“Fast X” Review: A Rather Honourable Effort To Closing Up The “Fast” Franchise

Remember when the series was about stealing DVD players and racing fast cars? Well, they’ve come a long way since then and it’s now the end of the road. “Fast X” is the latest instalment to the much-beloved (and equally much-criticised) “Fast and Furious” franchise. Regarded as one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the year, the movie also serves as the finale of the main “Fast” franchise. Well, at least just the first part because yup, you’ve guessed it: they went the multi-part finale route. But hey, a movie franchise this big obviously needs to end on a big note.

The movie is the sequel to 2021’s “F9” and follows the lead, Dominic Toretto, and his efforts to protect his family and crew from a revenge-seeking threat who wants to destroy and break apart Dominic’s family. As the highly-anticipated finale to the franchise, we look forward to seeing what the star-studded cast brings to the table and seeing how the movie will pay homage to the franchise. Will the movie ride in glory or crash and burn? Read on to find out!

We’re going to preface this review by saying this: we went into the screening knowing little about the franchise because while we are familiar with it, we haven’t been following the series too closely. We don’t even remember what happened in the previous few instalments and only got a quick refresher before seeing this one. Basically, we only went in for fun and not necessarily as a fan so we can’t speak for those who have dedicated years to following this franchise. 

Even so, some parts of the movie definitely triggered the nostalgia. Even we couldn’t help but smile at some of the easter eggs that were added to the movie because it’s nice to see how this finale is tying back the entire series. That being said, there were tons of twists throughout the movie so you should prepare yourself for some flashbacks with new perspectives.

In terms of action, this movie is filled with it from the get-go and it gets the adrenaline pumping with all of its fast-paced scenes. If you’re a fan of action, you won’t be disappointed by the film but try not to go into them too logically or else you will find yourself going, “Now that’s just not possible!”.

Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto is ever fearless but his actions from the past films have caught up with him and Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes is out to seek revenge, putting Dominic’s beloved family in danger. We’re just gonna go ahead and say that like many others, we were very entertained by Jason’s portrayal of this instalment’s villain. He is flamboyant, he is fluid and he is one fun villain. He knows what he wants and how to get it and we think that the actor brings a rather refreshing (but still kinda psychotic) vibe to what would typically be a stoic character.

The rest of the cast did great in their roles but we can’t help but feel that there were too many characters, making it a bit hard to keep up with what everyone is doing during the movie. However, we still enjoyed the introduction to the new faces but don’t be mistaken – they’re no strangers and the movie did a pretty good job to make sure you know who’s who. Let’s just say that Dom’s family is bigger than you think.

And of course, we can’t forget about the other cast: the cars, because no “Fast” movie would be complete without them. Dominic’s 1970 Dodge Charger will once again make an appearance (in a role that is bigger than you first realise) and if you love yourself some fancy fast ones, you’ll also be delighted by the appearances of other amazing supercars – including an absurdly shiny gold Lamborghini Gallardo.

While the rest of the film was decent, we found the ending to be just okay. Not great because it felt kinda rushed but we also know that this is only the first part of the finale so obviously it would end that way. Since they have another movie coming up, surely they’ll stretch out this scene when that one comes out. Oh, by the way, you’ll want to stay tuned for the post-credit scenes because maybe, just maybe, the fan theories are true.

To close off, we’re going to honestly say that this is not at all a perfect movie, and surely not to those already highly critical of the series. Yes, some parts were questionable (and maybe even downright illogical) but there’s nothing wrong with some ridiculousness, especially when the movie is still an entertaining visual spectacle. And whether you’re a fan of fast action or the “Fast” franchise, you wouldn’t want to miss out on “Fast X” so catch it in a cinema near you!