The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New ‘Fast’ director takes wheel in wild, erratic ride
In the last exciting installment of the “Fast and Furious” franchise, 2021′s “Fast 9,” the gang drove a car into space, tangled with a long-lost brother and pushed the physical limits of various vintage Dodge Chargers in far-flung locations around the globe, as Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is wont to do. Since then, there have been a few external shakeups in the “Fast” world — longtime director Justin Lin departed the franchise only a week into filming on “Fast X,” which is now being billed as part one of a three-part finale, and he’s been replaced with a franchise super fan: “The Transporter” director Louis Leterrier, who swooped in to save the day like a member of Dom’s family piloting a muscle car.
But rest assured, family, in “Fast X,” the Coronas are cold, the booties are shaking and the sleeves remain optional. Leterrier, working with a script credited to Lin and Dan Mazeau, takes to his turn behind the wheel with the enthusiasm of a kid who just got a new set of toys, crashing together cars and characters excitedly, but without much sense. He clearly has a reverence for the lore of the franchise, but he doesn’t exhibit the restraint of Lin, which is hilarious considering the automotive antics Lin got up to in this series.
If Leterrier is making “Fast” fan-fiction, then Jason Momoa is doing parody as the franchise’s flamboyant new villain Dante Reyes. In the opening of “Fast X,” Momoa has been ret-conned into the finale of Lin’s “Fast Five,” in which Brian O’conner (Paul Walker)
and Dom dragged a bank vault full of drug money belonging to Hernan Reyes ( Joaquim de Almeida) out of Rio de Janeiro police station with cables attached to Chargers, naturally. Dante is Reyes’ son, and now he’s seeking revenge on Dom’s family because his own was destroyed.
It must have been the head injury that turned Dante into the queercoded bro Joker that he presents in “Fast X,” swanning about in satin blouses and scrunchies, giggling like Snidely Whiplash as he forces Dom to choose between members of his family to save, and yelling things like, “that’s awesome!” at explosions.
At least Momoa and Leterrier are having fun in “Fast X.” The rest of the gang seems a bit lost, which may leave fans with more questions than answers, and wondering if the franchise is running on fumes.