{"id":32954,"date":"2023-05-17T18:00:16","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T16:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1832054"},"modified":"2023-05-17T23:54:20","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T21:54:20","slug":"fast-x-review-fractured-furious-sequel-delivers-extreme-highs-and-lows","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/fast-x-review-fractured-furious-sequel-delivers-extreme-highs-and-lows\/","title":{"rendered":"Fast X review: Fractured, furious sequel delivers extreme highs and lows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jason Momoa’s villain is a riot and the physics-defying action remains irresistible, but underwhelming side plots drag this entry down. <\/p>

By Morgan Jeffery\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 17 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n
<\/div> 3.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

Fast X<\/a> ends on a cliffhanger.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a minor spoiler, but it\u2019s also important you know this when entering into the latest instalment in the billion dollar-grossing Fast & Furious series, which more so than any previous entry in the franchise is not so much a movie as a sequence of events.<\/p>\n

The \u201cbeginning\u201d is perfunctory \u2013 a brief rehash of events from 2011\u2019s Fast Five<\/a>, retrofitted to introduce Jason Momoa\u2019s new villain Dante Reyes into proceedings \u2013 and the ending is non-existent, all pay-off held back for an inevitable 11th film. Fast X is comprised entirely of middle \u2013 some of it utterly misses the mark and some of it works spectacularly well, action cinema so exhilarating you\u2019ll be whooping in the aisles.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamily\u201d might be as much at the forefront of this Fast movie as any other \u2013 with Rita Moreno and Helen Mirren adding a touch of class as, respectively, the previously unseen grandmother of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Queenie Shaw, now effectively Dom\u2019s surrogate mother \u2013 but the splintered structure of Fast X sees the franchise\u2019s key players more fractured than ever before, occupying separate plot strands which run parallel but never gel across the film\u2019s 141-minute runtime.<\/p>\n

The end result is a movie which serves up extreme highs and lows. Easily the most successful element is the core plot which sees Dom targeted by psychotic antagonist Reyes, who\u2019s on a mission of vengeance after the Fast family offed his father Hernan (Joaquim de Almeida) in Fast Five. A flamboyant Momoa, aping Heath Ledger\u2019s Joker, is without question this movie\u2019s most valuable player \u2013 Fast X is immeasurably more fun whenever he\u2019s on screen \u2013 and this thread, which sees Dom\u2019s loved ones threatened, also brings the best out of Diesel, who delivers his most committed performance in the saga\u2019s recent history.<\/p>\n

\""Jason\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Jason Momoa as Dante Reyes in Fast X.<\/span><\/figcaption> Universal<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

But the success of this central storyline only emphasises how insubstantial the rest of the film is. Supporting cast Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Han (Sung Kang) loiter on the sidelines with no clear purpose \u2013 double act Roman and Tej in particular rehashing banter we\u2019ve seen before, and better, in previous fast Films \u2013 while John Cena\u2019s Jakob, Dom\u2019s brother and bitter adversary in 2021\u2019s F9, is now positioned purely as comic relief, relegated to a side quest with his nephew \u2018Little B\u2019 (Leo Abelo Perry).<\/p>\n

Other characters \u2013 including Scott Eastwood\u2019s g-man Little Nobody and, most unforgivably, Michelle Rodriguez\u2019s Letty, a franchise OG \u2013 get a few brief moments to shine only to be sidelined or removed from the film entirely.<\/p>