Fast X (2023) Review

We are finally here, 10 Fast & Furious films have finally hit and can we believe it that Fast X is finally here and I watched it today. This is another of those franchises with interconnecting films and that has made this franchise a bit confusing but here is my review for Fast X. The premise of the film sees the family under attack by a crazy criminal who wants revenge. 

Main Character 

Vin Diesel once again reprises the role as Dominic Toretto. He is exactly what you would think, he says a bunch of silly one liners and he won't stop talking about family. At the end of the day, I just found this performance as functional, it isn't particularly good but you know exactly what you are going to get and we have to deal with it. 

Supporting Characters

This is one of the biggest supporting cast of all time so I won't be going through everybody just the ones I thought was important. 

Jason Momoa plays the main villain an I have to say I thought he was the best part of the film. Some will find him so annoying that it goes too much but considering everything else in the film I enjoyed his character and thought he was having a blast on screen. It is nice to see a villain realise how ridiculous this premise is and live up to it in the craziest way. 

The film spoiled that John Cena would be reprising his role as Jacob from Fast 9 but as a good guy. It has been clear recently that Cena has become a stronger actor, with humour added and he was strong here. He has a great dynamic with a certain other character and it was fun to watch. 

The issue is that everybody else is pretty pointless. The crew of Han, Roman, Tej and Ramsey is so dull to watch and it is clear that they had very little for them to do but had to force them into something. They even introduced Brie Larson and she is fine but her character is given not enough to work with at all and that is a big let down for her star power. 

Story 

The story does an effective job of showing the mindset of the villain and why he is after Dominic Toretto and the family. It is escalated well and watching this confrontation was what I enjoyed over the majority of anything else here. The film just has way too much into it, mainly the story with the lesser characters such as Roman and Tej which was so dull and mind-numbing, the crew are split up and that is one of the weaker elements of any of these films. 

The ending though is pretty interesting and I actually thought this had me leaving the cinema in a better mood then I originally was regarding the future of the Fast & Furious franchise. 

Script

The script doesn't have much too it. The best thing is the guts they show with their storytelling aspirations at the end of the film and the fun that Jason Momoa is having, though I doubt it had much to do with the writing. The film just has all the clichés and for the most part I just think by this point in the franchise it never hits the levels that it has hit in the past. 

Style 

The Fast and Furious franchise has always been willing to push the envelope in terms of big action sequences and although this is one of the calmer films of recent years, it was still fun at times to see things explode for no reason at all. But the pacing of the film is missing, the film tries to do so much that it doesn't do an effective job of making the audience care about the majority of the characters. 

Overall

Overall, Fast X is an average film. As we get towards the end of this franchise it makes you wonder how they got so much out of it and unless you are a fan of this franchise it most likely isn't worth a watch. 

Rating - 5/10

Fast & Furious 9 (2021) Review

After a really long delay, the time has finally come for the new Fast & Furious film to hit cinemas and today I saw the 9th film in the main franchise and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees the crew bought back into the action when Dom's brother Jakob comes after them hunting for a device to take over. 

Main Character

Vin diesel has become the poster child for the fast and furious and it feels like he could play Dom Toretto in his sleep and he does that here. He is functional but uninspiring, it feels like he sleepwalks through the film, just doing about enough but not pushing himself at all to raise his standards and that is kind of how this whole film feels and he is a large part of that. 

Supporting Characters

The cast look like they are having some fun with the roles, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster & Nathalie Emmanuel are all decent in their roles and provide some exciting and fun moments. Even though its a small role one of the best parts of the film is seeing Charlize Theron back as Cipher and Theron does a great job and it makes me wish she was a larger part of this film. Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson are back in their roles and there are occasional funny banter between the two but they just became to much for me and transitioned from entertaining and funny and became truly annoying. John Cena plays Jakob and they really tried to make me care about his character but it just didn't really work, the flashbacks try but he is just a bland villain and does nothing to stand out. The issue is that Cipher is in the background and it makes me wish she had been the main villain of the film instead of Jakob which is a large issue. Sung Kang makes his big return as Han and it let me down, all these years there has been this campaign for him to be bought back and the way they explain that doesn't really make sense and Han is such a small part of the film that it makes you wonder why they even bothered with it. 

Story 

The story doesn't work, Fast and Furious has always struggled with its plot but this is one of the weakest yet. There are the flashbacks that try and build the relationship between Dom and Jakob but it doesn't work and I think that is because the film gets bogged down with too much going on. Over the years the franchise has become more and more absurd with this one being the most crazy to date and it just doesn't work at all. Bringing Han back and the absurd maguffin device that is there just to drive the plot forward back just feels really contrived with a generic ending that feels like it truly lacks effort. 

Script

The script is also pretty bad but it really knows it and plays it up. Some of the humour had me chuckling for sure and when on screen the flashbacks do bring some heart, but it is just not enough. Overall, the drama falls flat and the humour becomes so contrived and basically addresses the stupidity of the whole franchise which doesn't work as well as some other films have done before.

Style 

It is crazy to see how the Fast and Furious franchise started and how it looks now. Cars explode and things explode everywhere, the film doesn't obey the laws of physics and is just there to see absurd action scenes that sees people survive things that they should never ever survive. But there comes a time when those things don't matter because none of the characters seem to be in any real danger so it is just explosions for the sake of explosions. Also the film is way too long, it is nearly 2 and a half hours and it has no right to be that way at all. 

Overall

Overall, Fast and Furious 9 is a below average film. It seems like this franchise is hitting the end of the road and Fast 9 is just a film where things explode and not much else so give this one a skip unless you are a huge fan of the franchise. 

Rating - 4/10

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) Review 

 

This film has come to Sky so I decided to rewatch Hobbs & Shaw and here is my review for the film. The premise of the film sees Luke Hobbs & Deckard Shaw from The Fast & Furious films being forced to team up in order to save Shaw's sister and stop an evil corporation. 

Main Character 

Dwayne Johnson & Jason Statham reprise there roles as Hobbs and Shaw in this film and I thought they were fun to watch. Johnson uses his large amounts of charisma to get him through this film, even though he feels more like The Rock then Luke Hobbs in this film but he is fun to watch for sure. Shaw is Statham at his best with the great action scenes and cockiness making him fun aswell, but most importantly they have good chemistry together which is really the driving force in this film. 

Supporting Characters

Vanessa Kirby plays Shaw's sister and I thought she did a good job, she is a strong female character who fits the film well and is a welcome addition to the lead duo and a fun part of the film. Idris Elba plays the bad guy in the film and it feels like he is having a really fun time, he has an interesting character and was a really good choice for the villain in this film. Cliff Curtis has a small role in the film and he does a good job, his relationship with Hobbs again isn't given lots of screen time but hits the appropriate notes and works well. 

Story

The story has some personal stories to it, the theme of the Fast and Furious franchise has always been that of family and this film continues that theme to success and it is the most in depth part of the film and well done part. The villain plot has some legs but isn't really explored that much to make it stand out and honestly this story is pretty generic, you know where the film is going to go and it doesn't do anything to make it stand out. 

Script

The script has some fun humour in it and some decent drama but it never quite hits the high levels. Plus this film really focuses on the humour and it feels like a full blown comedy at times which can take you out of the film that you are watching.

Style

The style is what you come to expect from a Fast and Furious film to this point, over the top but exciting action sequences. It goes against all the laws of physics but so do the other films so it is fine and they are enjoyable and fun to watch. But my main issue with the style is that of the length of the film, it just is and feels way too long, the second and third acts of the film don't really connect that well and drag out too much. 

Overall

Overall, this is a fun popcorn flick, if you want to turn your brain off for just over two hours then this film is worth a watch. But know you aren't going to get an overly deep film but if you like things exploding this is another decent addition to this franchise. 

Rating - 7/10