Film Review: Fast X

 

Sexuality/Nudity Mature

Violence Acceptable
Vulgarity Mature

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable

Not counting Hobbs and Shaw, this is the first Fast and Furious movie that I have seen in the theater.  I caught the original on DVD twenty years ago, but I had not kept up with the franchise really.  Then a few years ago my wife and I did a marathon of the films.  The overall impression is that these movies are just fun.

And now we are here at the tenth part of the Fast Saga: Fast X.

The story takes place a few years after F9: The Fast Saga.  Dom (Vin Diesel) is trying to live the quiet life with his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and son Little Brian (Leo Abelo Perry).  But then Cipher (Charlize Theron), the criminal mastermind who murdered Little Brian's mother, shows up injured asking for Dom's help.  It turns out that Dante (Jason Momoa), the son of the main bad guy from Fast 5 is back for revenge again Dom and his crew.  This takes them to confrontation in Rome with Roman (Tyrse Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), and Han (Sung Kang).  As a result, our heroes are hunted by Dante and also the shadowy government organization that they work for, now led by Aimes (Alan Ritchson).  But the daughter of Mr. Nobody, Tess (Brie Larson) tries to secretly help the group, which also includes Shaw (Jason Statham), Mia (Jordana Brewster), Jakob (John Cena), and the newly introduced Isabel (Daniela Melchior).

If that sounds like an unwieldy cast of characters with a labyrinth plot worthy of a telenovela, then you would be correct.

One of the biggest strengths of the series is that has built up a large cast of interesting characters.  The problem now is that there are too many.  Even at two and a half hours, it doesn't feel like anyone gets enough screen time.  The plot also is fractured to the point where a lot of the storylines seems to spin their wheels (no pun intended).  The script desperately tries to give everyone something do to, but then it has the audacity to add new characters we are supposed to care about on top of that.  To paraphrase Jim Gaffigan, it's like you're drowning and then someone hands you a baby.  It's just too much.  The movie even adds cameos by Hellen Mirren, Rita Morena, and other surprises guests.

The other big detriment is that the movie has a weak second act.  This is largely due to the problems mentioned above.  The first act and the third act are the strongest with the best action sequences.  As I mentioned in my review for John Wick Chapter 4, action directors are really padding their sequences.  But at some point in time, you begin to get a diminishing return on your thrills.  There were a lot of points in the second act when I kept waiting for the action scene to end so that the story could move forward.  But those scenes seemed very indulgent.

That is a shame, because the action in the first act was almost Mission: Impossible level.  The third act action devolves into pure over-the-top silliness, but it strangely had me invested enough to be locked in.  Director Louis Leterrier understands this world and what he is supposed to do.  It feels like if he was able to tighten things up a bit, the movie would flow better.

If you've seen the previous Fast and Furious then there will be no surprise in the returning performances.  We see a bit more fear in Diesel's eyes, but beyond that, everyone still maintains the same character space.  Momoa's performance is... odd.  In the first act, he comes off with a crazy charisma and an almost demonic sense of craftiness and menace.  But then in the second act, its as if the director wanted him to play against type.  His Dante begins to act strangely feminine in a way that was more confusing than it was dangerous.  Larson does an decent job, but she seems out of place with these action heavyweights.  Ritchson cuts a fine imposing figure and he gets the job done, but he doesn't leave a big impression.  Melchior has potential, but she isn't given enough to shine.

Despite all of this, I found myself generally enjoying most of the show.  Partially this is because Fast X is better than the previous two films.  The level of silliness in those two is tamped down just slightly for this one.  Of course we do have a giant, flaming neutron bomb that defies the laws for friction and inertia.  But after you spend so much time with these characters, there is comfort in that familiarity.  And this is becoming a rarer trait as long-lived characters in other stories become twisted by new writers who desperately want to make them "relevant."

People make fun of the constant reference to "family," in these movies, but that what gives the movies their strength and staying power.  We care about them and they care about each other.  And because we care about them, we don't care that it's impossible for a 1970 Dodge Charger to take out two helicopters.

Sometimes a movie doesn't try to be more than it is and it embraces all that it is with enthusiasm and affection.  And that is what you get with Fast X.