Diesel-Fuelled
The giant gang’s all here – literally – but Jason Momoa gives the F&F franchise its best-dressed, best ever villain.
Fast X
Director: Louis Leterrier • Writers: Dan Mazeau, Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Momoa, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Jason Statham, Sung Kang, Brie Larson, Charlize Theron, Natalie Emmanuel, Alan Ritchson
USA • 2hrs 21mins
Opens Hong Kong May 18 • IIB
Grade: B-
Jason Momoa, at the very least, is having himself a smashing time in Fast X. As the main, cartoony, deliciously over the top villain Dante Reyes in the tenth (I still can’t believe that) instalment of The Fast Franchise, Momoa puts the movie on his snakeskin-bedecked shoulders and walks away with it. Now, no one tell producer-star Vin Diesel that lest his feelings get hurt and he winds up in another feud. We all know what happened the last time a tall, muscular actor shined brighter than him. Look at F9. John Cena had maybe two lines of dialogue and spent most of his screen time getting beaten up by l’il Vin. So mad respect to who, or what, ever convinced him to let Momoa peacock around and go way, way over the top with his aggressively gender non-conforming, wily, utterly engaging Dante. Whether he’s orchestrating a worldwide search for the “terrorists” of the Fast Family or telling children to shut up, Momoa’s lunatic glee is informed by his own innate charm and sex appeal. Never before has the wanton destruction of UNESCO sites and European infrastructure looked this cool.
But then the rest of the movie happens around him. Not that incoming director Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me) fumbles the ball too badly. After writer and original director Justin Lin (underrated Star Trek Beyond) – who, for the record, kickstarted this nonsense with the franchise gold standard, Fast Five – got on the wrong side of Diesel’s ego, Leterrier had to pick up the pieces of the standard revenge thriller and get into theatres on time and with maximum familiarity. Mission accomplished. In fairness, Fast X is way better than F9 and The Fate of the Furious (which wins for dumbest title), and sets XI up nicely. But it’s a F&F movie. If you’re not on board already, this isn’t going to win you over. If you’re a Fasthead, the ridiculousness is back to exactly where it should be, with shifing gears and screeching tires. Oh, also? Ka-ching!!!
Uh huh
Needless to say, it’s Diesel’s world. We just live in it, and Fast X bangs on the drums that have made the series a global phenomenon. The main players are super-secret super spies or some shit. They’re loaded but live humbly, and they possess Marvel levels of fighting/healing skills. No one really gets hurt, and no one really dies. Dominic Toretto (Diesel, duh) doesn’t need friends, he’s got family: main squeeze Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), comic relief Roman (Tyrese Gibson), tech guy Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), frying pan wielder Mia (Jordana Brewster), and not-dead Han (Sung Kang). Uncle Jakob (Cena in Peacemaker mode) is around to protect little Brian (Leo Abelo Perry) when Dante begins his reign of terror. Seems he was in the bank with his dad Hernan when the crew ripped the vault out of the wall in Five. See? Family never forgets. He’s out to make Dom pay. He gets a heads up about Dante’s imminent arrival from God’s Eye thief Cipher (Charlize Theron) when she limps to Dom’s house after a run-in with Dante. You know the rest. Cipher is this close to becoming family, and no world landmark is safe. The word “family” is used 19 times, for an average of every 7.5 minutes. You’re welcome.
There’s something to be said for Fast X’s commitment to the franchise mythology, and among the detritus that congeals into a script – no, you can’t drive down the face of a hydroelectric dam, please don’t look for logic – are bits, bobs, and callbacks from other entries that tie the whole thing together. But don’t worry. If you missed 1 to 9 there are enough info dumps and freshly created flashbacks to catch you up. Few franchises are this gleeful about retconning their own stories but fuck it. Bring on the CGI and put Momoa where he never was.
And the retconning continues in the filmmaking itself. Leterrier is no slouch when it comes to engine-based stunt work and action set pieces; he’s put time in with The Transporter films, a few episodes of the French Netflix series Lupin, and, most crucially, Marvel (The Incredible Hulk), so he knows his way around a chase and a fight. It’s as kinetically shot (by series regular Stephen F Windon) frantically edited (there’s four) as any edition, and uses that consistency as a crutch. There’s no formal innovation in Fast X, but there doesn’t have to be, especially when this time around it feels more like a Fast film. The action feels more grounded and car-based than 6 through 9, and there’s no side trip to space. The high octane bits are slightly undermined by a script that relies on dipping into the same well, too, one that pulls more characters than just Dante out of mothballs for its story. The spectre of Elena looms large (kudos for not totally erasing the mother of Dom’s child), Cipher’s stolen submarine is explained, and just because Kurt Russell was busy that doesn’t mean there’s Nobody to fill in for him. Can Johnny Tran and Monica Fuentes be far behind? But hey, a Fast film only happens once a year or so, you know what you’re in for, and you put up with its eye-rolling antics so you can bask in the welcoming arms of its unapologetic and effortless diversity, and shameless sentimentality. Kind of like family. Dammit, Diesel. Ya got me. — DEK