Fast X
Ever since the “Fast and the Furious” franchise was given a soft reboot in 2009, it’s progressively upped the ante on action nonsense to where, in “F9,” they literally had a space sequence. On the one hand, the reboot worked in giving this franchise a focus and energy it was missing previously, but as the series has gone on, we’re past the point of believability, and the results are not unlike the Pierce Brosnan James Bond films. While I have a soft spot for those films, one of the biggest (and most justified) complaints about them- especially Brosnan’s last two films- was how they removed any semblance of a grounded narrative and just leapt into high concept action craziness. There’s one surefire moment in this film’s climax where Dom (Vin Diesel) should be dead after the fact, but he isn’t because his character, in particular, is basically a superhero, at this point. This isn’t surprising, because this is the one cinematic offering Diesel has where he can control his character’s outcome. With “Fast X,” I wish more adventurous voices were in the room with him.
For all intents and purposes, this franchise would have been best served by ending after “Furious 7,” where Paul Walker’s death left them to “retire” his character, him going one way with his wife- and Dom’s sister- Mia (Jordana Brewster) and their burgeoning family, and Dom going in another; given how the characters began in the 2001 film, it would have been a wonderful thematic bookend. Each successive film since that moment is proving Harvey Dent’s saying in “The Dark Knight”- “you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”- correct; the further the series gets from that natural conclusion, the more it becomes a cynical, soulless calculation to beat a dead horse franchise. As more people come after Dom’s “family,” the absence of Walker’s Brian from the action gets more and more absurd, and knowing this is the first of a final “trilogy” (allegedly) of films in this franchise, makes it feel much more disheartening for some of its choices than it needed to. In the history of “Part 1” “cliffhangers,” this might be the most frustrating, because honestly, everything we’ve been shown about this franchise’s universe makes for the lowest of stakes a major film series has ever had, since we’ve seen multiple people come back from death in this.
“Fast X” begins with a flashback of 2011’s “Fast Five,” and its vault heist and car chase through Rio. As it turns out, the drug kingpin in that film had a son who was a part of the action, Dante (Jason Momoa), and his integration in the archival footage is okay, but also kind of hilarious given how they try and “de-age” him. Cut to a decade later, and Dante is ready to take his revenge on Dom and his crew. Momoa is having a lot of weird, wild fun playing Dante, and it’s probably the most entertaining thing in the film, but unfortunately, his high-camp tone is wasted with the self-serious Diesel as Dom. Dante isn’t out to just kill Dom, but break apart his family, which includes Dom’s brother Jacob (John Cena), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), his and Letty’s son, and the rest of his crew. Can they survive what Dante has coming their way.
When Justin Lin left the film due to “creative differences,” the replacement was Louis Leterrier, a solid shooter known for “The Transporter,” 2010’s “Clash of the Titans” and the MCU’s “The Incredible Hulk,” and he’s able to give the action scenes a style that helps, but they also go on for so long that it borders on grating. There’s nothing logical grounding the action, at this point, whether it’s a sound structure to the action sequences or genuine motivations beyond those needed for plot mechanics. Yes, there are cool “moments,” but nothing to get my heart racing like the fifth and sixth films did (even the flashbacks to “Fast Five” leave much to be desired, as they are ret-conning Dante into the action), and nothing feels like there’s anything truly riding on any of this. This is empty calories as an action films, and I feel like I haven’t been nourished by anything I’ve seen on screen. Momoa is a grand old time to watch, but they basically sideline Brie Larson as a new character trying to help Dom. (She looks great, but is given nothing.) This film is a mess, and part of what makes its “cliffhanger” so disappointing is not only what it seems to have in store for us, but knowing I have to try and care about this franchise for a little longer more.
