Fast X: Latest Chapter in Relentless Racing Franchise Sputters and Stalls

By Thom Ernst

Rating: C

Twenty-two years and 10 films later and not much has changed for the Fast and Furious clan.

It’s about family. And cars. Family and cars. And some miscreants attempting to tear the family apart by beating them at their own game. So, more cars. But mostly family: family, cars, and a bad guy—who loves cars but hates families.

But nostalgia is creeping in, threatening to take over where family was once cornerstone. And for a franchise dedicated to speed, Fast X is stuck in the past with a few glimpses down the road ahead. It stalls at a sideroad between then and tomorrow. The present happens, but it comes as an inconvenient interruption of memories.

The film’s cold opening is a repeat of a scene from a previous F&F film—don’t know which one (guessing Fast and Furious 7, still the best in the franchise) but it has the late Paul Walker. Despite the cleverness of the scene as a spectacular feat of stunt driving and collision, the repurposed footage has the thrill of a budget cut. Not that Fast X doesn’t gear up to deliver impressive, freshly minted demolition derby bedlam turning neighbourhoods, parked cars, café umbrellas, and much of Rome into collateral damage (not to mention an undetermined body count).

But Fast X doesn’t just rob from its own vault. There are scenes that ring familiar with Raiders of the Lost Ark, and even Burt Reynold’s Cannonball Run, if Reynold’s Cannonball Run had an actual cannonball.

I’m not quite sure what universe the Fast and Furious characters exist in. I used to know back when the first film gave off the sheen of an 80s cop film. I don’t recognize the world they currently exist in where ultra-secret headquarters house cells with mammoth stoned clawed gates, and multi-armed laser guns, and oversized satellite shaped bombs. But then again, I’m not really a car person.

We’ve had time to get use to the characters’ transition from the street-level road warriors of Fast & Furious (2009) to the Marvel-like high-tech superheroes they become in Fast X. But the willingness to suspend disbelief is beginning to reach an apex. The excess is more watchable than inventive, with maneuvers so elaborate that it’s difficult to connect any authentic concern for the safety of the characters—it’s the stunt drivers you’re worried about.

Director Louis Leterrier has the credentials to jump in the driver’s seat, but he lacks the smooth hand of a James Wan to turn a cliché into innovation. His Transporter (1 & 2) proved he has an ability to pull off a chase scene, and his Now You See Me (2013) illustrates reasonable skill in maneuvering through the complexities of a heist film.

But Leterrier has a rather stilted sense of humour (The Brothers Grimsby, 2016) and when it comes to moments of tenderness (and there are far too many moments of tenderness), Leterrier has a heavy foot that floods the screen with unnecessary maudlin (and overstated) sentiment—usually about the importance of family. And there is something about Vin Diesel phoning in sincere that can crack an audience up.

Diesel returns as Dominic Toretto, the saviour of the backlot drag race community. He has lost enough loved ones in past episodes (their spirits hanging in framed photos) to warrant fear for the safety of his young son (primed to be the next generation of fast and furious drivers).

The villain this time is Dante, played with colourful excess by Jason Momoa. Momoa’s flamboyant, sometimes gender-fluid performance is the best Fast X has to offer. His cutting asides, amusing mannerisms, and incredulous cruelty carry much of the movie, until it wears thin and edges towards camp and mockery.

There are several stories crammed beneath the umbrella of one. There is Tej (Ludacris) playing off Roman (Tyrese Gibson) with comic intentions that never get off the ground. There’s the adventurous road trip taken by Dom’s brother, Jakob (John Cena) and Little Brian (Leo Abelo Perry) Dom’s son.

There is the conflicted partnership of sworn enemies, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Cipher (Charlize Theron). These break-off scenarios get lost in a mash-up of tributes and homages, many with an assumed understanding of their backstory.

And that brings up the question: Does it help to have seen the previous films?

Yes, it helps.

But do you need to see the previous films to get everything out of Fast X?

Gawd yes! Even fans will want to brush up on their F&F trivia. Fast X dials in every living character (with some post-mortem appearances) to wrap up the decades-long franchise. If you’re not caught up on your F&F history, you are liable to find yourself reaching for a GPS to guide you through the plot.

Fast X. Directed by Louis Leterrier. Starring Vin Diesel, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, John Cena, Leo Abelo Perry, Michelle Rodriguez, Charlize Theron and Jason Momoa. In theatres May 19.