Fast X Review: The Beginning of the End
Fast X
Director: Louis Leterrier
9.1
Fast X improves on the last couple of movies and finds its footing with an incredible villain. It ends suddenly, but the writing fails to make it very meaningful.
Vin Diesel and co. return for the 11th film in the Fast and Furious saga, what could end up being the final story for our characters. Fast and Furious has gotten a reputation for the dramatic, constantly upping the ante and stretching the fabric of reality. Fast X is no different, although it does remain more down to earth that the previous movie did. The cast is deep and full of big names that put on great performances, although I didn’t see John Cena in this one, even though he is mentioned in the credits.
Fast X is a ton of fun and absolutely worth watching right away. The stunts are really cool, the action continues to be awesome, and the cast of characters we have journeyed with for over 20 years are so interlinked with these movies that they just wouldn’t work without them. The theatre experience was incredible. Fast X, like many of the Fast movies, relies heavily on music and sound effects to create a fun, action-filled environment. Unless you have an unreal set-up at home, getting out to see Fast X is worth your time and money.
What happens in Fast X?
As the trailer above shows, Fast X relies pretty heavily on the plot of Fast 5 to get it going. Dante Reyes, played by Jason Momoa, is the sun of drug lord Hernan Reyes, the big bad of Fast 5. Years after the heist, Dante is back and looking for revenge. On top of that, there a bomb rolling through the streets, some really crazy car stunts, and many lines talking about family. We also get the return of a legitimate race, a classic part of Fast and Furious that was missing from Fast 9.
** MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD**
The plot is not rock solid, but it works for the movie at hand. Fast X is a popcorn movie, a movie you watch to enjoy at a surficial level. The two, maybe three movie finale also means that this segment doesn’t have a conclusive ending. Usually, as you know if you follow our YouTube channel, I hate sudden cliffhangers to end a movie when there is going to be years between release dates. Fast X is different. I could end up being miserably wrong, but I don’t really believe the ending.
James Gunn mentioned in an interview for Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 3 that you don’t have to kill characters, you just have to make the audience believe they could die. Death has to be on the table. With Fast X, I just don’t believe death is on the table for a handful of our characters, at least not before the finale. I enjoyed the ending and it left me wanting more, but I felt myself more curious instead of worried as to what happens next.
The rest of the plot follows a similar narrative, where I was engaged and interested, but kinda of lost as to how certain moments connected together. I did like the way the movie called back to a bunch of the other movies, as well as the characters in those movies. It’s the beginning of the end, what good is it if it doesn’t at least try to bring some closure to the entire franchise? That being said it does get real messy at points. There is a fine line between fully fleshing out the story, and adding so many different things that it gets confusing, and Fast X does pretty poor job.
Which Stars Shine the Brightest?
Fast X is filled to the brim with big names, either from past movies in the series or big names from Hollywood. From Vin Diesel, to Jason Momoa, to Brie Larson and Ludacris, there is a lot of A-list actors and actresses to fit into this movie, and that definitely leads to some of the messiness in the plot. There’s just too much going on to fit everyone in properly, but as it is “Part 1”, there is still room to fit some more pieces into Fast 11 and maybe Fast 12.
Although there’s a lot going on, there are some performances that stuck out. Jason Momoa is the star of Fast 11, and maybe the best villain we have seen so far. His character is incredible, written in such a way that it’s a struggle to decide if you like or hate him. He has redeeming traits, and a interesting backstory that makes him a well-developed character after 1 movie. Discovering that Cipher isn’t the be-all, end-all of villain in the Fast universe was surprising, but Dante is such an impeccable villain. His uneasy humour makes for multiple scenes that are funny, but uncomfortable. He’s a nut-case through and through, and he cares for nobody. It’s wonderful and a joy to watch.
It goes without saying that Momoa has had some really great roles in the past, and has done some really good work. Regardless, this is my favourite performance so far. Not only is the character well written, Momoa plays it perfectly. His words are kind, but off-putting, or they are direct and evil. The range of his performance is arguably the most impressive, and he pulls it off seemingly with ease.
Vin Diesel, who plays Dom, is good but familiar in Fast X. His character has grown over the last 20 years, but his character isn’t particularly deep. The action scenes are awesome, and Vin Diesel has become synonymous with awesome shots in cars, but Fast X doesn’t push any boundaries with his character. If anything, Dom continues to get stuck with most of the cheeky dialogue, which fits the character but doesn’t stretch Vin Diesel’s range by any means. A good performance, but nothing Oscar worthy in my mind.
Our secondary story with Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Suan Kang put forth solid performances that mixed funny and serious quite nicely. That being said, John Cena did a really good job in his limited screen time. His character is a lot of fun, and coming from Fast 9, this is nice change of pace. He’s got a soft spot for his nephew, and takes his duties as an uncle really serious. We still get some awesome action moments from one of the WWE’s most famous performers, but we also get some really funny, vibey moments. I really enjoyed Jakob Toretto in Fast X, and the performance John Cena put in.
Was Fast X too ridiculous?
Fast X does a lot of wild things, including using CGI considerably more than I was expecting, but it doesn’t go back to space. The stunts are unrealistic, but they are more grounded than Fast 9 felt. There are still a pile of scenes that just wouldn’t work in real life, but that is why this is a movie. The cars are made of titanium, well the main cars at least, and everything else crumples pretty easy. The trailer shows most of the ridiculousness that occurs, but this movie would be so boring without it. You aren’t watching Fast X for legit car stunts, even if that is where the show began, sort of. You are watching it for the fun tunes, the crazy stunts, and the fast past action that has become commonplace in the newer movies. It’s a ton of fun and a movie I thoroughly enjoyed.