The Fast & Furious media franchise was started in 2001. The first film, “The Fast & The Furious” (Rob Cohen) introduced an undercover L.A. cop played by Paul Walker. He’s tasked with infiltrating an illegal street racing gang. The film was full of driving stunts and was a huge hit. Twenty plus years later, there’s been television shows, theme park rides, toys and now–the gas tank has almost run dry. “Fast X” (Louis Leterrier) is bringing the franchise to a conclusion.
Never fear, fans of the smoking tires and turbo-charged testosterone, this two-and-a-half-hour film is Part One of Two…and possibly Three. From an action film about street racing, the series has taken the central characters from the wrong side of the tracks and the law, to making them the heroes that the government can rely on. This film, “Fast X” brings back a lot of the cast with a nostalgic look back at some of the characters who’ve died in the series.
It’s a strange mix of schmaltz with tender vignettes to drive home the family togetherness mantra and huge set pieces full of explosions and destruction. The film opens with a tricked-out car spinning and burning rubber in a series of donuts. Then out of the passenger side steps Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), our hero. He’s teaching his son the fine points of street racing. There’s a family dinner helmed by the matriarch, played by Rita Moreno. There’s an extended scene of her praising him and giving him a tender hug. A scene echoed later in the film when Helen Mirren’s character steps out of nowhere to console Dom in Rome.
This family love will be again on display when Dom’s wife Letty, played by Michelle Rodriguez, leaps into his arms and wraps her legs around him. They share a tender moment, with an ornate silver cross clasped between them to remind Dom of their love and bond. He wore a similar cross in the first film. Could this cross show up again in the film? As sure as there’ll be car chases.
From these quiet moments, we jump to bickering and joking with the crew. They’re off on a government mission to Rome. Could it be a set-up? It’s odd that the film front loads the biggest set piece; a bomb enroute to destroy the Vatican and the crew in mortal danger. As Dom and Letty race to their rescue, we’re introduced to our new villain, Dante. Son of a crime boss killed in an earlier film, Jason Mamoa has great fun with the role. His motto is: why kill someone if you can watch them suffer?
It’s a problematic portrayal. Dante sports great costumes with lots of jewelry, flashy flowy clothes, and even nail polish. He’s clearly coded as queer, and every barbed comment is launched with a swish and a twirl. It’s equal parts hilarious and horrifying. He’s clearly enjoying the portrayal, but is this sadistic gay villain a slap in face to gay representation?
Also having fun in his role, John Cena returns to protect his nephew. His scenes add a lightness and humor to the story. It’s needed between the intense fight scenes involving the women of the cast and Diesel’s somber performance. A previous villain, Charlize Theron returns to get bludgeoned, beaten, and stabbed. She later gets to battle Rodriguez in a brutal fight that makes little sense to the plot but is nicely choreographed.
There are so many characters showing up for brief cameos that you soon realize, they’re part of the set-up to the next installment. While it’s great to have so many roles go to women, especially older actresses, it’s not empowering if they’re shown as the victims or used as punching bags. At least Brie Larson’s agent gets to have some power and takes action, yet she still gets shot; taken down by the bad guys.
Oddly, there’s two nearly identical scenes of Dante setting up his targets. Both scenes involve lots of computer screens and scaffolding and exposition. With all the money spent on huge set pieces of exploding cars and helicopters, it feels lazy to introduce Dwayne Johnson’s character to Dante with the same set-up. There’s also the same circular bomb with red blinky lights attached to cars, armored trucks, and later a dam, that Dante can detonate at will. Over and over, he blows things up. And somehow, only one sideline character dies, plus presumably, thousands of extras.
One thing is certain, if you’re a fan, you’ll see this film. It’s made a gazillion dollars at the box office already and entire families are flocking to see it. For folks looking for a big summer movie, there’s a live action remake of “The Little Mermaid” and “Fast X”. Studios are clearly trying to have something for everyone.
“Fast X” is a hard PG-13 for a reason, there’s a lot of violence and casual references to brutal acts (like kidnapping family members to force hired killers to switch sides). I’d also recommend a serious discussion about the Dante character. I’m not a fan of plots that use children in danger to add tension. The soundtrack is great and there are some creative action scenes. Unfortunately, there’s too many characters and too much going on in this film. It feels like it’s trying to be an espionage film, and a superhero movie, and still stay true to its roots as a car racing film. No need to console Vin Diesel, he’s made millions of this franchise.
Drinks With Films rating: 2 Red Bulls (out of 5)
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