FAST X (12A)
★★★✩✩
THE turbo-charged action franchise shifts into top gear with a two-part finale, beginning with the burning rubber of this instalment.
Fast X harks back to events of Fast & Furious 5 and a daring bank heist in Rio de Janeiro at the expense of sadistic drug lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida).
Ten years later in present day Los Angeles, Hernan’s vengeful son Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) vows to make Dominic’s (Vin Disesel) crew pay for their daredevil actions.
He ruthlessly targets the street racer Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Mia (Jordana Brewster), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), hacker Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) and drift racer Han Lue (Sung Kang). Former associates including Deckard’s mother Queenie (Helen Mirren) are also potential collateral damage.
Meanwhile, scheming cyberterrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron) continues to wreak havoc in the shadows and Mr Nobody’s spunky daughter Tess (Brie Larson) defies orders from the agency’s new leader, Aimes (Alan Ritchson), to side with Dom in the fastapproaching war against Reyes.
Director Louis Leterrier’s Fast X is the least satisfying instalment of the post-Paul Walker era.
Action set-pieces are spectacular, including a demolition derby through the streets of Rome, but there is a nagging familiarity to these outlandish sequences and when a pay-off relies on digital effects rather than thrilling practical stunt work, the warning lights flicker on the Fast X dashboard.
Running time is excessive given the lack of horsepower in the script and female characters are poorly served when they aren’t weathering punches in bruising fight sequences.
Diesel runs through his full repertoire of snorts and growls as the body count rises to underline Dante’s deadly threat.
Momoa’s preening, sociopathic peacock with serious daddy issues has evidently been taking notes from Joker from the DC Comics universe, careening wildly between maniacal clown and merciless terrorist. Fast X barely passes its MOT because Momoa is a deranged delight.
The plot trundles towards an inevitable cliff-hanger for the series’ swansong in summer 2025.