Reel Review Roundup

Fast X (M)

Directed by: Louis Leterrier

Starring: Vin Diesel, Jason Momoa, Michelle Rodriguez

Review by: Julian Wright

Leaning way into the serial format, Fast X swerves into cinemas with more retcons, callbacks and fake outs than a season of Melrose Place – but with plenty more cars and explosions.

Five films ago (the one where they dragged a giant bank safe full of cash through the streets of Rio de Janiero), Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his gang took on, and defeated, drug kingpin Herman Reyes.

Ten years later, Reyes’ hitherto unknown son Dante (Jason Momoa) is still deeply mad about it and seeks revenge on Dom, his family and extended family by any means.

The Fast and the Furious series hardly resembles its humble beginnings – it is less about cars and more about how the filmmakers can defy logic.

And while it has been a head-scratching but thrilling experience to witness the series become the overblown, over-the-top soap opera that it has, it seems, under the direction of series newcomer Louis Leterrier, it has finally plateaued.

Yes, there is a giant round bomb heading for the Vatican and two flaming helicopters are simultaneously dragged and pinballed around a highway – but this feels like part six or seven spectacle.

Though once your mechanically gifted street racing heroes are propelled into space to save the world, where else is there to go?

About the only thing left for this series to explore is time travel, and at this point, I would not be even the slightest bit surprised if it did.

As someone who unashamedly enjoys this loopy franchise more with each unhinged entry (the fact that it continues to attract Academy Award wining actors just adds to the batshit craziness), this one lost some of its rev.

The major sparks are Momoa as the flamboyant, nail-painted and pig-tail wearing villain and the genuinely surprising cliffhanger ending. Oh yes, there is definitely more Fast and Furious planned.

I look forward to the resurrected dead, invented family members, destruction of more cities and possible time travel.

This entry was posted on May 21, 2023 at 8:14 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.