If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ll be happy to know the gang is mostly here, and the film includes nearly every returning member of Toretto’s crew from past films save for Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). We also have Charlize Theron returning as baddie Cipher, along with a new antagonist, Jakob (John Cena) who is—Dun dun DUH!!!—Dominic’s long-estranged brother.

While fans come to F9 expecting a ton of over-the-top action set pieces with crashes and explosions aplenty, with a film like this, you’re also expecting to have a fun time. Part of the problem is that the movie takes itself so seriously—especially Diesel who sulks and growls his way through nearly every take—that is misses the fun part. John Cena’s comedic chops that are wasted here. Instead he spends most of his time on camera trying to out-brood Diesel. The only two characters that seem to remember this isn’t actually life and death and meant to be entertaining are long-time members of Toretto’s crew, Tej (Ludacris) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson).

So, is it worth your time? Well, it looks and sounds great, so if you’re willing to invest nearly two and a half hours in something for the sake of a quality home theater experience, this delivers.

While IMDB reports F9 was filmed in 3.4K and this is taken from a 2K digital intermediate, the image quality was so terrific throughout that I was sure this was a 4K DI transfer. The only exception to this is the flashback scenes in 1989, which look much softer, grainier, and film-like by design. 

Closeups reveal tons of facial detail, including every pore and bit of stubble on Diesel’s face and head, or the texture in the ever-present ribbed muscle-Ts that make up the entirety of his wardrobe. There’s also plenty of detail in long shots, with scenes shot in London and Edinburgh looking fantastic, with razor-sharp building edges and clearly defined brick and stonework.

There are a lot of moments for the HDR grading to shine, with scenes in the dark with bright headlights during night races, flashlights and fluorescent lighting in dark garages, tunnels, and hideouts, and the bright neon lighting and signs in Tokyo. The actors’ faces are also often shown in warm, golden lighting, and HDR gives nice shadow depth and detail.

The audio also delivers with an aggressive Atmos mix, using all of the speakers to immerse you in the action. You get cars racing well outside the main channels, along the side walls and into the back of the room, things zipping and flying overhead, dust and debris from explosions cascading down all around, and the zing of bullet hits. In the film’s quieter moments, we also get some nice ambience with outdoor sounds of bugs, birds, and wind noise. Your subwoofer will get a nice workout as well, with explosions and collisions that deliver satisfying low-end that can rattle your couch.

F9 provides a big summer blockbuster that will likely be a crowd pleasure for a big movie-night watch party. And fans of the franchise will be happy to hear there are already two more films planned to conclude the series.