One thing I love about being a member of the reviewing press is all of the networking and relationships we get to foster with other local critics. We come from all walks of life and different senses of humor, but one fellow critic I have known for years recently put up a funny social media post with a review of Fast X even before he had seen it to see if he could predict the way the film would go when he saw it based on the films that came before it. This made it a fun game for me at the screening to see how accurate his thoughts were.
Louis Leterrier (Unleashed) is in the director’s chair for this one as he works with regulars Vin Diesel, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Jordana Brewster and Jason Statham. Since it is also necessary to add to the “family,” that takes place with the new big bad in Dante (Jason Momoa). Taking place after the events of F9: The Fast Saga, it kicks off with a flashback from ten years prior that applies to the story in this film. Dante carries a vendetta against Toretto, and that is about all that I want to go into here.
Fast X has the basic standards that can be expected from the entire series up to this point including big-budget action (including that caliber of acting), CGI effects, and multiple locations around the globe. Along with that is the over-the-top glitz and glamor that this franchise has given audiences for over two decades, but the thing that really stuck out to me was Momoa himself. I did enjoy seeing him in a different type of role where he tries being the comedic villain, but in the end fell short and felt more like Rumpelstiltskin than a marquee-style villain.
At two hours and twenty minutes, Fast X is WAY too long. There is easily thirty minutes that could have easily been cut from the attempt to play on the emotions of its audience that also did not land for me. I have honestly seen better emotional punch from the average WWE match or interactions; watching a documentary on pet rocks would affect me more than this film did. Also, given how much crazy car stunts have been used in this franchise, this seems to re-hash some of the things they have done time and time again to a Looney Tunes-ian level. The only action this film was missing would have been Toretto jumping over in his car was sharks. Back to my opening paragraph: my fellow critic was pretty spot on in a film that is a mindless mish mash made just to have another blockbuster, so I cannot recommend this film or will ever watch it again.