Fast X

A typically underwhelming entry within an underwhelming series, Fast X follows Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto as he and his crew are attacked by a larger-than-life villain (Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes) bent on revenge and vengeance. Filmmaker Louis Leterrier, working from Dan Mazeau and Justin Lin’s screenplay, admittedly does an effective job of initially luring the viewer into the progressively uninvolving proceedings, as Fast X kicks off with a promising opening stretch that does, in addition to effectively establishing Momoa’s character, boast an incongruously low-key feel that proves fairly difficult to resist – although, perhaps predictably, it’s not long before the picture segues into the first of many bland, gravity-defying action sequences. (There is, ultimately, not a single set-piece that manages to elicit the thrills or excitement one might’ve anticipated, as Leterrier overuses computer-generated special effects to such a degree that the movie often resembles a video-game cut-scene more than anything else.) And while there’s some novelty in the cavalcade of familiar faces within the expansive cast, which includes, among others, Charlize Theron, Brie Larson, Helen Mirren, and Rita Moreno, Fast X progresses into a sluggishly-paced midsection that is, as a result of its plethora of plot threads, entirely unable to make the propulsive impact Leterrier is surely going for. (And it doesn’t help that Momoa’s wildly over-the-top and flamboyant performance eventually becomes rather grating.) By the time the expectedly excessive climax rolls around, Fast X has confirmed its place as yet another disappointing misfire within a perpetually lackluster franchise that could (and should) have been seriously streamlined. (Why on earth is this picture almost two and a half hours??)

** out of ****