"F9" a grinningly stupid good time at the movies
F9 (2021) The further the “Fast and the Furious” franchise goes over the top and the smaller the “Vibe” magazine article source about underground street racing that inspired the 2001 original appears in the rearview mirror, the better. “F9”—not counting 2019’s spinoff “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” —is the ninth installment in the hugely successful racing/heist/spy/superhero franchise, one that persists as steadily as Vin Diesel’s bis and tris. This increasingly absurd saga shows signs of slowing down, but one can’t wait to see it jump all of the sharks when Dom Toretto and the fam are having wheelchair races and pulling off food heists from their nursing home cafeteria. For now, “F9” offers everything the fans crave. Bringing director Justin Lin (who was behind movies 3-6) back into the driver’s seat, number nine is gleefully well-endowed with insanely physics-defying action stunts, dramatic soap-opera reveals, more globe-trotting than you can shake a passport at, and...