Dom Toretto and his family are targeted by the vengeful son of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.
‘Fast X’ is the 10th film in the ‘Fast & Furious’ main series – who’d have thought that a series that started out about some boy racers would become one of the longest running and most successful movie franchises of all time? By now the formula is pretty well established and ‘Fast X’ doesn’t veer too far away from what we’ve come to expect – lots of talk about family, outrageous car stunts and some globe hopping adventures to stop the latest villain in their tracks. Some entries have been better than others but I’ve found even the weaker entries good at offering solid escapism, and you can add ‘Fast X’ to that list.
The plot of ‘Fast X’ harks back to the best movie in the series and the entry that switched the direction of the series away from the boy racer antics to the international crime series it has became since. That movie of course being ‘Fast Five’, which centred on Dominic Toretto and co planning and carrying out a heist to steal $100m from a drug lord, bringing new fans to a series that had needed a refresh at the time. In ‘Fast X’ the new villain is the son of the aforementioned (and now deceased) drug lord in Dante Reyes, played by Jason Momoa in a gleeful and maniacal performance that recalls Heath Ledger’s Joker (or on the small screen, Anthony Carrigan’s NoHo Hank in the excellent ‘Barry’). He is out for revenge and that means trouble for Toretto and co, especially as they find themselves lured into a trap in Rome (cue epic action sequence #1).
As the gang are targeted by Dante, they find themselves separated across the globe – in Rio, London, Portugal and even Antarctica, as they try to formulate a plan to defeat a psychopath who has no aims beyond destruction. The story itself is pretty flimsy and the dialogue/characters are very much a case of been there, done that, got the t-shirt, but I do enjoy the ridiculous stunts and Momoa does really liven things up when he’s on screen. For some reason I thought this was the final one in the series (how stupid could I be? These films make a fortune!), so I was a little surprised that it didn’t have as much finality, but I suspect I will be sitting down and ready for the 11th entry. For all this series is certainly not reinventing the wheel, it’s found a formula, corny as it can be, that works and I guess you could say I’m a fan in the loosest sense.
Rating: 3/5
Directed By: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Scott Eastwood, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, Helen Mirren, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, Jason Statham, Jason Momoa, and Charlize Theron
'Somebody once wrote, "Hell is the impossibility of reason". That's what this place feels like. Hell.’ Platoon (1986) 