David R. Walker

Fast X – Fast and Furious 10

Director: Louis Leterrier

Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriquez, Jason Momoa, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, John Cena, Rita Moreno, Scott Eastwood, Tyrese Gibson, Helen Mirren, Jordana Brewster, Chris Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Brie Larson, Alan Ritchson

Running Time: 2 hours and 21 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10 

French film director Louis Leterrier who did the first two Transporter films goes really mammoth for the 10^th film of the Fast and Furious franchise as he assembles all the cast from the last film together with Vin Diesel leading the cast as Dominic Toretto.

Unlike in the previous couple of films where there hasn’t been a clear villain in Fast X, the villain is Dante Reyes, the son of a Brazilian crime family who decides to avenge his father’s death in Rio de Janeiro ten years ago. Except Dante is really crazy and not in a good way.

Brilliantly played with a dazzling flamboyance which borders on madness, Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Justice League) really does the entire eccentric villain character from blowing up parts of Rome to drawing out Toretto, Lettie and the rest of his crew away from Los Angeles to the streets of Rome, Rio de Janeiro and finally to the highways of Portugal.

Toretto’s L. A. home and warns him that an incredibly dangerous villain is after Toretto and his family, the action hots up fast and swiftly. Bringing in the usual gang headed by Roman played by Tyrese Gibson along with Tej played by Chris Bridges, Toretto must use all his strength and determination to elude the clutches of the crazy Dante. All the usual suspects from previous films pop up including Shaw played by Jason Statham, Shaw’s mother Queenie played by Oscar winner Helen Mirren (The Queen) and some newcomers including the gorgeous Oscar winner Brie Larson (Room) as Tess, daughter of the head of the covert agency who assists Lettie and Dominic in trying to bring down Dante.

Luckily Fast X is not heavy on dialogue and Leterrier makes this film entirely action driven with planes, cars and even buses blowing up and there are enough car chases to satisfy the legions of fans which made this franchise so popular. Basically, a cult of cars.

Fast X is explosive, loud and never boring but despite the heavy A-list cast, the storyline is repetitive with few plot twists or surprises. The best surprise is how good Jason Momoa is at playing the villain Dante who creates an urban inferno. Dante is a brash, painted and sociopathic man-child complete with gadgets, bombs and an absolute hatred of everything vaguely normal. Dante is chaos incorporated even killing the two tech guys who assist him and then painting their dead toe nails.

The rest of the cast is the same except for a lovely Brie Larson who adds some femininity to an otherwise very macho cast including John Cena as Jacob, Jason Statham as Shaw and Alan Ritchson as Aimes. Fast 10 is made in two parts and this is the first film which ends on a literal cliff-hanger.

Recommended viewing for those that love fast cars, exotic locations and brash action sequences, Fast X will dazzle and entertain audiences globally and gets a film rating of 7 out of 10. This is a high octane, fast paced action film which already has a loyal following. Best viewed in an IMAX cinema.

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