Buckle your seatbelts and switch on the nos: Fast X has arrived. The high-octane action film is everything you’d expect, and just about everything you could want. There are fast cars, outrageous stunts, and physics-defying plot twists —and of course, the constant affirmation of family.
Fast X is, as the name suggests, the tenth entry in the Fast Saga movie series, not including the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw. Fast X was directed by Louis Leterrier, and the screenplay was written by Dan Mazeau and Justin Lin. Lin has been involved in the franchise since 2006, when he directed the third film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He went on to direct, produce, and/or write most of the subsequent sequels; Lin wrote, directed, and produced the most preceding film, F9. Sure, Vin Diesel has been the face of the Fast franchise, but for the last 17 years, Lin’s creative fingerprints have been all over these movies.
A Fitting Tribute To The Fast Saga’s 20-Year History
Those who have been following the story since 2001’s The Fast and the Furious (hard to believe it all started more than 20 years ago!) will find a comforting familiarity in the story of Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his rag-tag team of drag racers and tech geniuses… and spies. The film follows the basic formula for the series: idyllic scene of the found family sharing an outdoor meal (with ice-cold Coronas of course), globe-trotting exploits, computer-magic spy technology, and bombastic set pieces in which cars act not according to physics but to Dom’s divine will — even an actual street race makes its way into the film.
Fast X feels like the gradual winding down of a long-running series. The film brings back all the key players over the last 20 years — even Dom’s sister Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) gets a scene. Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner is also brought back, thanks to re-used clips from Fast Five. (Brian is also shown in photos on the wall, and referenced by Dom a few times — it’s honestly pretty sweet). With such a massive cast, however, it’s extremely difficult to build a cohesive plot and keep up the momentum. Fast X sometimes feels bloated and uneven, especially after the parties get split up.
Jason Momoa Is A Treat To Watch
Newcomer to the series Jason Momoa brings a much-needed zip to the recipe with his criminally insane sociopath Dante, son of the deceased kingpin Hernan Reyes, who was killed in Fast Five. This man is extra. His flamboyance is irresistible, and Momoa puts just the right amount of glee into his performance to really sell it as an unhinged murder-man. It’s over the top without being self-serious, and such a joy to watch. The plot itself is much less compelling; it’s a generic revenge mission, but in this case, one that involves causing as much collateral damage as possible. It begs many questions — where did he get his boundless fortune and assets? Why did it take him so long to come after Dom? What’s up with the fabulous outfits? — but offers no answers. Dante is basically The Riddler. There’s no point looking to go deeper.
The Batman comparison is especially fitting given the general tone of the Fast Saga. These have evolved from a street-level crime flick, to spy thrillers, to comic-book movies. Dom’s superpower is driving, and all the important “good guy” characters wear plot armor. Damage is done on a massive, unbelievable scale, yet people will walk away from the explosion with nary a singed hair. The tone though, is a unique mix: inflated machismo but with a highly emotional, family-first attitude. For being a hyper-masculine movie, there’s an awful lot of earnest sentimentality and Dom talking about his feelings.
We’ve Seen Too Much Of Fast & Furious Before
At one point in Fast X, the new head of the agency, Aimes (Alan Ritchson), says of Dom and his crew, “if it could be done in a car, they’ve done it.” The problem is, by the cliffhanger ending of Fast X, this rings true — and not in a positive way. F9 notoriously put a car in space — how do you top that? Fast X doesn’t really try. There is a very exciting prolonged chase scene set in Rome with a moment so bonkers, I giggled out loud for a solid minute — but that’s in the first act, and the rest of the film never meets that level of bombastic outlandishness. There are almost non-stop action set pieces over the 141-minute runtime, and many of them are very exciting; however, it gets repetitive and becomes a bit of a slog by the end.
The story in Fast X could have been stronger. The writing is vague and contrived, and it causes problems if you think too much while watching. There’s more Christ imagery here than in a Zack Snyder film, to the point that Dom is sort of implied to be a deity — Dante outright calls him a Saint, and Dom repeatedly tells people to “have faith” but doesn’t clarify in what, exactly. To be fair, the Fast Saga is not a franchise that is concerned about things like realism, continuity, or plot consistency, and that’s okay. There’s no point in going over problems with the narrative — no one is watching these movies for that. In terms of action, Fast X has plenty — it’s just unfortunate that this particular road is feeling so well-traveled.
TVOvermind Rating: 3/5
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