I find it hard to believe myself, but I went to see that movie. And I am glad I did. I would say that, for me, 50% of the movie was unbearable (like at the end of a 45 minute root canal treatment on the dentist's chair) but you wait for those rare moments. For example, the last installment (Fast and Furious 7) had a scene I had never seen in any movie: A sports car jumps from one high rise to another, crashing through glass windows. That was new!! Couldn't wait to see what the 8th installment had in stock: Well, I was surprised again when I saw the "family" driving at full speed on the ice in 4 or 5 jeeps, being chased by.....

..... spoiler alert .......

....nothing less than.......

... a submarine!!! (you've got to see that scene).

Another great scene: Someone has put the engine of Vin's racing car on fire as he is approaching the finish line. The fierce fire from the engine, at high speed, is burning him. The bad guy is winning the race. So, you have millions of people worldwide - Chinese, Americans, everybody - thinking the same thing in unison: What will Vin do? Well.... you have to see it for yourself.

Every critique writes about that movie some version of "How being ridiculous made the 'Fast and Furious' franchise great". The series of 8 movies has now passed the US$ 4 billion mark.

It's raw muscle power (car muscle, guy muscle). And it works. Mostly in China. It's success in China (I saw in the opening credits that a Chinese film company is involved in the movie) says a lot about the appetite for raw power - strong men, military - in that country. America is no longer alone in that league.

It's no shock that the film is a hit with international audiences. For the first seven films in the franchise, 67% of ticket sales came from abroad, especially China.

The latest film, which stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is already breaking records in China. "Fate" has nabbed the country's record for biggest single day ever and is projected to have the biggest three-day opening of all time in China as well.

So far the film, which opened Thursday night in North America, has brought in $194.8 million worldwide, including $45.6 million on opening day in the United States. The early totals have pushed the 16-year-old series above the $4 billion mark overall.