★★★☆☆
Fast X is the tenth instalment in the Fast & Furious franchise and Scott J. Davis found it to be more of the same, for better or for worse. Read our full review.
It’s still immensely baffling that the Fast & The Furious franchise, now the sixth highest-grossing series in film history, has lasted this long and become such a behemoth in blockbuster cinema. Its beginnings were, strangely, relatively modest: back in 2001, it rode the wave of early noughties cinema with its electronica/hip-hop infused soundtrack, gritty action, young actors, and, of course, fast cars, all of which helped it become one of the year’s top-grossing films.
Lesser sequels followed after the family split up but eight years later they got the band back together and, ever since, the turbo-charged buttons were pushed and it went off into the stratosphere, quite literally as it would happen. It’s now a rarity in the cinematic landscape for a franchise to survive as long as this but with its predecessor pushing the boundaries perhaps too far, does it need an oil change?
After his quiet life was rudely interrupted once more by Cipher (Charlize Theron) and the re-emergence of his brother Jakob (John Cena) in F9, Dom (Vin Diesel) hopes that his newfound peace will last for a bit longer now he is settled down with wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and son Brian (Leo Abelo Perry).
Vin Diesel is Dom in FAST X, directed by Louis Leterrier. Credit: Universal Pictures
Shockingly, it doesn’t, as a bloodied and bruised Cipher arrives at their door after an encounter with “the Devil”, Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa), son of Hernan who the Fast crew took down back in Fast Five. With his overbearing daddy issues and hatred burning deep within, he has set about revenge and to pick Dom and his extended family down one by one, piece by piece, by any means necessary.
So far, so Fast & Furious, right? Well, the age-old saying is “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and Fast X treads very similar ground to its predecessors, but how can it not? Especially after the barnstorming ludicrousness of the previous film that saw them beat Tom Cruise in the race to see which action franchise could make it to space first.
Lessons, to a point, have been learned by taking the series into the upper echelons of nonsense and bringing it a little closer to our own atmosphere again before it fully crossed the line into parody, although it still manages to stay on the right side, just about. That’s not to say it doesn’t have all the hallmarks of the series: fast cars, races, daring, death, and gravity-defying feats of the unimaginable, countless bruising fight sequences (always nice to see Jason Statham back doing what he does best) and enough technological nonsense to keep audiences electrified for its runtime. The cult with cars, as it’s referred to here, is back.
But, with all the good comes all the bad that the series can’t escape, namely ear-achingly bad dialogue that’s as horrific and agonising as it ever has been but such sins can be forgiven when the action stuff, preposterous as it is, is as gleefully entertaining as it is in Fast X.
If there’s a real winner in Fast X, however, it’s Momoa’s big bad who isn’t just the film’s saviour but is perhaps the franchise’s best villain to date and helps waft a fresh, inviting air to proceedings. Dressed head to toe in pristine suits, necklaces, wrist “bling” and much more, it’s hard not to be transfixed by his performance from the first moment he arrives.
Described by Momoa as “a bit of a peacock”, Dante is more than just being flamboyant in looks: his eccentricities are what make him both utterly charismatic yet devilishly evil for this is a foe that really feels like he will win, that he will do exactly what he says and with that comes a real sense of threat that, for the most part, the series has lacked.
Jason Momoa is Dante in FAST X, directed by Louis Leterrier. Credit: Universal Pictures
Momoa eats up the scenery, chews it, spits it back out, and then some: truly, he is magnetic and, yes, irresistible. Momoa showcases a new side here that helps him and the film feel refreshing. Without him, Fast X would have fallen. Thankfully, he’s what keeps the engine revving – but only just.
Fast X is in UK cinemas 19 May.
