Grading a movie like Fast X is a challenge. What do I grade it against? Other Fast and Furious movies? Other action movies, or holistically against all movies? I could try to grade Fast X with one of those approaches or a combination of them, but generally, I prefer to grade a movie against the best possible version of itself.
Movies in the Fast and Furious franchise are locked into the pattern that the previous movies created. Fans would be dismayed if the creators tried to make an F&F movie that emphasized the injustice of army veterans who are deported. Sure, if the creators wanted to make that a plot, I’m sure they could sledgehammer it in somehow, but commentaries on social justice are not remotely what F&F fans expect. And if there’s one truth that Hollywood holds dearly, it’s to cater to fan expectations.
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First and foremost, fans want to be wowed by the car chases and action. But wow, F&F has set the bar crazy high—like outer space high. Fortunately, I think the creators realized that they had already jumped the shark in the previous movie and it would be ludicrous to attempt to one-up themselves once again. It felt to me like the creators simply added stunts that were variations on a theme from previous movie stunts. That worked just fine.
Villain
Love it or hate it, Jason Momoa’s villian Dante is… Different. Personally, I think Dante is the best villian in the F&F franchise, but I understand if you feel exactly the opposite. In my book, the most important aspect of a villain is their motivation. Evil for evil’s sake is just lazy writing. At the very least Dante isn’t that. In fact, I don’t recall a villain who’s motivations are a mixture of revenge and psychopath. I’m sure there are others, but none come to mind.
But it’s not Dante’s motivations that make him a great villain. It’s the characters flamboyance that sets him apart. While the character isn’t explicitly queer, everything he does shouts it. As the movie progressed I started noticing it more and more and wondering if the creators were subtly hinting that Dante was gay, and then there was the scene with Dante and the two corpse/agents that put all questions to rest. Wow, that is some next level queer psychopathic behavior.
Kudos to Jason Momoa, because it looked like he wrapped his arms around that role and squeezed it for all it’s worth. He was fantastic.
We’re getting the band back together
I wouldn’t count myself as an F&F fan, but I am legit looking forward to the next movie(s). It looks like they are building toward an MCU level Endgame that should be an all hands on deck action-packed shindig. At this stage of technological advancement, and based on the last scene of the movie along with the extra scene in the credits, I wouldn’t count out the possibility that they bring back a virtual Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker).
Sometimes less is more
As I said earlier in this review, I think the creators made the decision to not try and one-up themselves yet again. I think it’s just natural for writers and directors to shoot for the moon and try and make an A+ movie. But in reality there just isn’t the material to make that happen and they fall way short. I feel that the writers and director of Fast X realized that just making a good movie might be the best they could hope for.
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Also, this is just the beginning of the end. This movie just needs to be solid. Get them on base, and let the next few movies bring them home.
Grade: B
About The Peetimes: I’m pretty happy with these Peetimes. There is obviously a LOT of action, but I was able to find spots between the action scenes that were easy to summarize. I think the 3rd Peetime is the best. It’s one long scene that is easy to summarize.
There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Fast X.
| Rated: | (PG-13) Intense Sequences of Violence | Action | Language | Some Suggestive Material |
| Genres: | Action, Adventure, Crime |
| Starring: | Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson |
| Director: | Louis Leterrier |
| Writer(s): | Dan Mazeau, Justin Lin, Gary Scott Thompson |
| Language: | English |
| Country: | United States |
Plot
Dom Toretto and his family are targeted by the vengeful son of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.
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