Fast X Review
If you happened upon this review thinking that "Fast X" would be anything different than what came before, you are sorely misguided. "Fast X" delivers what the last four installments have; insane action that defies physics and dripping, delicious melodrama about family.
"The Fast and the Furious'' franchise has been on an upward trajectory of silliness since "Fast Five". The series has become less about street racing and more about lining up action set pieces back-to-back. The characters in the series are no longer petty street criminals. They are world-renowned spies who can hack, fight, and most importantly -- DRIVE. Given how outrageous the action is, it would be understandable if one thought they had walked into a Marvel movie by accident. Bombs roll across city streets while Dom steers them out of harm's way with his car (effectively making this the first film adaptation of the video game "Rocket League"). Cars with rocket launchers attached to them shoot bad guys off the streets. There are multiple MacGuffins, flashbacks, and inspirational speeches (about family). No new ground is being broken here.
Vin Diesel brings his usual over-serious acting which makes it so one can't help but laugh as he teaches his eight-year-old son how to drift in the opening scene. The franchise continues its trend of turning sworn enemies of the Torreto family into allies. Charlize Theron’s Cipher and John Cena’s Jakob both return to help the Torreto family. Like a Marvel movie, it also features cameos from previous characters in the series, a move clearly intended to set up the next franchise installment. While your mileage may vary in terms of how excited you are to see these additional returning characters, you can't help but smile at how much the movie loves its own lore. You can appreciate that everyone involved seemed to enjoy making this movie, even if you don't like watching it as much as they liked making it.
If anything separates this movie from the rest, it's Jason Momoa’s performance as Dante Reyes, the son of the antagonist from Fast Five (I know you don’t remember who that is, no one does). He is a refreshing villain and Momoa dials the playfulness of the character up to eleven. In contrast to previous antagonists in the series who sought revenge on Dominic Torreto in an all too serious way, Momoa counterbalances the melodrama with a borderline meta performance. If you ever wondered how Momoa would play the Joker, this is it. You can tell that out of everyone in the film, Momoa had the best time on set.
While it may not be worth the price of an IMAX ticket, I would say it's not a bad time at the matinee price, especially if you buy some drinks to help ease into the 141 minutes of silliness about to be displayed. However, if these movies have not interested you before then I can say that this one will not win you over. While it’s been a fun ride, let's just hope there's only one more movie in the "Fast and Furious" franchise before it runs out of gas.
Anthony Corey is a co-founder of Behemoth Comics Film Club. His favorite films include Tremors and Spiderman 2. You can follow him on Letterboxd: @deathasaurus