Review: Fast X (2023)

Fast X is barely a movie. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, as in lieu of proper movie elements and fully-formed scenes, we get an enjoyable collection of Vin Diesel’s aphorisms as Dominic Toretto, as he constantly imparts advice about life and fatherhood and family. We also get a VFX showreel of absurd action sequences and the stupidly fun possibilities of what you can do with some green screen, stunt cars, and a massive CGI budget. Unfortunately, the film is primarily a teaser for the truncated finale of the Fast & Furious Saga, which will be spread out over several films, many of them bearing the title of Fast X with “Part 2” or “Part 3” as a subtitle. Therefore, Fast X is most distinctly an overlong franchise jumble. It’s a vehicle for the sort of franchise extension that the Fast & Furious Saga had mostly avoided to this point.

The plot of Fast X—the coherent part at least—involves Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes, son of the Brazilian gangster killed in Fast Five, seeking revenge on Dom and his family 10 years after his father’s death. But this plot isn’t truly the focus. It’s merely an excuse for race scenes, action spectacles, betrayals, resurrections, convoluted espionage plotting, and Jason Momoa’s bid to be the gayest and campiest action blockbuster villain of all time. On this latter note, it’s a startling, Joel Schumacher-esque approach to a big-budget Hollywood villain in 2023. You could argue the decision to make Dante a catty, campy, outrageous diva is an attempt at inclusivity, but surely such a bid would not involve the villain painting the nails of the corpses of his henchmen while wearing a fuzzy bathrobe. Dante is deranged, and Momoa’s performance so unhinged that you kind of admire how outrageous it all is. He also stands out from all the previous villains who are mostly about macho bluster. Momoa isn’t entirely suited to the performative approach, but he’s hardly the biggest issue with Fast X. He’s got personality at least.

Momoa’s presence is also indicative of how stacked the cast of Fast X is. The series has swollen over the years, even as some characters die (or are written out after their actor dies) and other stars join in their place. Momoa joins the cast along with Brie Larson as a CIA fixer, with other big name actors returning from previous films, including John Cena as Dom’s brother Jakob, Helen Mirren as Queenie Shaw, Charlize Theron as ubervillain Cipher, and Rita Moreno as Dom’s grandma. And these are all in addition to the main cast of Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, et al. Despite the nonsensical nature of Fast X, it does provide star power in its casting.

Now, the big question with all Fast & Furious movies is whether the car action is good. Sadly, Fast X has probably the least satisfying action in the entire franchise, depending on your tolerance for Hobbs & Shaw. Louis Leterrier, taking over from franchise shepherd Justin Lin, ditches most of the practical stunt work for CGI galore. There’s no weight to any of the moments. It’s like the entire film is the space scene from F9 rather than that film’s ingenious magnet chase through Tbilisi: all conceptual absurdity, none of the absurdity delivered through practical filmmaking skill.

As well, there is no standout sequence here like the tank chase in Fast & Furious 6 or the Caucasus drop in Furious 7. Leterrier can swing a camera around, cut between exploding cars, maintain pacing, and push in on Diesel’s furrowed brow well enough, but there’s little more than general competence in his approach to the action. The film’s most memorable visual is Dom driving his iconic Dodge Charger down the incline of a dam in order to avoid exploding gas tankers. But this visual was showcased front-and-centre in the trailers, so it offers no surprise. Furthermore, the film essentially ends right after, with a giant cliffhanger and no resolution.

Now, Fast X is not the first sequel to end with a cliffhanger and essentially be part one of a longer film. We’ve all seen The Matrix Reloaded and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. But what those films had, which this one doesn't, is a sense of structure and a promise that what was coming after would resolve this story and bring an end to the larger saga. It’s true that we eventually got more The Matrix and Pirates of the Caribbean films to come after the initial trilogies, but those cliffhanger films didn’t end the way they did because they were setting up endless franchise spinoffs. They ended on cliffhangers to build up excitement for the concluding chapter of the story. They were more like The Empire Strikes Back than Avengers: Infinity War.

Perhaps more importantly, those films had a structure that provided some climax and resolution, even if the overall story was meant to continue. Fast X doesn’t feel like those films. It ends mid-climax and has a shambling, frankensteined movie structure that packs in as many cameos, retcons, and plot twists as it can handle, all to seemingly give the studio endless avenues to continue making Fast & Furious movies once the main storyline wraps up.

Thus, Fast X is disappointing not only because it’s a mediocre action film, but more critically, it’s disappointing because it finally turns the Fast & Furious Saga into just another franchise. This series used to operate as a proper series with one sequel, and then another, and then another, all telling contained stories that were about the action in the moment, not the action to come. F9 inched the series in the direction of the modern cinematic universe, and Hobbs & Shaw proved that Fast & Furious was not above the occasional spinoff, but Fast X makes clear that it too has been swallowed by the maw of franchise entertainment. Its primary job is not to operate as a movie, but to make sure we watch the next one, which is frustrating and more than a little baffling. It seems that in 2023, not even the purity of Dominic Toretto’s family can remain intact.

4 out of 10

Fast X (2023, USA)

Directed by Louis Leterrier; written by Dan Mazeau and Justin Lin, based on a story by Dan Mazeau, Justin Lin and Zach Dean, based on characters created by Gary Scott Thompson; starring Vin Diesel, 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, Jason Momoa, Charlize Theron.

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