So... is Fast X worth watching?
🔴If you are a fan of the series and enjoy the extravagant action, charismatic characters, and disregard for realism that the franchise is known for, then you may find entertainment value in Fast X. Despite its flaws, it offers the same familiar elements that have attracted a dedicated fan base.
🔴I don't wish to sound condescending, but I like something more in my cinema. Like: an underlying depth, thought-provoking themes, and nuanced storytelling. Sure, there is space for mindless action and fun in every movie, but that should be a part of the movie —not the movie itself.
🔴The movie's story is lacklustre, and at one point it appeared that it was satirising its own genre and engaging in some self-referential humour. But no, it remained unapologetically serious until the very end. The characters stop to punch, shoot and slam only to deliver trite phrases like "You will never be able to break my family" and "Time to end this" with unwavering sincerity.
🔴The acting is terrible too, though many of these actors, I believe, are capable of better. Except for Diesel, of course. He is just bad. He sticks like a sore thumb compared to better performers that inhabit the cast. "I’m coming for you, son!", he tells his boy in the same tone he uses for his enemies when he is coming to get them. For most of the movie, he sports an expression that is somewhere between a full-fledged frown and a stoic indifference (it is hard to tell!) — from which I gathered he was either concerned about his FAMILY or was not bothered that his latest enemy is quite clever.
🔴Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson are fine in their banter and instill a bit of much-needed wit. Momoa, though, is the only one who I loved watching. Playing against the type, he injects the film with a much-needed dose of energy. Charming and charismatic, Dante has hobbies that range from harmless feminine ones like elaborate hairdos and flashy tunics to painting the toenails of his victims (who are posed in deckchairs with mojitos in hand).
🔴Dante is not interesting in relation to Dom, since his motivations are nothing novel, but he is indeed fun to watch in himself.
Fast X is a step-up from F9, but does that matter?
The only fun I had from Fast X was a perverse kind of fun. I imagined that it looks like the actors and director had to live through gruelling production in multiple countries. It is better than F9, but that is like saying you prefer a stubbed toe to a broken leg. In both cases, you are longing for relief.
Posts
0 Comments