Welcome back to the blog readers. I just saw the newest installment of the Fast and Furious franchise: Fast X, and I wanted to share my thoughts with you all. If you subscribe to the blog for a small fee of $9.99 a month, then you will be able to see my review of the previous installment, F9. To sum it up for you, it was a mixed bag for me. I just hoped that this new installment would be better. Did my wish come true? Stick around to find out.
Fast X was directed by Louis Leterrier, from a script written by Justin Lin and Dan Mazeau, with story by Lin, Mazeau, and Zach Dean. This installment stars Vin Diesel, Jason Momoa, 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, and Charlize Theron, and see Dom Toretto and his crew pitted against Dante Reyes, the son of deceased drug lord Hernan Reyes, who swears revenge against the crew for the death of his father and the loss of his fortune.
The Fast films have been fun little popcorn stuffers to add to the summer blockbuster zeitgeist, but I had my reservations about Fast X, only because F9 was kind of a letdown. Between its nonsensical action and crummy writing, I thought it could have been so much better. So now let's stop reminiscing about the past and talk about the future, or in this case Fast X. All I wanted was a better film than F9, and did the boys deliver? All I can say is it definitely was better, but still not the greatest Fast film.
As I mentioned in my F9 review, these films are usually not known for their performances, but Fast X is a different beast in that there are actually some really good performances here. I want to start with the most obvious one, and that is of Jason Momoa. Since he became the DCEU's Aquaman, I have always liked him as an actor. And in Fast X, he brings his unique blend of seriousness and playfulness to full throttle (see what I did there?) and delivers a performance equal parts hilarious and terrifying. Dante Reyes is the most dangerous villain Dom and his family have ever faced, and it is all thanks to Momoa.
I also enjoyed the performance of Vin Diesel in this film as well. For the first time in this franchise, he plays more than just the macho leader of a gang of criminals or drivers looking to save the world. This time around, he feels like an action hero that has something to fight for. And that is all due to Diesel. And right now, this guy is on a roll, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 having come out a few weeks ago. Fun fact, Vin Diesel beat himself at the box office.
I want to talk about the story of Fast X next. This story is far better than F9 in the sense that it is not really a nonsensical story. This is a real story with real motivations and real stakes. And that is what I did love and appreciate about this film. There wasn't a whole lot of nonsense, except some of the crew in London were used for comedic breaks, which is something that I did not really appreciate. Although some of the jokes are funny though.
I do have to commend the action in this film. There is more realism than in F9 (which is a good thing), but there is some silly stuff as well. The opening action set piece in Rome is fine until the giant bomb is bouncing around the streets. I enjoyed the race in Rio and the fight involving Deckard Shaw. Although Dom should not be able to move a car with one hand. Who do you think you are, Braun Strowman? And some of the creative choices made in the final set piece in Portugal were questionable. Perfectly riding off a dam with barely a scratch on your car? No way. (That was in the trailers so it is not a spoiler.)
I spent the last bit of my F9 review by praising the score from Brian Tyler, and I plan on doing the same here. He really knows how to set a mood. Whether someone is fighting their way through a busy highway or avoiding a bomb in Rome, Tyler once again delivers the goods to create one of his best scores to date. Sucks we have to wait a week to get it for ourselves, but I think it will be well worth it.
To conclude my thoughts, Fast X is a vast improvement over its predecessor with better action and better performances, but some more absurdity keeps the film from being able to successfully make it to the finish line. Thank you all so much for reading this review, and I will see you all for the next one.
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