Fast X doesn't completely work – but Jason Momoa is excellent
Fast & Furious is nearing its finish line and if you thought the Fast Saga was going to end quietly, then you've clearly never watched the series.
We had thought Fast X was going to be the first of a two-part finale, but Vin Diesel recently let slip that it could well the first movie of a climactic trilogy. It would be a fittingly, uh, understated way to end a series that was originally about street racing, but has become an entirely different beast.
Subtlety has never been in the Fast Saga's wheelhouse, so it will be no surprise to learn that their approach to a multi-part finale is to go massive, setting up far too many plot threads that one movie can't tie up. In fact, Fast X barely manages to complete any and decides to just leave most of them open.
The result is an overstuffed blockbuster that doesn't satisfy as a complete whole, but works as another ride that's often ludicrously entertaining and elevated by the best villain in the series.
Fast X continues the series' penchant for retcons by revealing that Fast Five's villain Hernan Reyes had a son called Dante (Jason Momoa). He was there during the safe heist and the final battle on the bridge but we never saw him, and he's been concocting his revenge against Dom (Vin Diesel) for a decade.
Don't worry if you either haven't seen Fast Five or haven't seen it in a while because Fast X recaps it whenever it can. All you really need to know is that Dante is pissed and he doesn't want to kill Dom as you "never accept death when suffering is owed".
It marks a refreshing change-up for the series which had increasingly fallen into comfortable plot mechanics: bad person wants some world-threatening high tech, Dom and his familia have to stop them.
Here, director Louis Leterrier plays with that expectation during a first-act heist in Rome which delivers everything you'd expect from a Fast movie. There's incredible car and motorbike stunts, a massive bomb rolling through the streets and a scarcely believable way for Dom to save the day that defies the laws of physics.
But rather than the set-up for the same old Fast movie, the heist is all a knowing misdirect as Dante is playing an entirely different game. It leads to Dom's familia being scattered around the globe, leading to a more grounded – well, in terms of this series – outing that avoids outlandish spectacle like space travel.
The issue is that the sprawling cast means that there are multiple subplots going on. As Dom tries to track down Dante, we've got a few of the gang in London, while Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and nemesis Cipher (Charlize Theron) are at a CIA black site and Jakob (John Cena) is being a protective uncle in Los Angeles.
You'd assume that all of the subplots, including the shenanigans of new Agency head Aimes (Alan Ritchson) and Mr Nobody's daughter Tess (Brie Larson), would combine for a big finale. However, Fast X never really does this and each subplot seemingly exists to just set up the next movie.
Fast X might not go to space or have multiple huge set pieces, but it's still a massive movie because of this. The pacing isn't on the mark though, so we leave subplots for extended periods and if you didn't know there was a second part coming, you would leave frustrated with how the movie ends.
However, there is one shining light that just about keeps Fast X on track: Jason Momoa's Dante Reyes. He's the strongest villain of the series to date and Momoa is having the time of his life, delivering an excellent performance as he does so.
Dante is a flamboyant and theatrical baddie who absolutely loves what he does and as much as he hates Dom, he's also a bit of a fanboy and relishes battling wits with him. Like the switch-up with the plot, Dante is a world away from the usually serious Fast & Furious villains who are evil just because.
Momoa is so good that when Fast X has to switch lanes and catch up with the other subplots, his presence is sorely missed despite the typically reliable turns from the extended cast.
There's a playful edge to Dante's villain that spreads through other aspects of Fast X too. It's a series that's increasingly in on the joke, such as Roman (Tyrese Gibson) talking about invincibility in Fast 9. A standout scene here sees Aimes moan about family BBQs and deliver deadpan lines about violating the laws of "God and gravity".
Fast & Furious fans certainly won't feel shortchanged by Fast X because as much as it changes the formula, it still delivers a lot of the same. There are deep-cut references, unexpected cameos and spectacle that no other series can deliver – after all, where else can you see helicopters used as wrecking balls?
The final act will certainly create discussion too that will tide Fast fans over until the 11th movie arrives in 2025 (assuming the writers' strike doesn't delay it). You'll know it probably won't do what it's teasing, but it'll be fun to speculate endlessly over.
But as much as the ending has an impact, it's hard to escape the feeling that Fast X is only half a story and forgot to tell a cohesive story of its own.
Fast X is released in cinemas on May 19.
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