After the tepid May Day, the market has been silent for some time. On May 21, with the release of "Fast and Furious 9" produced by Universal Pictures nationwide, the market ushered in a long-lost excitement.
The film's box office at zero point was as high as 61 million yuan, and as of 5 p.m. on May 21, the film's first day box office had reached 280 million yuan, and the first day of the schedule was 60% higher. At this rate, it is expected that "Fast and Furious 9" will soon surpass the box office of "Godzilla vs King Kong" of 1.23 billion yuan, becoming the box office champion of this year's imported blockbusters.
01
Director Lin Yibin returned to direct
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Fast and Furious film series. In 2001, Fast and Furious 1 was released, based on Lee Ken's 1998 Ambiance article "Racer X," which cost only $38 million and was a small-budget B-grade film, but the film eventually grossed $200 million worldwide. With the maturity of the team and the gradual addition of actors, the box office and reputation of the "Fast and Furious" series have continued to increase, and the first eight "Fast and Furious" have achieved a global box office of $5.15 billion, ranking fifth in the world's highest-grossing film series. In the history of mainland cinema, "Fast and Furious 8" and "Fast and Furious 7" ranked second (2.67 billion yuan) and third (2.42 billion yuan) in the box office of all imported films, after "Avengers 4: Endgame".
The success of the "Fast and Furious" series is inseparable from director Lin Yibin, who has directed four films in the series in a row, becoming one of the biggest contributors to the world's reputation. Fast and Furious 9 is Lin's fifth time directing the series.
The characters are all created by Gary Scott Thompson, while the original story is written by Lin Yibin and Alfredo Botero (star trek 3: Beyond the Stars consultants) and Daniel Casey (writers of "The Same Family"), and the script is written by Daniel Casey and Lin Yibin.
"I never thought I'd be back," Lin said in an interview, "I thought my exploration of four films in the Rush series was enough. But one morning I woke up and was inspired to think that this legend should have a deeper meaning. It's very important to me that Fast and Furious 9 is the emotional bond for the entire series. In this story, the characters need to reconcile with their past so that they can truly hope for the future. ”
At the beginning of the film, Don (Dominic Toledo's nickname) played by Van Diesel is at a crossroads in his life, and the fathering shifts the focus of his life to the family, living on the farm with his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and caring for his son Brian Jr. As Don feels the pressure of these new responsibilities, Letty struggles with her new role. Soon, Ramsey (Natalie Emmanuel), Roman (Teres Gibson), and Tygi (Luda Chris) appear, telling Don and Letty that Mr. Nameless's plane crashed in the Central American rainforest, accompanied by the notorious Saifu (Charlize Theron) in the custody of Mr. Nameless. The team approached them and hoped the couple would join and return to the chase game. Letty readily agrees, but Don is unmoved...
Don soon discovers that no matter how hard he tries or how much risk he takes, he can't escape fate and his own past. "There are a lot of interesting points in this storyline that can show the unknown side of these characters, and Don will also experience the truest meaning of fatherhood, so he must face his past again." Van Diesel said.
"We want to challenge the physical and emotional limits of the actors as much as possible," Lin said, "which is the secret of the success of the "Rapid Shock" series over the years." I know people love to talk about action scenes, but at the heart of the series is the growth of the characters and the emotional experience they've never had before. Lin Plans to upgrade the "Quick" series again through thought-provoking themes and plot reversals full of innovative fight scenes.
Being able to cooperate with Lin Yibin again made the entire actor team very excited. "I knew I needed to invite the director who had been working with the series for the longest time to put an end to an era in the series." Van Diesel said.
02
Tang's younger brother became the biggest villain
"Fast and Furious 9" ushered in a terrible opponent in the film, that is, a former retired US government agent Jacob Torreto, who also has an identity, that is, Don's long-lost brother. Jacob is played by world wrestling entertainment superstar John Senna. Long before the role was finalized, Senna met with Van Diesel to discuss the possibility of joining the Rush series. John Senna hadn't played a villain role before.
In the film, the two brothers are worried about the accidental death of their father in the racing car many years ago, and there are many doubts hidden in it. For this role, Senna believes that "In the film, Jacob is a villain who can easily take people's lives, but in fact, in his heart, he just wants his brother to identify with his own value." For him, the best way to achieve this is to prove that he is better than his brother. Like in the film, When Saifu says to him, 'You just want a hug,' Jacob wants to be part of the family, and Don takes away that right. ”
Director Lin Yibin deliberately added a cross necklace to Jacob's backstory, "It is both a touchstone and a symbol of family." This necklace adds a powerful emotional element to the portrayal of an evil brother who has been missing for many years. ”
In addition to Senna, Han, played by South Korean actor Kang Sung-ho, was also resurrected in "Fast and Furious".
03
The "Mother of Trucks" like never before
How can the Fast and Furious series lack all sorts of cool cars? In Fast and Furious 9, cars of all shapes are still popping up and dazzling.
"Over the past few years, as the characters have changed, so have the cars of these characters, and their cars are the outward manifestations of their personalities. At the beginning of every new movie, my goal is to match the characters in the film with a car that suits them better. My goal is to always be able to make the audience recognize at a glance which car belongs to which character. Movie car director Dennis McCarthy said.
In the third act of the film, there is an important "protagonist", that is, a three-section armored car called the "Conqueror", which is 4.3 meters high and weighs 26 tons. This custom car must be able to meet the needs of the action scenes and drive at high speed on the winding mountain roads of Tbilisi. It took the team four months to produce two "Conquistador" armored vehicles that met the shooting needs in terms of machinery, electricity and texture. The Conquistador, also known as the "Mother of Trucks," lamented Alex King, the film car director, "This is the biggest car I've ever seen on the silver screen, and the biggest car I've ever built." ”
In addition, there is a car in the film that is sent into space. It is when Tagie and Roman inadvertently bump into Sean, Earl, and Twenge, like scientists, and modify a 1984 Pontiac Fiero car to use an airplane engine as an engine. The two eventually sat in the car and completed a difficult task in the sky.
Unexpectedly, after the release of "Fast and Furious 9" today, Douban's rating was only 5.9 points, the lowest rating in all this series. Some viewers joked that the car action of the film is too exaggerated and bizarre, completely divorced from the common sense of physics, "really beyond imagination ugly" and "the worst in the series". The film's reputation in foreign countries is also a mess, far lower than the industry's expectations.
At the previous Chinese premiere of "Fast and Furious 9", Van Diesel revealed through video that "Fast and Furious 10" will be divided into two parts, as the end of the series, and some shots will be filmed in China.
(Original title: "Rapid Shock 9" actually sent the car into space!) The first day of box office explosion word of mouth collapsed)
Source: Yi Xi
Author, Editor: Wang Jinyue
Producer: Zhou Nanyan
Process Edit: u010