Inciting Event: I see the true Inciting Event in this story as being the moment when Hobbs approaches Dom with the new job—and tells him his girlfriend Letty is still alive. However, the timing is a little early here; time-wise, the moment when the team assembles and Dom tells Brian bout Letty is the turning point in the First Act. However, when you have a story with as many primary characters as this one does, there are often a quite a few mini-Inciting Events as the conflict bumps into one character after another.
First Plot Point: The team engages the master villain Shaw for the first time, but ends up losing him. Dom finds Letty—only to have her shoot him. The tangle with Shaw—although obviously the First Plot Point—isn’t a great example, in itself, of the characters leaving their First Act Normal World. But Dom’s getting shot offhand by the woman he loves is a great moment that decidedly backs up the action and forces the characters into uncharted territory.
First Pinch Point: Several of Dom’s team members engage Letty and Shaw’s men. Dom’s team is beaten soundly, and Letty escapes. This does a nice job of emphasizing both the physical and personal stakes. The plot turns thanks to the new information picked up during this scene, indicating Shaw works with Dom’s old drug-running enemy Braga.
Midpoint: In many ways, the scene in which Brian infiltrates the American prison to talk to Braga—and in which Braga tells him Letty has amnesia—is set up to be the Midpoint revelation. As such, it’s a poor one, since the information is new to Brian but not to the audience. The following setpiece scene in which Dom and Letty streetrace is much better. It doesn’t offer much new information either, but at least it moves the plot by showing the effect of Letty’s amnesia on both her and Dom.
Second Pinch Point: Shaw fools Dom and Co. by going after the military convoy that is moving the computer piece he needs—instead of hitting the base as they expected. From here on out, it’s action all the way, which definitely sets up the Third Plot Point.
Third Plot Point: After being captured (false sense of victory for the protagonists), Shaw negotiates his own release by revealing he has kidnapped Mia, Dom’s sister and Brian’s wife. This nicely forces the characters into a place where the personal stakes are sky-high.
Climax: The pacing is very tight between the Third Plot Point and the turning point into the Climax. Almost immediately, the characters rush to infiltrate the plane on which Shaw is escaping with Mia.
Climactic Moment: The plane crashes and Shaw dies—and Dom miraculously walks away with the computer piece Shaw wanted.
Resolution: Hobbs secures pardons for everyone, so they can go home. Dom’s interim girlfriend Elena walks away, so he can start over with Letty.
