Fast X First Reviews Race Online

Fasten your seat belts: the first reviews are in for Fast X. Originally announced as the penultimate chapter of the saga and the first of a two-part finale, star and producer Vin Diesel revealed that the 10th installment in the long-running Fast and Furious franchise is actually the first in a final Fast trilogy. The untitled Fast 11 is set for 2025 with director Louis Leterrier, who took over from Justin Lin in the 11th hour, back in the driver’s seat to steer the franchise across the finish line. But after 22 years, is the NOS-charged Fast and Furious franchise running on fumes?

“Fast X has strayed entirely from what people like about thebest movies in the franchise: the ensemble cast together, theworld-traveling scope that was shot on location, and the practical careffects,” Spencer Perry wrote in ComicBook‘s review. “There are pieces of all these things, but not enough for amovie that has clearly spent hundreds upon hundreds of millions ofdollars to make it to the big screen on this particular release date. Isthe action still slick and fun? For the most part. Are you going tohave a good time at the movies while watching it? Probably. But if youconsider the mechanical elements that made your favorite movies in thisseries what they are, you will notice their absence here. Fast X has fundamentally dropped the ball in terms of what made [Fast & Furious] so special from other franchises.”

First reactions to the potential trilogy starter are mixed: on Rotten Tomatoes, Fast X currently sits at 58% “rotten” on the Tomatometer. Along with Diesel, the new movie features the return of franchise ride-or-dies Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, and Sung Kang, plus new additions to the Fast family: Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Brie Larson (The Marvels), Alan Ritchson (Reacher), Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Squad), and Rita Moreno (West Side Story). See excerpts from Fast X reviews below.

ComicBook Nation: “If you like Fast and Furious movies, then Fast X will be your Avengers: Infinity War. A great villain makes all the difference. The franchise is so entrenched in what it is it’s becomecritic-proof. Fast and Furious is a victory lap for the mindless joy ofthese flicks.”

RogerEbert.com: “Even as it’s spinningthrough enjoyably goofy action set pieces, most of them enlivenedgreatly by a fun performance from Jason Momoa, there’s a desperatefamiliarity to all of Fast X.”

Entertainment Weekly: “Whenever Fast X isn’t trying to coast off the highs of Fast Five, it’s desperately trying to be a superhero movie. Dom spends most of the movie trying to save lives, which is always nice, but at one point he literally deflects a hail of bullets with a car door like it’s Captain America’s shield. Several moments are so reminiscent of Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies that they feel intentional.”

Associated Press: “With a foot in the past,one in the future and one on the gas, Fast X is pure popcorn lunacy.Was that too many feet? Oh, excuse us, you wanted logic?”

Daily Telegraph: “Momoa is what these filmshave been missing forever: a flamboyant supervillain and all-round chaosmerchant, who likes to perch on the tallest landmarks and dial incarnage.”

Polygon: “Fast X suffers from thesame condition as latter-day MCU [Marvel Cinematic Universe[ movies, where it’s so laden withinternal mythology that it feels more like homework than popcornentertainment.”

Chicago Tribune: “There’s a ton going on in Fast X, with Diesel seething, and CharlizeTheron and Michelle Rodriguez smashing each other’s heads againstconcrete or metal, while John Cena and Leo Abelo Perry kill assailantswith cannonballs shot from their cannon car. Yet somehow it feels likeyou’re hanging off a cliff for 2 hours and 21 minutes, waiting for thecliffhanger ending, which isn’t technically any kind of ending. It’s amiddling.”

Variety: “X marks the spot wherethe property’s most dependable director, Justin Lin, called it quits.You may be tempted to do the same. Then again, if you’ve made it this far, you may as well hold on till F11 or FasTwelve.”

Chicago Sun-Times: “Nobody, I mean NOBODY, expects realism or logic when it comes to the FF movies, which have grown bigger and more bloated, with Dom and hisfriends (and foes) performing feats of daring and strength andgravity-defying driving that would have Speed Racer and Captain Americagiving them a standing ovation … With an unnecessarily long running time of 139 minutes, a globe-trottingand convoluted plot that careens all over the place and, yes, a bountyof entertainingly cartoonish action sequences, Fast X is like aclassic rock band that plays a greatest-hits concert and pads every songwith a guitar solo and a drum solo.”

Fast X is in theaters May 19th.