Fast X (2023) Review

 "It's like a cult with cars."

-Aimes

When a mission in Rome goes horribly wrong, Dominic Toretto's (Vin Diesel) team is framed as terrorists.  They are forced to split up and go into hiding.  Dom decides to go after the man behind it all, Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa), who wants revenge on Dom's family after Dom destroyed his family.

Spoilers below.

What Works:

I love when the Fast & Furious movies embrace the dumb and have just ridiculously over-the-top action sequences.  Most of the time, it's fun and I'm happy to turn my brain off and go along for the ride.  The Rome action sequence fits that bill.  It's a lot of fun as the team chases a giant rolling bomb around Rome.  It's very silly, but it's exciting and well shot.  Plus the way it ends is hysterically funny.

The 3rd act action sequence is also a lot of fun.  It's got the same energy as kids playing with Hot Wheels.  They keep making up something more insane to top what they've done before.  Dom driving down a dam is definitely one of the most insane moments in the series and I'm totally here for this kind of stuff.

Finally, Jason Momoa is absolutely the best villain the series has had.  It's not a particular high bar, but Momoa is having so much fun in the role.  He's a goofy psychopath and I dig the energy he brings to the movie.  It's certainly different than anything the series has had before.

What Sucks:

I like the beginning of the movie and I like the end of the movie.  It's the middle that is the problem.  Once Dom's team gets scattered, it feels like a lot of filler.  Not much happens in the movie and this is a long film.  That's a problem.  It's like the characters are just waiting around until the 3rd act.  It's not very interesting and a lot of it could have been cut.  I suspect a good chunk of it is setup for the rest of the series, but that doesn't do this movie any favors.

One trope the later movies in the series has is that it constantly takes villains from the previous movies and turns them into good guys.  I've always found this annoying.  We get more of that here.  Sure, it makes sense with John Cena's character, but forcing Michelle Rodriguez to team up with Charlize Theron is a bridge too far.  She's been the most evil character in the series so far and now she's working with Dom's family?  Just kill her off already.

Finally, we have the return of Gal Gadot, who was supposedly killed in the 6th movie.  This is like the 4th time this series has brought a supposedly dead character back and somehow this is the most egregious one.  How?!  They don't explain anything and even if they do explain it in the next movie, I can guarantee it won't make any sense or be satisfying.  Constantly bringing back characters from the dead lessens the stakes and makes everyone feel safe.  We lose one main character in this movie, but I don't even know if I can believe it.  This series is just a soap opera with cars.  I love the dumb bullshit in regards to the action, but the life and death of the characters needs to be taken more seriously.

Verdict:

Fast X is certainly better than F9, but probably the next weakest in the series.  It starts strong and ends strong, but the middle of the movie is a drag.  Plus it continues bringing villains over to the good guys' team and bringing characters back from the dead, which are my two least favorite parts of this series.  Hopefully the last two installments will get us back on the right road.

 6/10: Okay