The first time that the “Fast & Furious” franchise threatened to stall out, Justin Lin drifted into the picture and jump-started it with a simple philosophy that would transform these movies into a global juggernaut: “If you ain’t outta control, you ain’t in control.” Over the course of four films that ranged in quality from generation-defining blockbusters to “Furious 6,” Lin successfully helped a semi-grounded saga about illegal street racers shift gears into a bonafide cinematic universe without losing its soul.The stakes got higher and the stunts grew more absurd with every installment, but even as the story foamed into the kind of high-octane soap opera suggested by the series’ title — amnesia, fake deaths, and inexplicable retcons were all in play before Lin bowed out — it always felt as if these meat-headed spectacles were recklessly expanding in a way that allowed them to circle in on the
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