Every time we receive a new installment in a popular franchise, we’re always told it’s the best one ever. We get it, the cast and crew are obligated to hit the promotional trail to drum up hype and anticipation for their latest effort, and it’s hardly going to have people talking if they deliver their 100% honest opinions right out of the gate and say: ‘It’s not bad, but the last one was definitely better.’
That’s just not how the industry works, so it comes with absolutely no surprise that Fast & Furious 9 director Justin Lin believes next month’s blockbuster is the pinnacle of the series so far. This marks his fifth time at the helm, and during that period he’s overseen the complete creative reinvention of the property while simultaneously proving himself as one of the most accomplished action directors in the business, so maybe he really is confident that he’s managed to top himself yet again.
The debate among Fast & Furious fans over which entry can definitively be labeled as the best will no doubt rumble on forever, but Lin thinks that he’s got the genuine article this time, and at least he’s savvy enough to admit that he’ll be saying exactly the same thing when the tenth chapter comes along in a couple of years.
“In my gut and my mind, yes. Look, it’s always hard to compare because I also have the experience of what happens behind cameras. I sit there and sometimes you overcome the weirdest things just to be able to ultimately finish that movie that nobody else sees. But I do think that F9 is a culmination of all our work through the years. I like to think that my next movie is always my best movie, that’s what I strive for. But I also think that on so many levels with character, it was great to reconnect with everybody. Yeah, in my heart, I feel like F9 is the best film. It’s part of our evolution. But that’s until we do Fast 10, right?.”
Early reactions to Fast & Furious 9 have been hugely positive and the fact that the crew are really heading to outer space this time should at least guarantee one hell of a time at the movies, but like most things when it comes to the adventures of Dominic Toretto and his extended family, it’ll be up to the fans to decide where it falls in the pantheon of both fastness and furiosity.