Fans of fast cars, cheesy dialogues and outlandishly implausible plot lines will be delighted to hear that a brand new instalment in the seemingly never-ending Fast and Furious saga is about to hit the big screens. Fast and Furious 9 — handily advertised as F9 -— sees Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his merry band of misfits reunited once more.

As you’d expect, F9’s appeal seldom hangs on the believability of its storyline. Living somewhere between reality and fantasy, the premise is as ridiculously convoluted as it is unlikely. Having more enemies than he cares to count, we find Dom living off the grid and in fear with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and his son.

Dom’s past comes back to haunt him when a mysterious plane crash leads to an unplanned reunion with his estranged brother Jakob (John Cena).

Still holding a grudge against Dom, Jakob has teamed up with erratic billionaire Otto (Thue Ersted Rasmussen) and cybercriminal Cipher (Charlize Theron) to seize global power — although to do what with it, is anyone’s guess.

Storywise, director Justin Lin and his co-writers present a tediously predictable, badly acted and laughably formulaic action movie. Having said that, I suspect the franchise’s global army of fans won’t care too much.

Fast and Furious 9 is undeniably fast and indeed very furious, it’s just not half as entertaining or as funny as it could have been. A real missed opportunity to turn this tired old franchise into something slightly more self-aware.