You know your franchise has been going on for far too long when it's impossible to come up with a car pun that hasn't been used. The "out of gas" line is the biggest cliché - but the most apt - to use when describing the "Fast" movies. The series has been showing its age for a few movies now, and that really hits home with "Fast X," the 10th installment in the 20-year-plus franchise.
"The Fast and the Furious" was the movie that kicked everything off in 2001, and the series has been through varying cycles of quality ever since. The first few movies, in retrospect, were dopey but fun flicks about drag racing. How quaint. As the films got bigger, they got dumber, but eventually dared you to ignore the charm of their lunacy ("Fast Five" was a turning point). The subsequent films, including the heartfelt sendoff to the late Paul Walker in "Furious 7," saw the movies take the stakes to new heights. The eighth installment "The Fate of the Furious" began to show its age and the ninth ("F9: The Fast Saga") confirmed it. "Fast X," at this point, feels like status quo.
Director Louis Leterrier, who stepped in shortly before production began once co-screenwriter Justin Lin dropped out, has the uneviable task of following the series installment where the crew went to space. "Fast X" never really attempts to outdo what they have already done, but provides plenty of set pieces for the thrill-seeking audience who hasn't abandoned ship (or car).
In a big sign that the ideas are drying up, "Fast X" returns to the well and opens with scenes from "Fast Five," showing the set up and execution of the famous safe heist. Those actions come back to haunt Dom (Vin Diesel) because the son of the drug kingpin murdered during that caper has decided to come for revenge. Jason Momoa is having the time of his life playing Dante, the insane and flamboyant villainous son who wants Dom to pay for what he did. He vows to stop at nothing until Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) feel the loss he experienced.
At this point, Diesel and Rodriguez wear these characters like a second skin. They are so comfortable in these roles, you have to wonder how much Dom and Letty are ingrained in them. The usual crew is back, including Ludacris' Tej, Tyrese Gibson's Roman, and Sung Kang's Han. Newer additions to the cast, including Nathalie Emmanuel and John Cena, also return. The cast's banter and rapport remains a highlight amongst the noise.
The lore of the "Fast and Furious" movies has rippled through Hollywood because they have now attracted the attention of Oscar-winning performers. Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren reprise their respective roles, while Rita Moreno and Brie Larson have joined this time around.
"Fast X" isn't as inherently frustrating as the previous movie, but its physics-defying madness simply feels stale at this point. The character additions and how they fit into the greater "Fast" story is so forced, in an effort to keep things fresh, that you're going to need a chart to remember who is related to who and who came out of the woodwork with no previous mention. Why should an audience keep sitting through these movies if the filmmakers are just going to throw large pieces of the previous movies away in the new ones? Perhaps that's overthinking this kind of movie, but "Fast X," like the movies before it, wants you to be as impressed with its profundity as it does with its action.
At the end of the day, the cars go vroom and the explosions go boom. The Corona is chilled and the grill is ready for those backyard barbeques. So, if you're ready for another outing, strap in and get ready for Diesel to marble-mouth his way through another speech about family.
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While the Big Picture Big Sound crew have had a varying range of experiences with the films in the "Fast" franchise, we've always made the trip worth it with our review titles. Here's a look back:
The Fast and the Furious: All That Gas
2 Fast 2 Furious: 2 Stupid 4 Words
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift: The Squeal World
Fast and Furious: Just Skidding
Furious 7: Seven the Car'd Way
The Fate of the Furious: Furiouser and Furiouser
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw: A Car is (Air)Borne
F9: The Fast Saga: Failing Car-Berater
| Movie title | Fast X |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2023 |
| MPAA Rating | PG-13 |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | This multi-decade "vroom and boom" franchise has been on the road for so long that we're on the verge of running out of car puns (but we're not out of gas yet!). |
