Review: Fast X

Dominic Toretto and his family are back for one hell of a ride. The 10th installment of the “Fast” franchise is just as absurd and ridiculous as its predecessors. After literally going to space in the 9th installment,, Fast X leans into being ridiculous instead of veering away from it. Everyone involved in these films are self-aware of how insane these are, and that’s what makes them so great. They know their audience, and they own it.

Fast X brought every familiar face back with some additions to make one massive movie. At times, the plot became convoluted and oversaturated just to give a reason for bringing in a bunch of characters. Fast X is also enormous in scale, with every action sequence being bigger and more insane than the last. In all honesty, you never feel the weight of the stakes because you know they’re just going to insanely drive out of one bad situation and into the next.

As we all know by now, these films are not a straight shot to the finish line. You never had the timeline just like you never had your car! That being said, where this fits within the story is actually pretty brilliant. The big bad in this installment is Jason Momoa’s eccentric Joker-like villain Dante, who is the son of the Brazilian crime lord Hernan Reyes. Momoa’s flamboyant and unhinged character is driven by vengeance, and it’s honestly the best thing about this movie. He is over-the-top and ridiculous, but it works because he’s so charismatic. Lately, Momoa has been pigeonholed into the same roles over and over again. This is a breath of fresh air. He stole the entire movie and in turn, sold the film.

Fast X knows what it is and unapologetically owns it. Is it absurd? Yes. Is it entertaining? Absolutely! This is a movie that plays to its fans, and you have to give it credit for that. It does end on a cliffhanger, and we may need to wait until Fast 12 to see any resolution, but I’m ok with that. The only thing I will ask of this franchise is to please let Jason Momoa finish this race with the crew.