This far into the Fast & Furious franchise, the best way to distinguish between each new entry is by its most bonkers action sequence. Each film has at least one and, outside of the repeated proclamations about family growled out by Vin Diesel's Dom, they are what define the series. The fifth had the heist where an enormous vault was pulled down the streets. The seventh was the one where they dropped out of a plane in cars retrofitted with parachutes. The ninth involved the gang getting launched into space in a car with rockets strapped to it. Increasingly and joyously unrestrained by the laws of physics, there was still a sense that the series may soon run out of ideas. Now with its 10th film, the series has reached that breaking point.
Simply titled Fast X, the standout action piece is a chase sequence involving a bomb that rolls through the streets of Rome. This glorified hamster ball is the creation of Jason Momoa's dastardly Dante who emerges as the highlight of the entire film. A villain whose desire for destruction is matched only by his downright goofy mannerisms, he carries with him a grudge that goes way back to the aforementioned events of the fifth entry. This is established via flashback that humorously makes it seem as though Dante was always right on the margins of the frame just hanging around. It ends up most recalling what became a recurring gag of sorts in the Saw franchise where there always seemed to be another character lurking in the shadows. While this manner of storytelling is often a ploy to provide fodder for a new narrative, there can be something fun in seeing how ridiculous it gets. There are hints of this absurdist sensibility sprinkled throughout Fast X, but it is drowned out in what becomes a dreadfully painful slog rather than a spectacle.
Though the film is about Dante trying to get his vengeance on Dom (and all of the people he considers his family), there is so much other noise that proves to be tiresome rather than thrilling. After the opening action scene with the bomb pinballing around the streets of Rome, which ends in spectacularly silly fashion the film could have used more of, all the characters find themselves scattered across the globe. The remainder of the punishing 141-minute film plays out as less of an action-packed journey than a setup for the next two films that Diesel reportedly wants to make — Fast X: Part 2 and Fast X: Part 3. That would be fine and dandy if this one didn't feel so lifeless. Both the array of returning characters and a few new ones go through the motions with increasing weariness rather than wackiness. Even with Momoa doing the absolute most, the rest of the film is left spinning its wheels.
The film is directed by Louis Leterrier of The Transporter films who stepped in for series director Justin Lin, who departed the shooting early over reported creative differences. However, it doesn't feel like this one has any creative vision to its construction. It is less directed than it is assembled from hamfisted cameos and cringeworthy comedy that just drags everything to a crawl. Some moments feel potentially promising, like when a new character offers a brief monologue on Dom's family that opens a door to what could have been a self-aware romp with more bite to it. Any such doors are slammed shut, making everything feel more exhausting than exhilarating as creative stunts and staging are subsumed by the rote cycling through of empty fights with no weight to them. Anyone can be resurrected, even as you ultimately wish the entire film itself would finally expire.
Despite flashes of fun at the beginning and toward the close, its already small spark gets completely smothered. By the time we get to the ending, which occurs with such abruptness that it is more of a hard stop than a fitting conclusion, any remaining energy is utterly extinguished. Though one could find something chaotically charming in prior entries, that is gone in Fast X. Not even family can save this one. ♦
FAST X
