Fast X

FAST X
2023 | Dir. Louis Leterrier | 141 Minutes

"Never accept death when suffering is owed."


A decade after the theft of his family fortune and the death of his father, the psychotic son of Brazilian drug lord Hernan Reyes emerges from the shadows to tear apart Dominic Toretto's family.

The alleged end of the mainline Fast & Furious series begins with the introduction of a fun and unpredictable villain while delivering what is essentially the equivalent of The Empire Strikes Back for this franchise. While Fast X carries all of the negative baggage of the series' late-stage flaws (overly convoluted heavily retconned storytelling, nonsensical set pieces abandoning any attempt to ground the action in reality), this chapter features an adversary that seems to understand the assignment better than the heroes, with an infectious giddy attitude and sadistic methods. The picture quickly separates the protagonists, placing them in the crosshairs of the mysterious agency formerly overseen by Mr. Nobody as well as Cipher's hired guns blackmailed into working for Dante Reyes, and it surprisingly leaves them this way without any semblance of resolution. Dom and his family have never been so thoroughly defeated, and it's absolutely thrilling to watch particularly because their enemy this time is so amusing. It's far from high art, and it never quite achieves the lofty heights the best Fast & Furious entries, but it's a solid opening salvo for what is potentially an epic NOS-fueled multi-picture explosive conclusion.

The vehicular action sequences in Fast X are all memorable masterpieces of destruction, from a flaming neutron bomb rolling down the street of Rome until it explodes just outside of the Vatican sending shockwaves that Dom somehow outruns in his car, to Dom taking out two helicopters tethered to his vehicle by somehow smashing them into each other, to Dom's car flying off the top of a dam in Portugal as he narrowly avoids getting sandwiched between two oil tankers. Every single moment is delightfully absurd. Even the obligatory drag race at the halfway point of the story features a nasty combustible twist to keep Dom and the audience on their toes. There are even a handful serviceable (if pointless) fight scenes between Jakob and a squad of agency goons, Letty and Cipher, and Han and Shaw.

Jason Momoa absolutely owns this movie as Dante Reyes, leaning into the character's eccentricities, hilarious and convincingly threatening, clearly having the time of his life. Vin Diesel shows a bit more vulnerability as Dom in this outing but his limitations as an actor are apparent. Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron make for a fun odd couple as Letty and Cipher, the picture could have used more of them. Sung Kang's Han feels out-of-place inserted into to the bumbling trio of Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, and Nathalie Emmanuel's Roman, Tej, and Ramsey but the group has its fun moments. John Cena returns as Jakob, thankfully leaning more into his comedic strengths, very funny as the brawny babysitter for young Leo Abelo Perry playing Dom's precarious son Little B. Brie Larson is an excellent addition to the cast as Mr. Nobody's capable daughter Tess, Alan Ritchson is believably irritating and formidable as new agency leader Aimes, and Daniela Melchior is compelling in her brief appearance as the street racer Isabel. Hollywood legend Rita Moreno shines in her featured scene as Dom and Mia's abuelita. Returning supporting cast members include Jordana Brewster as Mia, Scott Eastwood as Little Nobody, Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw, and Helen Mirren as Shaw matriarch Queenie.

Adding an entertainingly eccentric antagonist to the mix, giving the franchise a much-needed boost of energy, the increasingly absurd melodrama of the Fast & Furious series goes down much easier in Fast X. For the first time, Dom and his family don't seem so undefeatable as they are being hunted by a viable threat who plays by his own rules, only adding to the excitement of the excessive high-octane action. While more plot threads are left dangling than in any other previous installment by the time the credits roll, it is the series' most engaging ride since Furious 7.


MID-CREDITS STINGER
A special-ops team sweeps into an abandoned mansion. One of the masked operatives receives a call from Dante Reyes directly threatening to his father's killer. The operative removes his mask, revealed to be Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson).


FRAGMENTS
- The series' tradition of assigning unconventional titles to its sequels continues; entitled Fast X, according to official sources the X is mean to be the Roman numeral for ten, and not the letter "X" which would have been much cooler

- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed: Fire Boost

- The absence of Paul Walker's Brian throughout this movie is more noticeable than ever

- Pete Davidson is in this for some reason

- While this film expands upon the mid-credits stinger from F9 that teased Han and Shaw's inevitable confrontation, the complete disregard for continuity for the length of Han's hair is so funny

- I'm honestly not thrilled that Jakob sacrificed himself so quickly after appearing in just two installments

- Gisele's return is unexpected, wonderful, and total nonsense

- Hobbs' return is also a bit of a shock, though more due to the widely-publicized behind-the-scenes beef between Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel


MCU CONENCTIONS
- Vin Diesel (Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)


- Charlize Theron (Clea in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
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