Fast X Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs
The Fast franchise continues to be stuck in neutral.
When The Fast and the Furious was released back in 2001, who could've ever foreseen that it'd spawn a mammoth blockbuster franchise with over $6.5 billion in box office receipts?
But 22 years later, the tenth (!) mainline entry is now upon us, as is apparently the beginning of a three-part cinematic finale to the whole shebang.
Yet Fast X arrives on a somewhat muted wave of excitement following the divisive response to the underwhelming F9, and also the sudden departure of regular franchise director Justin Lin just a week into filming.
Many felt that the series had finally jumped the shark in its ninth installment, and while Fast X doesn't plumb quite the same depths, it's also not a persuasive argument that the series is back on track.
But nobody's going to come away from Fast X surprised at what they got - a historically stupid blockbuster that's sometimes in on the joke, but often deigns to genuine laziness. It's certainly not among the better entries into the Fast and the Franchise Saga, but it's not a complete disaster either.
If you're here for the insane action, silly quips, and cartoonish characters, it's passable entertainment, if hardly something that'll stick with you for long.
And so first, here's what Fast X gets wrong...