Fast X (2023)

[Eric Duncan]

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[filmlover]

Long, loud, scattershot, full of cartoony mass destruction, and definitely one of the least engaging entries in the series that indicates it has officially overstayed its welcome. There's about one especially impressive set piece (a race to stop a bomb from hitting the Vatican) but the rest of time it just comes across as repetitive of sequences and story beats we've seen from the other movies. This is really a cliffhanger with a movie built around it, as nothing really important happens until about the final 10 minutes (cut to black as the protagonists face certain death! The return of characters we thought we might never see again!) when it clearly sets everything up for the grand finale - this might be the flimsiest script in movie history to have no less than four Oscar winners in its cast.

 

I will say that I highly enjoyed Jason Momoa's overly theatrical performance as the baddie in contrast to all the phoned-in performances that mostly surround him. Hey, at least he seems to be enjoying himself very much!

 

C

[John Rambo]

Better than 8 and 9...overall its disappointing this will be my last FF movie in theaters! Momoa couldnt save the movie even though he did a decent job...

[interiorgatordecorator]

Old fashioned great time, the final boost had me cheering 

 

Liked it more than the up-its-own-ass (but still fun) John Wick 4

[Webslinger]

Despite its obvious shortcomings and the fact that this long-running series’ best days are in the rearview mirror, Fast X is a guilty pleasure for me. It is glaringly obvious that the convoluted story this film cooks up is just the setup for something bigger in the next installment(s?), and that approach sucks a good deal of tension out of the climax and renders many character journeys incomplete. That said, I was never bored and followed along with the numerous new developments and retcons with as much interest as I could for a franchise that is now ten films deep. The vehicular mayhem feels more generic under the direction of franchise newbie Louis Leterrier, but it’s still reasonably fun to watch despite some dodgy CGI. Ironically, though, for a franchise that purports to be all about booming action, it works best when it remembers - *ahem* - that the most important thing is the onscreen family it has assembled. There are actually some nice character moments between the big, dumb action sequences, which continue this franchise’s surprising trend toward leaning into sentiment where other big franchises might just skip to the next scene. The returning players are mostly still having fun with their roles and playing off qualities that have worked in the past films, while many of the newcomers – particularly Brie Larson, Daniela Melchior, and a brief cameo from Rita Moreno – gel well because they have a clear awareness of the kind of movie they’re in and pitch their work just right. The standout, however, is Jason Momoa, who leaves no scenery unchewed in a truly bonkers performance that makes his villain far more memorable than he should be as what could very easily have just been a stock heavy. Unlike the recent Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which felt like it told a mostly complete story with lots of open ends and hints of where the action would go next, Fast X feels like an entire movie of setup for what will hopefully be a stronger finale, but it works as decent escapist entertainment.

 

B-

 

Also: If we do make it to a Fast 12, I'll be disappointed if we don't see a complete heel-face-turn from Momoa, complete with him knocking back Coronas with Dom and exclaiming "My man!"

 

Also also: LOL at that last scene. Retconning Gisele's death is such a beautifully, transcendently stupid moment that I couldn't help but smile at it. Much like Tej and Roman going to space in F9, it reads like the writers seeing internet posters cook up some crazy shark-jumping twist and saying to themselves, "You know what? Let's try it!" Honestly, "death" means so little in this universe that I'm gonna go ahead and call my shot now: we're seeing Elena return from the dead in the next one to help save Dom and Little Brian.

[dxmatrixdt]

i honestly could care less about Jason Momoa's performance, i would much rather them to be hanging out in the Long Beach area with colored cars eating vegan chicken with a CGI Paul Walker.

1 - 96%

5 - 96%

7 - 95%

6 - 94%

8 - 90%

10 - 89%

9 - 89%

 

4 - 89%

2 - 89%

3 - 89%

 

overall, i love the characters.  i rank part 4 much lower than part 9, but they have the same score.  part 2 and 3 have the colored cars which i said i prefer, but part 4 has everyone back!

i did a rewatch of 8 and 9 before 10, and i noticed 9 and especially 10 lacked the chemistry that 8 had, if that makes sense.

Edited July 7, 2023 by dxmatrixdt