Every few years we are blessed by the Greek Gods of Explosions and Family with a new iteration of The Fast and Furious franchise. It’s almost as if they look down on us mere movie-going mortals and say “Humankind has grown bored of their superhero flicks and streaming shows, they must be reminded that the laws of physics can and will be broken by our chosen group of street racers.
Fast X, which is actually Fast 10, for those of us who are worried about a NOS-based laxative, follows Dom Toretto and his well-established family as they are once again asked to save the world. In this adventure, the mysterious international Agency has tasked them to travel to Rome and steal something important from an armored convoy. Considering the team has stopped actual martial arts terrorists, raced a submarine, and somehow traveled to space in a Fiero, this new job seems like an easy-going Sunday drive.
Meanwhile, the villainous Dante (Jason Momoa) has a personal score to settle with the crew, and won’t stop until Dom feels true suffering. He wants Dom to wish for death and feel a real fear of losing everyone he loves. Of course, this is all done through the use of driving fast, so go figure.
Being the 10th movie in a franchise means that the formula is played out, and even the most insane stunts can drive you to boredom. And that’s partially true here. We’ve nearly seen this franchise do it all (except for travel in time, race dinosaurs, save biblical figures, transform into cars, etc). There are two major action set pieces here that are decently memorable, but nothing that totally challenged my suspension of furious disbelief. Fans of Rocket League will get a kick out of the big screen version here, where instead of bumping a giant ball into a goal, they need to stop the ball from obliterating the Vatican.
Jason Momoa is the reason to watch Fast X. He knows what movie he’s in and he literally prances around, giggling and singing as he plots the Family’s downfall. The glee he delivers not only make his role fun to watch, but also presents to us a villain who always seems to have the upper hand.
The rest of the movie is divided into B-plots. Dom is on the run from both sides of the law, Tyrese and Luda are wasting screen time trying to find Dom, while Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is somehow now aligned with former villain, Cipher (Charlize Theron) as they also fight to survive and get back to Dom. Adding to the already congested mix is the new leads of The Agency. Alan Ritchson (looking like Haggar from Final Fight) butts heads with Brie Larson (who has the strength of 10 men) as they try and figure out what to do with Dom’s Family. Oh, and John Cena gets a mid-movie reboot of Suburban Commando.
The movie is a lengthy 2 1/2 hours, but still doesn’t manage to tie its plots together. This is due to the already announced sequel(s) that will finish this particular story. I don’t mind the need to wait for a full conclusion, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit robbed that we have to leave the movie on a soap opera ending and won’t get a follow up for two years.
One character in Fast X captured the essence of this series when he said “If it violates the laws of God and gravity, they’ve done it twice.” We all know what to expect from this over-the-top series that delivers on bombastic action, while also sanding down our brains. This is no different from any other installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, other than presenting a villain who is having the time of his life. Don’t get mad, but it’s still probably worth seeing on the big screen. C
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