocked to see him alive.

Cast

• Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto: A former criminal and professional street racer who has retired and settled down with his wife, Letty, and his son, Brian Marcos. Diesel's son Vincent Sinclair portrays a young Dominic, while Vinnie Bennett portrays a teenage Dominic.
• Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz: Dom's wife and a former criminal and professional street racer. Azia Dinea Hale portrays a young Letty.
• Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce: An ex-habitual offender, expert street racer and a member of Dom's team.
• Ludacris (credited as Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) as Tej Parker: A mechanic from Miami and a member of Dom's team.
• John Cena as Jakob Toretto: The estranged brother of Dom and Mia who is working as a master thief, assassin, and high-performance driver; also Mr. Nobody's rogue agent. Finn Cole portrays a young Jakob.
• Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey: A British computer hacktivist and a member of Dom's team.
• Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto: The sister of Dom and Jakob and a member of the former's team who has settled down with her partner, Brian O'Conner, and their two children. Siena Agudong portrays a young Mia.
• Sung Kang as Han Lue: A member of Dom's team who was believed to have been killed.
• Michael Rooker as Buddy: An auto mechanic who has ties to Dom's past as a member of his father's pit crew.
• Helen Mirren as Magdalene "Queenie" Ellmanson-Shaw: The mother of Dom's former enemies Deckard and Owen.
• Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody: An intelligence operative and the leader of a covert ops team.
• Charlize Theron as Cipher: A criminal mastermind and cyberterrorist who is an enemy of Dom's team.
• Thue Ersted Rasmussen as Otto: A son of an aristocrat who is the financier for Jakob.
• Anna Sawai as Elle Lue: Han's adoptive daughter.

Additionally, J. D. Pardo portrays Jack Toretto, Jim Parrack portrays Kenny Linder, Martyn Ford portrays Sue, and Cardi B portrays Leysa, a woman who shares history with Dom and Magdalene. Karson Kern and Igby Rigney portray young versions of Vince and Jesse, respectively.

Lucas Black, Don Omar, and Shea Whigham reprise their respective roles as Sean Boswell, Santos, and Agent Michael Stasiak from previous films, while Shad Moss and Jason Tobin also reprise their respective roles as Twinkie and Earl from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). Cered and Ozuna portray young versions of Leo and Santos, respectively. Jason Statham reprises his role as Deckard Shaw in an uncredited cameo appearance during the end credits, and Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny appears as Lookout. Gal Gadot appears as Gisele Yashar through archival footage.