The Fast and Furious franchise has always been about excess. Big cars, bigger explosions, and characters who move faster than the laws of physics allow. Fast X, the tenth entry in the series, doubles down on all three. It is a movie that knows exactly what it is and refuses to apologize for being that thing. The result is a chaotic, often thrilling spectacle that collapses under its own weight.
The film picks up after the events of F9, with Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) living a quiet life with their son Dante. Their peace is shattered when a terrorist organization targets the city of Rio de Janeiro, hoping to destroy a nuclear reactor and unleash a global catastrophe. Dom and his crew, including Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), Tej Parker (Lucas Black), Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), and Ramsey Washington (Nathalie Emmanuel), must stop the attack while also protecting Dante from the very people who want him dead.
The setup is simple. The execution is anything but.
Trailer, via The Fast Saga.
Dominic Toretto’s Return
Fast X opens with a prologue set years before the main story. Dom, Letty, and Dante are living a normal life in Brazil when they are attacked by mercenaries led by Dante’s biological father, Jakob Toretto (John Cena). The scene establishes the central conflict: Jakob wants his son back, and he will stop at nothing to get him. The prologue is a bold choice, giving the film a personal stakes that the main plot mostly forgets.
Jakob is a new villain for the franchise, and Cena plays him as a cold, calculating force. He is not the goofy wrestler-turned-villain that some fans feared. He is a man who understands power, both physical and political, and he uses it with ruthless efficiency. His scenes are the best in the film, even when the script asks him to deliver exposition-heavy dialogue.
The problem is that Jakob’s plan, which involves the nuclear reactor, feels like a McGuffin designed to keep the action moving. The film spends more time on car chases and explosions than on explaining why the reactor matters. By the end, the audience has seen the destruction, but they have not been told why it needed to happen.
The New Crew
The main cast is rounded out by a handful of new faces. Brie Larson plays Leilani Nascimento, a Brazilian police officer who helps Dom navigate the local underworld. She is competent and capable, but her character arc is thin. Her scenes are meant to ground the film in reality, but they often feel like padding between set pieces.
Alan Ritchson joins as Hector, a former member of Dom’s crew who has turned against him. Ritchson brings a physicality to the role, but his betrayal feels less like a moral choice and more like a plot convenience. The film spends so much time setting up Hector’s loyalty that his eventual defection lands with a thud. The writers clearly wanted a new villain, but they failed to make him earn that role.
The chemistry between the returning cast is the film’s strongest asset. Diesel and Rodriguez have a natural rapport that has carried the franchise for nearly two decades. Their scenes together, especially those involving Dante, are the emotional core of the movie. Gibson and Black continue to provide comic relief, though their jokes land inconsistently. The ensemble feels like a family, which is exactly what the series has always been about.
The Action Sequences
The action in Fast X is where the film truly shines. Director Louis Leterrier, working from a screenplay by Daniel Casey, choreographs some of the most ambitious car stunts in the franchise’s history. A chase through the streets of Rio features a bus that transforms into a rolling fortress. Another sequence involves a convoy of vehicles jumping over a ravine. The visual effects are spectacular, and the practical stunt work is genuinely impressive.
But the action is not without cost. The film runs nearly three hours, and the pacing suffers. Scenes drag, and the middle third feels like filler. A sequence involving a prison break and a rooftop chase is visually exciting but narratively pointless. The film is at its best when it is moving, and at its worst when it stops to explain itself.
The sound design deserves credit. The engines roar, the tires screech, and the explosions crackle with authority. The music, a mix of electronic and rock tracks, keeps the energy high. The film knows how to sell its own thrills, even when the story beneath them is shaky.
The Writing Problems
The biggest issue with Fast X is not its excess. It is its lack of discipline. The film is a collection of ideas, some of which work and some of which do not. The plot is convoluted, with multiple threads that never fully resolve. Characters are introduced, used for a scene or two, and then forgotten. The film’s refusal to commit to a single idea means that none of them get the attention they deserve.
The dialogue is another weak spot. The characters speak in platitudes about family and loyalty, but they rarely say anything memorable. The villains, especially Jakob, are given speeches about power and control that feel recycled from other films. The humor is hit-or-miss, with some jokes landing and others falling flat.
The film’s reliance on nostalgia is both a strength and a weakness. It references past entries, bringing back beloved characters and moments. These callbacks are often emotional, but they can also feel like a crutch. The writers lean on the past because building something new is harder.
The Final Stretch
The climax of Fast X is a massive set piece that spans several locations. The film brings together all of its threads, but the resolution is rushed. The villains are defeated, the reactor is stopped, and the heroes drive off into the sunset. It is a satisfying conclusion in the moment, but it leaves the audience with more questions than answers.
The film’s final image is a shot of Dante looking at the sky, implying that the story is not over. That is a fair warning for fans of the franchise. Fast X sets up its successor, and it does so without resolving the conflicts it created. This is a franchise that has always been about the journey, not the destination.
The Verdict
Fast X is a mixed bag. It is a technical achievement, with some of the best action sequences in the franchise. It is also a flawed narrative, with a plot that is too big for its runtime. The film is at its best when it is moving, and at its worst when it stops to explain itself.
The franchise has always been about excess, and Fast X is the purest expression of that ethos. It is loud, fast, and occasionally thrilling. It is also bloated, repetitive, and overly long. The film is a love letter to its own mythology, and that is both its greatest strength and its most significant weakness.
The score for Fast X is 5.6 out of 10. That rating reflects the tension between its ambition and its execution. It is a movie that tries to do everything and succeeds at some things while failing at others. It is a ride worth taking, but not one you will remember fondly afterward.
Key Facts
– Title: Fast X
– Director: Louis Leterrier
– Screenplay: Daniel Casey
– Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Nathalie Emmanuel
– Runtime: Nearly three hours
– Score: 5.6 out of 10
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