In May 2023, Universal Pictures released its newest installment in The Fast Saga after a troubling production of switching directors mid-filming. Premiering at The Colosseum in Rome, Fast X welcomes Jason Mamoa, Brie Larson, Alan Ritchson, and Daniella Melchoir to its already star-studded lineup. Returning faces include Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodrigez, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Charlize Theron, and many, many more. Although all these familiar and big faces are exciting, it inflated the budget to the point where the film needed to gross $800 million plus to simply break even. Although the film didn’t break even and critics gave it mixed scores, it was praised by its long-time fans for course-correcting the series back to its roots while keeping its over-the-top action.
Fast X, (also known as Fast & Furious 10) might be a sequel to 2021’s F9: The Fast Saga, but instead follows the story of 2011’s Fast Five. The film opens up 11 years prior to the main events revisiting the final heist of Fast Five where the crew steals an entire vault and drags it across the entirety of Rio De Janeiro to take down the city’s kingpin Hernan Reyes. However, this time around we see Hernan’s point of view along with his son Dante. The sequence ends with the heroes killing Hernan in front of Dante and his entire family’s wealth stolen by the crew causing years of suffering. This introductory moment sets a tone of vengeance across the film with audiences awaiting Dante’s payback on the crew as the line “Never accept death until suffering is owed” drives him forward all the way into act 3 when Dante takes Dom’s entire family away from him causing a full circle moment that feels oddly satisfying even with the heroes losing.
After 10 films and a spinoff, one would think that a villain stemming from the 5th entry would be stale, especially since Dante’s father was widely forgettable by fans. The film decides to instantly correct this within the first half hour of the film by pitting Dante against the franchise’s strongest and craziest villain, Cipher. Debuting in 2017’s Fate of the Furious, Cipher instantly proved to be the smartest and most ruthless villain in the series by blackmailing Dom and killing his son’s mother in front of them both. So when Dante comes strolling in blackmailing her entire crew to kill her as he steals their tech, it becomes obvious he means business. Dante not only is stronger than her but he is smarter than her at her very own game. Jason Mamoa also plays this character beautifully by going against his type. He is very feminine and bouncy, unpredictable and funny. He is so likable that you almost forget his intentions are to make the protagonists suffer. This however is by no means an issue, because every time he becomes likable it is instantly outweighed by a moment where he goes cuckoo. Such as the nail polish scene… but that’s a surprise for audiences to see themselves. However, he is without a doubt the highlight of this film.
Another stand out for the film is the cinematography blending into the soundtrack featuring artists like Charlie Puth, J Balvin, Bailey Zimmerman, and Kodak Black. Every song was crafted for the film and it shows. When the camera cuts to Rio for the main street race, a 45-second song crafted by BIA titled Furious steals the stage as the bass syncs with camera shots of cars and party goers revealing a colorful and throwback scene. It climaxes at the introduction of our protagonist and ends as Dante enters the scene. But the real showstopper here is the film just showing a street race completely uncut. This franchise started as a film about an undercover cop getting close to a family in order to gain evidence to bust them. He gained their trust by racing and living their lives, an aspect that went missing in recent films in order to allow nuclear subs and space travel. This sequence proves to long-term fans they have not forgotten what made the series so special in the first place. It is also a nice change of pace for the franchise to put crazy stunts in the backseat. Even though this film did not continue the trend of getting crazier, it nonetheless had crazy moments, they just simply didn’t go to space this time. But it did feature a nuclear sub.
The big crazy action set piece the film marketed was its sequence in Rome. The film reveals the crew was put into a setup by Dante while trying to stop a threat to the Agency. It ends with the Vatican being blown up by a bomb rolling through the streets of Rome as Dom and the crew chase after it trying to slow it down as a nod to Fast Five and the bank vault. A nod Dante himself calls out. This sequence not only further cements fanfare but spins it into a new era as the franchise has grown massively, this allows it to not feel like it is being forced down one’s throat but instead a natural evolution. In addition to this, it allows the film to remain in its modern era to not lose its long-built-up legacy servicing fans of both new and old.
Even with all of its wins, it still has its faults. The truth is Fast X is not even close to perfect. But neither was Fast Five and 2015’s Furious 7, movies which both received massive critical acclaim. Fast X primarily suffers from overstuffing its plot to ensure every character on screen has something to do, but unfortunately, this promise it makes to give everyone’s favorite character screen time results in many unneeded clunky scenes that simply feel unfinished. It also ruins the pacing of the overall film. Any sequence featuring Roman, Tej, and Ramsey after the Rome scene feels separated from the film. None of the characters are put to work to evolve the plot forward in any meaningful way, they are simply there for jokes such as the cupcake scene and shipping container full of aftershave. The biggest thing that occurs is a redemption arc between Han and Deckard Shaw after Shaw killed Han in Furious 7 / The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). Even then, the scene is used to set up future films with Shaw driving off to save his mom from Dante’s fury never to be seen again. But the most important critique is how the franchise likes to undo pivotal story points from past films such as the reveal Han was still alive in F9: The Fast Saga. Fast X is no different with the resurrection of Gizele, Han’s love interest who died in 2013’s Fast & Furious 6. This moment at the end not only undermines her death but also sets up the question of how she survived a fall from a moving plane. This franchise cannot afford a third convoluted resurrection. Although Shaw was underused and Gizelle was confusing, it was exciting to get a glimpse into the future as these characters tease their full-blown returns. This is what Fast X gets right, especially with the return of one Luke Hobbs.
After a public feud with Vin Diesel (Dom) and his departure from the main franchise in Fate of the Furious. Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) is back in an exciting mid-credits scene as a cherry on top of a satisfying conclusion after a long-awaited return from fans. This film if anything proves actors can set aside their differences in order to bring a proper story for fans. This moment not only proves commitment to fans. But commitment and care to the story, which are things many films these days can’t say themselves. As for the satisfying ending, this movie managed to make fans walk out of theatres feeling sorrow, excitement, and fulfillment. The film completed its story, which was Dante getting revenge on Dom and his crew. It did exactly what it promised allowing fans to have a sense of completion. The sorrow of course came from the heroes losing. But a hero doesn’t have to win all the time, just look at 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. Fast X further proves this. Finally, the excitement comes in with the reveal of Hobbs, Gizelle’s resurrection, and the camera cut prior to the dam exploding onto Dom and his Son. Hobbs is exciting for signifying the end of a long-standing feud. Gizelle’s resurrection gives the audience a sense of hope for the heroes. The final cut with Dom and his son then allows audiences time to theorize how they manage to escape at the beginning of the future eleventh installment due out in April of 2025. All the while a sense of despair washes over due to many alleged deaths throughout Act 3.
To conclude, Fast X is a memorable entry in its franchise that not only course corrects the series onto a path built for fan enjoyment, but includes an unforgettable villain. Sure, the film isn’t perfect, but no film in the franchise is. It sets out a revenge plot and follows through giving fans a satisfying finale. Sure it sidelines characters and leaves fans hanging but it makes sure enough cliffhangers and reveals are cleverly placed to keep fans engaged for the future of the characters as the series shifts its saga finale into high gear. Fast X can now be streamed today on Peacock. With additional titles streaming across Netflix as well.
