David Farnor | On 26, Jan 2024

Director: Louis Leterrier
Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jason Momoa
Certificate: 12

When, exactly, will the Fast and Furious franchise finish? Not until Jason Momoa sings. Which he certainly does in the 10th outing for the film series – as well as just about anything else you could possibly think of. At a point when the long-running car saga is beginning to drag, Momoa is an injection of energy as unexpected as he is entertaining.

Fast X picks up smartly by reversing back to Fast Five – the best entry in the franchise, as it reinvented the series as an Ocean’s Eleven-meets-Mission: Impossible-style romp, with more focus on fun than serious speeches about family – and then introducing a brand new villain: Dante Reyes, the son of villain Herman Reyes, who is out for revenge.

That vengeance begins in outrageous fashion as he lures our gaggle of good guys – Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) – to Rome on a fake mission, only to unleash a bomb straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark – a giant, hulking sphere of explosives that rolls through the streets of the Italian capital. It smashes through streets, barrels down the Spanish Steps, and essentially attempts to blow up the Vatican.

And so, tipped off by Cipher (Charzlie Theron), Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) head to Italy to try and stop things going kaboom. Meanwhile, back home, Dom’s recently reconciled brother, Jakob (John Cena), tries to keep Mia () and wee baby Brian safe.

Needless to say, no one is, as Dante wreaks havoc and remains one step ahead of our heroes at every lap. It’s reminiscent of Rogue Nation in the Mission: Impossible franchise and, much like that entry, it gives the whole series a bit of a refresh by reintroducing a sense of actual peril. Because once your cast list has gotten too big to remember, with subplots zig-zagging around like an amped-up version of Mario Kart, you know your franchise needs a bit of a tidy up. (Brie Larson is just the tip of the cameo iceberg.)

Fast X, for its sins, isn’t interested in wrapping things up just yet, preferring to go all-out on chaos for as long as possible. Director Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me) brings enough aerial insanity to the party to keep the action enjoyably absurd and self-aware. But it’s Momoa who proves the film’s secret weapon, delivering a larger-than-life bad guy with a sadistic streak to match his flamboyant fashion – he might lean into stereotype territory a bit too often, but you also don’t doubt that he’d run over Dom given the chance.

The result is bloated and frustratingly just the first part of a multi-part finale, but it recaptures some of the ridiculous spectacle of the franchise’s peak – and that, after nine films, is a pleasant reminder that fun can still be had behind the steering wheel.

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