The reviews are in for “Fast X,” the tenth film in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, and the results are about on par with the prior film “F9: The Fast Saga”.
With 104 reviews counted, the film stands at 58% (5.9/10) with decidedly mixed reviews. There’s plenty of praise for Jason Momoa’s villainous turn and the energy brought by new to the franchise helmer Louis Leterrier.
However, there’s also criticism of the film being so aware of the parody it has become and leaning into that – meaning there’s little in the way of stakes or tension.
Here’s a sampling of review quotes:
“What saves Fast X is that it’s so aware of its own absurdity that it becomes an entertaining parody of itself.” – Frank Scheck, THR
“With its seemingly inexhaustible supply of madly amusing action, this high-octane extravaganza attempts, and not infrequently succeeds, in obliterating any resistance with its disarming, outrageous and self-aware injections of often-hilarious camp.” – Todd McCarthy, Deadline
“‘X’ marks the spot where the property’s most dependable director, Justin Lin, called it quits. You may be tempted to do the same.” – Peter DeBruge, Variety
“Even though it is Vin Diesel’s at the top of this franchise’s Totem Pole, “Fast X” is Momoa’s movie. He is a revelationary riot.” – Simon Thompson, The Playlist
“After a promising start, Fast X devolves into a jumbled, uneven, nonsensical story that patches its problems with big explosions. Just when the series should be getting more focused on ending, Fast X seems dead set on opening it up to more and more flaws.” – Germain Lussier, io9
“[Momoa’s] flamboyant, sexually ambiguous supervillain is truly the burst of chaotic energy these films have long needed to go beyond merely being entertaining from a spectacle point of view.” – Peter Gray, The AU Review
“Leterrier and company understand that they have been freed of such constraints, offering up a live-action cartoon that doesn’t have to make rational or spatial sense as long as there’s emotion and excitement, two elements Fast X has by the tankful.” – Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
“It’s the logical culmination of a franchise that began as lithe and nifty, slowly became bloated with its own endearing ambition, and has now succumbed to its own bloat and, like Elvis, has died on the toilet” – Kevin Maher, Times
“No question this franchise is silly… but having one character constantly ridiculing the others and making mockery of everything feels maybe a little too on-the-nose.” – Christian Holub, Entertainment Weekly
“Fast X suffers from the same condition as latter-day MCU movies, where it’s so laden with internal mythology that it feels more like homework than popcorn entertainment.” – Katie Rife, Polygon
Opening weekend box-office projections for the movie have it on track to earn $60 million domestically and a further $235 million overseas for an estimated worldwide opening of $295 million – putting it third place for the franchise with the seventh and eighth films having $397.6 million and $541.9 million debuts respectively.
The film is the first in an originally planned two-film finale, one which may be expanded to three films judging by comments from Vin Diesel the other day.
