Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family are in danger from a new adversary (Jason Momoa) with an old grudge...
After the self-correction of F9, the world of Fast and Furious seemed to be back in balance. Sung Kang’s Han was back, the fallout from his demise in Tokyo Drift/Fast 6/Furious 7 seemingly rectified (dramatic stakes be damned); John Cena ably filled the Rock-sized hole in the series; and, most significantly, the series’ creative navigator Justin Lin had returned to complete the franchise he had elevated a decade earlier.
All seemed set for Fast 10, the two-part finale, to end the Fast Saga on a high note.
And then Justin Lin left Fast X a week into principal photography.
Lin retains a story and screenplay credit (shared with Dan Mazeau and Zach Dean).
The Transporter’s Louis Leterrier was parachuted onto the production at short notice, and the Fast and Furious train/Noz-fuelled murder-mobile revved back onto the road.
F8 (aka Fate of the Furious) received a lot of criticism for separating Dom from the family, and for not feeling in keeping with the central theme of the series (which we do not need to repeat).
Fast X repeats the same mistake, to diminishing returns.
It is hard - after nine movies - to not compare Fast X to its predecessors, but this is a movie which invites those comparisons.
The movie feels like it is shadow boxing with the series as a whole - there are callbacks, echoes and character ties to the rest of the series.
Most of these connections are intended to carry weight simply by their appearance here, but that effect probably only works for fans.
The cast are separated for large chunks of the movie - but whereas Justin Lin was able to cut between each subgrouping in a way that tied them together and feel of a piece, here the cast feel siloed off from each other.
There is a lack of cohesion which renders the film’s third act moves inert.
Perversely, Fast X’s central plot is actually quite small. It is a personal story with personal stakes for Dom. The villain is motivated by revenge for the loss of his family, and his main target is Dom’s son.
These stakes are drowned out by an unfocused, bloated story with too many tangents.
It is a bizarre movie to experience - it is all the familiar Fast cast, the cars, the locations, the montages of butts in tight shorts - but it feels like it is on fast forward.
The characters outside of Dom feel like pieces on a gameboard, but I found it hard to figure out what the broader game was.
Dom is the only character who feels like he is motivated by emotions. Everyone else is being moved into place for a big finale which we will have to wait for in another movie.
The lack of characterisation and motivation mutes any character shifts or reveals:
John Cena’s appearance and mission made me suspicious - I thought the film was going to have him revealed as an antagonist, but it is just shoddy storytelling.
Even the familiar joys are barren - Tyrese Gibson’s Roman has lost his spark, and Sung Kang seems depressed.
Meanwhile new faces Brie Larson and Alan Ritchson (TV’s Jack Reacher) are stuck as an exposition-spewing plot devices.
The one real joy of the film is Jason Momoa - he brings a malicious glee to his role as the film’s big bad. Dancing, joking and teetering on the edge of winking at the audience, he is bringing a fresh energy that the movie needs.
Despite a ham-fisted introduction, he is the only character who does not feel anchored to the film’s mythology or contrived rush to a conclusion (which, once again, we will see in the next movie, if we get one).
Cena is also fun. He is on familiar territory as the reformed Jakob - he is basically a goofy muscled weirdo, a spiritual sibling to his neurotic meathead from Blockers. He is fun, but considering how he exits from the film, it feels like filmmakers are trying to stoke the audience for an emotional swerve.
While not a hard watch, there is nothing to latch onto with Fast X.
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