There was a scene where Dom said “Nothing is impossible” and the whole cinema cheered LOL. I’m just glad everyone knows what they are getting when it comes to the franchise so there aren’t many complaints.
Fast X blesses us with a full recap of Fast 5 so we are refreshed before everything kicks off. It’s neat mechanic and they fill in the little gaps with extra footage so it’s easier for new viewers to join the fray. It’s the common theme of a revenge story against Dom and we get to meet new members of the family, grandma Torreto and Little Brian. Dante who is the son of Hernan Reyes from Fast 5 is out for revenge and is on a mission not only to kill Dom but to make him suffer. It’s a journey that takes across multiple countries which makes it a lot of fun. We really get the feel that these guys are international spies the way we transition from country to country so seamlessly. For a franchise that started in 2001 and has managed to stay relevant since, it still finds a way to negate the nostalgia element. Takes us down memory lane. These callbacks are done via photos from the old movies and via the music played pulling on our Paul Walker heart strings. RIP Paul, you are still missed.
The whole family return and we are introduced to new characters. Vin Diesel returns as Dom. Our main titular lead. Still too cool for school with his low, deep voice delivering his famous one liners just waiting to be captioned against some hysterical memes. Michelle Rodrigues returns as Letty giving all women a crash course on loyalty and the literal definition of ride or die. Jordana Brewster and Nathalie are back with almost cameo appearances. Nathalie I feel struggles to fit into the family. I feel she’s best suited as an associate rather than a full time family member, she just doesn’t seem to gel well with the group. Jason Staham, John Cena and Charlize Theron come again and they are good. Cipher I enjoyed a lot. She’s given a pivotal role to connect the story altogether and we get to see one of the best hand to hand combat scenes of the franchise from her. Tyrese and Ludacris continue with the comedic value as Roman and Tej. They’re witty back and forth keep you engaged and offer that relaxing feel to all the seriousness going on. its used as a tool to break up the scenes. We are blessed with an array of new personalities in Brie Larson as Tess who is Mr Nobody’s daughter, Alan Ritchison as Aimes, Daniela Melchior who plays Isabel and Leo Perry as Little Brian. Alan plays the Hobbs role of being super cop and he just slotted into the franchise so easily and we witness some deep character development even though he has minimal screen time. Leo was cute and the direction they took his character in, he joins in fully with the crazy antics of the Fast family from jumping from car to car and shooting canons of a moving car. I can see him growing over the next free years and possibly carrying the mantle. The highlight of the movie for me was Jason Momoa as Dante Reyes.
I don’t know if Jason has had enough of Aqua man and is auditioning for a Joker or Riddler role but he was brilliant.
He kept his standard grizzly look but added some camp touches like putting his hair in buns, which escalated his deranged, flamboyant and hilarious behaviour to his character. He is by far the most villainous character in the franchise. He is a refreshing take from the typical, cold, chilling, blasé villains who have come so accustomed to.
It gives its typical ingredients we know and love of over the top, adrenaline fuelled, outlandish action scenes. We have our heroes playing pinball with a flaming nuclear bomb through the streets of Rome, a car strapped with dual cannons, John Cena delivering the Attitude Adjustment through the roof, drags 2 helicopters in a car and many more. Despite my list of crazy moments this movie suffers with a lack of ideas. It was always going to be tough topping going to space in Fast 9. I can only imagine going into an alternative universe. We get another street race pit gun standoff scene which is beginning to slowly be one of the core signatures of the Fast series and I love them. Dom and Little Brian’s chemistry didn’t gel to well for me but that could be due to lack of screen time together and could be rectified later in the future movies. There’s even a scene where he calls his dad “Dom” which really threw me off.
Its a decent Fast movie which is very different from a decent movie. What the “universe” has taught me is that literally no one stays dead. No matter what gruesome death scene you see just take it as they are taking a break and will be back soon. We see some old faces return and some “disappear for good” but don’t hold your breath. It’s not the best Fast film for me but it was a good watch. I’ll say let’s stick with it to the end and finish strong.
What was your favourite stunt? Which of the new characters did you like best? Where do you see the franchise going? Did you spot Paul Walkers daughter Meadow Walker in the film? What did you of Dante as a character? React and comment below…
