Jason Momoa Fuels The Fun In ‘Fast X’
Most people are surprised to learn that I have never seen a Fast movie. I’m a lover of big, ridiculous action movies and the Fast franchise is the gold standard for that category, yet somehow I missed the previous nine films in Vin Diesel’s magnum opus series. But all that has changed with the tenth entry, Fast X, which was where I decided to jump into the franchise.
As with a lot of gigantic action movies, the story is largely unimportant. Dom Toretto (Diesel) and his family are basically super-powered international spies at this point and they must travel the globe trying to accomplish their mission, which has to do with microchips or hacking or double-crossing or something.
None of that matters because the real story is that Jason Momoa is here! He’s the big bad, Dante, who is out for revenge after his father was killed by the Fast family in a previous film. It’s going to take a whole lot of fast driving and family to defeat the psychotic Dante, but Dom’s got Lettie (Michelle Rodriguez), Han (Sung Kang), Tej (Ludacris), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), Tess (Brie Larson), Mia (Jordanna Brewster), Jakob (John Cena), Queenie (Helen Mirren), Shaw (Jason Statham), Isabel (Daniela Melchior), Aimes (Alan Ritchson), and even Cipher (Charlize Theron), involved to help him on this globe-hopping mission.
Let’s just be honest: Momoa is hands-down the best part of this film. He’s clearly having a blast delivering one-liners and giving us a villainous performance that feels like a cross between Jack Nicholson’s Joker, Heath Ledger’s Joker, a pinch of Jack Sparrow, a dash of Beetlejuice, and Momoa’s own natural swagger that makes Dante the most fun character in the gang. From the flamboyant costumes to the constant shit-talking to asking a child “Do you party?”, Momoa is the only one who truly seems to understand the assignment here. He knows what these movies are and he’s delivering with aplomb, stealing every single frame with pure charisma.
Having no previous experience with the series, I could only go by what I’ve learned through pop culture osmosis and reactions from the audience at the packed pre-screening, but it seemed like everyone was Team Momoa by the time the credits rolled.
Even though this is an action-packed franchise, there were a few lulls in Fast X. The Tej-Roman-Ramsey storyline, in particular, had the audience fidgeting and waiting for something exciting to happen. Even a cameo by a certain celebrity with a new Peacock series didn’t seem to reinvigorate the crowd in the way director Louis Leterrier probably wanted.
Narratively, it feels clear that this franchise is running on fumes a bit, especially knowing that Fast X is the first in a potentially three-part finale for the franchise. The cast is too big and unwieldy for a satisfying story, but these movies aren’t about the story. Cliche dialogue about honor and family is largely irrelevant when the action sequences are the whole reason people show up for these movies.
Here, the action feels appropriately insane with physics thrown out the door entirely and people inexplicably surviving absolutely bonkers explosions. As a fan of Indian action movies, I was delighted. A sequence in Rome reminded me of Saaho, one of my guiltiest pleasures. Another moment involving helicopters felt right out of Pathaan, a 2023 fave for me. I really love the YRF Spy Universe movies, so Fast X was very much the vibe I’m looking for in my over-the-top action blockbusters.
After seeing Fast X, I’m excited to watch the rest of the series from the beginning. The contrast between the enormous scale and insanity level in this tenth entry to 2001’s The Fast and the Furious is sure to be entertaining, but I’ll get action, dialogue about family, and all the trademarks of the franchise. The most important thing the other nine movies can’t offer that Fast X can is the superstar performance of Jason Momoa.
