The F9: The Fast Saga director’s cut has arrived, and it makes some interesting additions to the theatrical version of the film. Directed by longtime series head Justin Lin, Fast and Furious 9 has been one of the most successful blockbusters of the pandemic era, grossing over $700 million worldwide. Now, the series’ most diehard fans can get some extra content in the newly released F9 director’s cut.
Fast and Furious 9 covers a significant amount of narrative ground in its original 143-minute runtime, spanning numerous countries and time periods. The film is one of the longest the franchise has had to date, so the idea that multiple scenes were cut from the theatrical version may be somewhat surprising. After all, Fast and Furious isn’t exactly known for holding things back. But there were a few extra moments deemed unnecessary for the theatrical cut, and they’ve been restored in the director’s cut of F9: The Fast Saga.
All told, the new version of F9 doesn’t add all that much. The director’s cut clocks in at 149 minutes – just six minutes longer than the theatrical cut. Some of that time is dedicated to extra action in the film’s climactic chase sequence, and the rest is spread across a few deleted scenes. In the theatrical cut, Jordana Brewster's Mia Toretto doesn’t appear until the film’s second act. In the director’s cut, she’s introduced much earlier in a cut scene where she comes to Dom’s farm to pick up Brian while Dom and Letty go on their secret mission. It’s an interesting addition, as it shows that Dom actively withheld his knowledge of Jakob’s return from her. She even asks what’s wrong, and he avoids the question.
Another one of the new scenes shows a young Dom chatting with his crew after getting out of prison. Young versions of Letty, Mia, Jesse and Vince all appeared in the theatrical cut’s flashback scenes, but they didn’t get to do much. The director’s cut adds a bit more footage before Dom and Jakob Toretto’s drag race, showing the young love between Dom and Letty, giving Mia a nice moment with her older brother, and letting Vince and Jesse have a bit more time on screen. Jakob also makes an extra brag about his Mustang before the race as a taunt to Dom.
The director’s cut also adds an extra scene with Cardi B in which she greets Dom at Jakob and Otto’s party several minutes before she ends up rescuing him, and a funny moment of Roman, Tej, and Ramsey discovering stores of cash in Mr. Nobody’s bunker. All in all, the additions aren’t too significant, but the extra flashbacks and the new Mia scene do shed a bit more light on Dom’s headspace during the film. Fast and Furious diehards will have to decide for themselves if the director’s cut of F9: The Fast Saga is a necessary addition to their collections.