The Fate of the Furious early reviews are in. Is the franchise losing steam?

The Fate of the Furious, or The Fast and the Furious 8 as it will be titled in India, is still a few days away (it opens on April 14), but the film premiered in the US on April 8, and the first reviews have begun pouring in.

After a sneak preview at the 2017 CinemaCon in Las Vegas, where Universal Pictures screened the film in its entirety, this was the first public screening of the film. The embargo on the reviews was lifted simultaneously.

And the verdict - at least the very early verdict - is in. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the eighth film in the Fast and Furious saga stands at a 75%, which is just in line with the last few installments.

For comparison, here’s a chart of how the other films in the series fared:

However, the reviews are polarising, with some calling it the weakest entry in the series, and others praising the action.

FATE OF THE FURIOUS is the worst Fast & Furious movie, betraying everything fans love about the series. my review: https://t.co/8Vrp4BT5Hv pic.twitter.com/IjuUkmS219

— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) April 9, 2017

“It’s one of the weaker installments, one which finds the franchise straining for artistic reasons to continue,” writes Scott Mendelson for Forbes.

Greg Wakerman, writing for CInemaBlend.com says, “The Fate Of The Furious doesn’t reach the heights of previous installments, but it is still an exhilarating joy ride, and proof that the franchise continues to be the most thrilling and astounding in cinema.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Variety’d Owen Gleiberman calls it, “A dazzling action spectacle that proves this franchise is far from out of gas.”