Momoa’s Dante is very obviously designed to be Dom’s Joker, a flamboyant supervillain who’s always two steps ahead of the hero (he even drives a purple car). Naturally, Dom gets the most complete story, going head-to-head against an unpredictable psycho who’s dead set on making his life hell. It’s not that any one character gets stuck with nothing to do - quite the contrary, screenwriters Dan Mazeau and Justin Lin clearly make a concerted effort to give each of the regulars their own subplot - there’s simply not enough track for most of them to get to full speed. A high-stakes globe-trotting adventure ensues in which our heroes’ driving skills and personal ethos are tested, strange alliances are formed and shattered, and - needless to say - a whole lot of stuff goes “boom.” When a mission goes south, the entire Toretto crew ends up on the run from the authorities, as well as from the author of their doom, cackling sociopath Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa). The rest of the gang, however, is still on call at The Agency, an international spy organization that is, for all intents and purposes, S.H.I.E.L.D. Dominic Toretto (Diesel) is now focused on fatherhood, raising the precocious preteen Little B (Leo Abelo Terry) alongside his wife and partner in crime, Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez). True to form for a series about a family of outlaws that collects new members like a Katamari ball, Fast X juggles a massive ensemble. It’s still a fun and furious ride, and if you’re a fan of the series, that’ll likely be enough to satisfy you until the next chapter arrives in 2025, but crazy car-centric action sequences aside, Fast X is the messiest entry in a franchise where the laws of physics and storytelling have always been equally elastic. There are so many characters, so many threads, so many set pieces that very few of them get the attention they need to feel satisfying. Fast X is a two-and-a-half-hour movie, but instead of feeling like a complete feature, it unfolds like a weirdly paced season of high-budget television. Ironically, despite the expected story decompression, the latest installment in the Fast franchise still manages to be overblown and overstuffed. Fast X still delivers all the racing car action fans love.
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