Biggest Unanswered Questions In F9
Over a year after "F9: The Fast Saga" was originally scheduled to zoom into theaters, it's finally hit the big screen, delivering an answer to one of Fast fans' biggest questions since the first trailer dropped: How would the franchise finally deliver #JusticeForHan? But while we do indeed finally learn what really happened to Han, along with why Dominic Toretto — who values family above all else — had a blood sibling he'd literally never mentioned before, there are some other questions that "F9" doesn't manage to answer.
Of course, considering "F9" is the tenth installment in the "Fast and Furious" saga — with the spinoff "Hobbs and Shaw" claiming the ninth spot — it's understandable that it wouldn't be able to catch up with every character and wrap up every plot line introduced over the course of the franchise's two-decade run. As a matter of fact, "F9" probably does the best job of circling back to previous characters and storylines of any film in the series to date. Still, despite the satisfying way "F9" continues the stories of Dom, Letty, and all the rest, there are a number of questions we've been left to ponder since the credits rolled. Here are some of the biggest.
Where is Mr. Nobody?
The newest — and wildest — adventure in the "Fast and Furious" saga is kicked off when Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) sends an encrypted distress signal meant only for Dom (Vin Diesel) and his team. In his message, he says his plane is going down with dangerous cargo on board. Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) is the one who picks it up, and wastes no time in getting (most of) the team back together. After some light persuasion, she and Dom, along with Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), and Tej (Ludacris) are on a plane headed for the crash site.
When they get there, though, there's no trace of Mr. Nobody. What they do find is part of a device, called the Ares, which can easily hijack every superweapon in the world. It's clear that Mr. Nobody meant for them to find it, along with the location of his secret hideout. But where is the man himself? After doing a cursory sweep for him and coming up empty, Dom's crew never seems to spend any more energy trying to figure out if he's still alive. Sure, it looked like a pretty devastating crash, but considering that Mr. Nobody arranged things so that even Han could survive his apparent death, it seems as though nothing is beyond his grasp.
How did Han actually survive?
Speaking of Han (Sung Kang) and Mr. Nobody, "F9" gives us an explanation for how Han survives the seemingly deadly crash/murder attempt in "Tokyo Drift," which we then saw revisited again in "Fast & Furious 6" and "Furious 7" — except the explanation doesn't actually account for what happened. According to Han, sometime between the end of "Fast & Furious 6" and the beginning of "Tokyo Drift" (which chronologically takes place between the sixth and seventh films), Han was recruited as an operative by Mr. Nobody.
Sometime before Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) showed up in Tokyo, Han did a job for Mr. Nobody that ended up with him crossing paths with an orphaned young girl whose DNA was the key to unlocking the Ares device. After saving her life, Han took her under his wing, and Mr. Nobody knew it was crucial that she stay hidden. He determined the best way to do this was to fake Han's death, so no one would be looking for him. It's a neat workaround for bringing back the character, except for one thing: the car chase Han was involved in when he "died" was completely impromptu. In "Tokyo Drift," we see that Han is fleeing his former business partner after he got caught stealing from the Yakuza. Previously, it seemed as though Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) took advantage of that opportunity to take Han out by T-boning him with his own car. But now we are to understand that Mr. Nobody somehow staged the entire thing.
Since we definitely saw that Han was physically present for the entire chase in "Tokyo Drift," even seeing the crash from inside his car, there's no way he could have somehow escaped the car before Deckard crashed into him. Was Mr. Nobody lurking around, ready to extract him the instant an opportunity presented itself? If so, how did he get Han out of the wrecked car without anyone noticing? "F9" gives us some answers, but really only raises more questions.
Where is Little Nobody?
While Mr. Nobody's presence looms large over the plot of "F9," even if he isn't physically around, his protege is nowhere to be found, and isn't even mentioned. Introduced in "Fate of the Furious," Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) worked alongside the rest of the crew in thwarting Cipher (Charlize Theron) after Dom seemed to betray his crew in order to join forces with her (really, he was being blackmailed). But even though Little Nobody was at the family barbecue at the end of the film — typically a pretty solid indicator that a character has ascended to the rank of "family" and will continue to pop up in future installments — he's completely absent from "F9."
Now, to be frank, Little Nobody didn't make much of an impression in "Fate of the Furious." Unlike most of the other recurring "Fast and Furious" characters, who each have personality by the bucketful, he was by nature pretty bland and didn't add much to the crew. Granted, this was partially because he was a covert government agent who was supposed to be able to disappear, but even Mr. Nobody managed to live under the radar while still being an engaging character. So perhaps he was left out simply because he wouldn't be particularly missed. Still, it's a little odd that with a plot that so heavily ties into Mr. Nobody's plans, no one would even think to mention looking for his second in command.
Why had Dom and Jakob never crossed paths before?
"F9" actually does a good job of explaining why Dom and Mia have never mentioned they had another brother before, and have erased him from all their childhood stories. It turns out that in the race that killed Dom's father — which he told Brian (Paul Walker) about in the first movie — his car had been tampered with, causing it to respond poorly during the race. Teenage Dom realized it was his younger brother Jakob who had messed with the car, and assumed he'd sabotaged their father on purpose. Dom banished Jakob from the family, and never spoke of him again.
However, when Dom decides to track down Jakob as an adult, he goes straight to his father's friend Buddy (Michael Rooker), who also worked on his pit crew. He reveals that he knew Buddy took Jakob in after Dom threw him out. Buddy says Jakob only stayed with him for about a year before moving on, but even so, it seems a little odd that neither Dom nor Mia would have crossed paths with him again after he left the Toretto home. After all, Buddy presumably lived in the same neighborhood as the Torettos, which was extremely close-knit. Did Jakob simply never leave the house? That seems to be the only way they could've avoided running into one another and triggering an extremely awkward conversation.
Why didn't they use the God's Eye to find Jakob?
After Dom realizes that the person responsible for stealing the Ares device they'd attempted to recover from Mr. Nobody's plane is his estranged brother Jakob (John Cena), he sets off to track down his long-lost sibling. First, he visits Buddy and learns Jakob has gone to London. Then, he heads to London, where he asks Magdalene Shaw (Helen Mirren) what she can find out through her underworld connections. Sure enough, she knows right where he can find Jakob, and drives him right to his brother's doorstep.
But while Dom's detective work is impressive, it also raises some questions (not the least of which is, how did he know where to find Magdalene Shaw?). Primarily, why did he have to do all this tracking in the first place when he could've just used the God's Eye? First introduced in "Furious 7," the God's Eye is a piece of tracking software that can be used to find anyone on the planet in seconds. The crew used it again in "Fate of the Furious" to track down Cipher. Plus Dom has the inventor of the God's Eye, Ramsey, on his crew. So why the pond-hopping when Dom could've cut straight to the chase? Did they simply forget they had the world's most advanced tracking technology at their disposal?
How did Dom set up that double cross in London?
Speaking of London, what exactly happened there? Magdalene is up front with Dom, telling him that Jakob has been looking for him, and that she intends to deliver him to his brother. She then drives him straight to a palatial mansion owned by Jakob's financier Otto (Thue Ersted Rasmussen), the son of the dictator of an unspecified Eastern European country. Dom walks past dozens of women dancing in the driveway to confront Jakob inside, only to soon be swarmed by INTERPOL agents, since apparently Otto's presence makes the mansion foreign soil, and Dom is trespassing.
Except after Dom is arrested, it turns out that the INTERPOL agents are actually Dom's contact Leysa (Cardi B) and her crew, who were previously disguised as dancers at the party. They release Dom, who gets back to the important business of foiling Jakob and saving the world. But considering how Dom wound up at that party in the first place, how could he possibly have set that up? He had no time to contact Leysa or coordinate how her crew would intercept the call to INTERPOL and pose as their agents instead. He went straight from asking Magdalene where Jakob was, to being dropped off by Magdalene at Otto's house. It seems like a few steps were skipped, to say the very least.
Why weren't Roman and Tej in trouble?
So let's address the elephant in the room right away: there are a lot of issues with the space plan, most of which we're willing to let slide because this is a "Fast and Furious" movie and realism has never been a major selling point for this franchise. However, it seems a little odd that after defying all odds and managing to destroy the satellite they were sent to disarm, they are then able to essentially hitchhike home with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station without any negative consequences.
Granted, we don't actually have any clue what would happen if two men who had previous (expunged) records of being on INTERPOL's top 10 most wanted list (well, 11 in Roman's case) just happened to wind up floating in scuba suits by a Pontiac Fiero outside the International Space Station. Hardly seems like the sort of thing anyone would plan for. But it seems like it should be more severe than just eating Tootsie Rolls for a couple weeks and then being allowed to tag along on their trip back to Earth (also, they are extremely lucky that the astronauts were scheduled to head home that soon). Maybe the space agencies of the world were so confused that they just gave up? We wouldn't blame them.
Why were there no consequences for all the destruction Dom's crew caused?
While it's possible Roman and Tej escaped on a technicality, since we'd believe that there aren't actually any laws governing what they did, the same can't be said of the massive destruction Dom and his crew cause while working to stop Otto from gaining the power to destroy the world. This isn't the first time Dom's crew has leveled several city blocks or destroyed dozens of cars, of course, but in previous films, they either had to go on the run afterward or were working for the government, which presumably helped clean up the mess.
This time, they're effectively on their own, which raises the question of why they're able to relax at a family barbecue at the end instead of being arrested for causing tens of millions of dollars worth of property damage. Not even including all the cars they destroy, they also take out multiple buildings with their magnetic shenanigans. It seems a little weird that no one needs to pay — literally — for all the destruction they caused, even if it happens in the name of saving the world.
What happened to Cipher?
Once again, just like at the end of "Fate of the Furious," Cipher manages to evade capture at the end of "F9," even though the rest of the team she's working with isn't nearly so lucky. We last see her walking determinedly out of the hangar where she was piloting a drone that attacked Dom and his crew, presumably already noodling on a new plan for world domination.
Of course, sometime between the ending of "Fate of the Furious" and the beginning of "F9," Mr. Nobody somehow managed to track her down and capture her, so we know that such a thing is possible. But at the same time, he didn't manage to hold on to her for long. Plus, we have no idea where Mr. Nobody even is anymore, or how to get a hold of his covert organization (although Dom apparently still has Brian's old FBI coworker Agent Stasiak [Shea Whigham] in his contacts). And we definitely expect Cipher to be even more careful this time about covering her tracks. So it seems like the odds of her being found before she wants to are low, and that whenever she does reappear, it will be in a fittingly dramatic and shocking fashion.
Who was Shaw beating up?
As the "Fast and the Furious" franchise continues to expand its universe, it's only fitting that it utilizes end credits stingers to continue the storytelling and set up the next adventure, similar to what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been doing since its inception. "F9" makes use of the device in a mid-credits scene that shows Deckard Shaw getting in a good workout on a punching bag — except it turns out, it's not really a punching bag. Or, more accurately, not just a punching bag.
He's actually got a man stuffed inside, who believes he's being beaten in order to get him to reveal the location of a thumb drive. But nope, turns out Shaw already has the drive; he's just beating the guy up for fun. Before we can find out who the guy is or why Shaw wants the drive, he's interrupted by a knock on his door — from Han, looking understandably peeved at the guy who thought he'd blown him up. We can draw our own conclusions about what happens next between Han and Shaw given their history, but the man in the punching bag is much more of a mystery. Is he connected in some way to Eteon, the mysterious terrorist organization Shaw fought against in "Hobbs and Shaw"? Is he working for Cipher? Is he completely unrelated to what we've seen before? We have no idea, but we're curious to find out.
Where was Hobbs?
"F9" made an impressive effort to bring back all sorts of familiar faces from previous films, including Han, Sean Boswell and his friends Twinkie (Bow Wow) and Earl (Jason Tobin) from "Tokyo Drift," Magdalene Shaw from "Fate of the Furious," Mr. Nobody, Leo and Santos (albeit largely as younger versions of the familiar characters), Michael Stasiak, and even Gisele (Gal Gadot) in flashbacks. Even Brian was implied to be present at the final barbecue, although we only got to see his car. But one former member of the team was noticeably absent: Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), who's been an integral member of the crew since "Fast Five."
Behind the scenes, Johnson is busy with his own spinoff franchise, "Hobbs and Shaw," as well as numerous other projects. But just because the actor wasn't available doesn't mean we aren't wondering where the character is. It seems that given the high stakes and difficult nature of their mission, it would've made sense to call in the big guns. But Hobbs isn't even mentioned in "F9," making us wonder why the characters wouldn't have thought to call him. Perhaps they already knew he wouldn't be available; maybe he's spending more time with his daughter, or visiting his family in Samoa, whom he reconnected with in "Hobbs and Shaw," or maybe he's just too busy with work. There are any number of places he could have been, but it feels a little weird that the movie doesn't even hint at where he was.
What happened to the laws of physics?
Perhaps this is low-hanging fruit for the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, but we'd be remiss if we didn't ask what was going on with the laws of physics in "F9." Granted, physics have been only the loosest of suggestions in the "Fast" world since Dom and Brian dragged giant safes behind their cars at the end of "Fast Five," but "F9" took that suspension of disbelief to a whole new level. Even if you're willing to set aside things like driving a car up a falling suspension bridge, or speeding along at 80 miles per hour across a grassy minefield, or blasting a Pontiac Fiero into space — all things that seem at least marginally within the established physical framework of this world — we'd still need to talk about the magnets.
We're not denying that it was pretty awesome to introduce a brand new element into the "Fast and Furious" franchise's trademark over-the-top car chases, making them even more unpredictable and wild. However, the way the magnets work in this film is, well, pretty un-magnet-like. The crew routinely uses them to repel things, to pull objects of large mass toward objects of smaller mass, and to hold certain metallic objects in a cement-like grip while others are held in place with just one hand. And then of course, there's the time when magnets on two small cars are used to flip an enormous armored car tail-over-nose. Suffice it to say, this is not how magnets, or the laws of physics, work, and we're wondering if future "Fast" movies will be tethered by any of the natural laws of the universe at all going forward.
Is Dom's crew actually invincible?
We're kind of joking with this question, but not entirely. Early in "F9," after surviving several situations that should've reasonably resulted in his death, Roman postulates that perhaps the reason he keeps defying death is because he and the rest of the crew are actually invincible. And while Tej and Ramsey laugh at Roman's outlandish theory, by the end of "F9," we're kind of wondering if he might be on to something. After all, Han survived the crash that everyone assumed killed him. And Roman and Tej manage to survive a trip to outer space in a car that exploded earlier in the movie, using a kamikaze maneuver through a satellite that Tej is certain they won't survive. Yet they come through it all unscathed.
Of course, there is one person who throws a wrench in this theory: Gisele, who died at the end of "Fast & Furious 6" saving Han. If one member of their crew died, it stands to reason that all of them could under the right circumstances — unless, of course, Gisele is somehow still alive too. While we're not holding our breath, after getting #JusticeForHan, we won't rule anything out. And if Gisele ever does return to the family, there really may be something to Roman's bizarre theory after all.