This week finally sees the release of The Fate of the Furious, the 8th installment in the Fast and Furious franchise and the first without Paul Walker since the actor's tragic passing in 2013.

Having raked in a stupendous $3.9 billion at the box office over the years, anticipation for the latest movie to deliver is higher than ever. Once again starring Vin Diesel and The Rock, the film also sees the likes of Ludacris, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez and Kurt Russell reprising their previous roles. Charlize Theron, meanwhile, has been cast as Cipher — a black widow antagonist who seduces big Vin's Dominic Toretto into a world of crime and betrayal.

Lately, promotional touring has been dogged with speculation surrounding Vin Diesel and The Rock's relationship — there has been lots of rumors hinting at off-screen friction between the two alpha males. Understandably, fans have been worried that the film might lack the same spark as it did before. So, is it up to speed? Reviews from the critics are now rolling in — find out what's being said below.

The Good

The Fate Of The Furious is almost impossible not to like. It achieves exactly what it sets out to do, successfully lighting up the brain’s pleasure centers at each opportunity with a variety of tools in its arsenal.

Kimber Myers, The Source

The Fate of the Furious is nothing more than pulp done smart, but scene for scene it’s elegant rather than bombastic, and it packs a heady escapist wallop.

Owen Gleiberman, Variety

The movie Tokyo-drifts into tedium in its more chaotic, casually gruesome chase scenes, and the “serious” dialogue is so consistently clunky it feels like it’s been carved from woodblocks with a dull butterknife. Thankfully, it’s frequently also much funnier and lighter on its feet than previous outings, and a lot of that credit goes to Statham and Johnson, whose love-hate bromance feels like the real core of the movie (B).

Megan Davies, EW

The spectacle gives you enough action from enough famous names to sustain the momentum of its legacy. It will connect to its existing audience, and then some.

David D'Arcy, Screendaily

The Fate of the Furious is as ridiculously entertaining as you might expect. It's certainly better than its trailers.

Jim Vejvoda, IGN

The Indifferent

Is it entertaining? Sure. Is it consistent with the last film? Absolutely not. And for a franchise that prizes itself for an almost Saw-like devotion to continuity, it's a little odd how much this one requires you to either forget what you know or ignore the inherent drama of what came before.

Scott Mendelson, Forbes

Fate delivers exactly what fans have come to expect, for better and for worse.

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

The Bad

There aren't too many modern movies that have used amnesia as a plot device, but the Furious series has no shame about things like that.

Dan Callahan, The Wrap

F8 is the worst of these films since 2 Fast 2 Furious, and it may be even worse than that. It's the Die Another Day of its franchise — an empty, generic shell of its former self that disrespects its own proud heritage at every turn.

David Ehrlich, Indiewire

Currently sitting with a score of 75% on score aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it looks as if The Fate of the Furious packs some serious throttle. Look out for it hitting cinemas this Thursday, April 14.

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