Even by the charitable standards I rate these dumb action movies, I was pretty underwhelmed by Fast X. And that’s despite the impressive roster of usual suspects and returning faces. And despite – or because of – the level of overkill havoc so common to the franchise.

Fast X (now with roman numerals!) features a previously unseen villain from Fast 5 back for revenge over the vault heist. He’s not out to kill Dom and his family (family!), but to hurt them by turning the world against them (which includes an endless army of masked goons).

Aaaand it takes a well over two hours to tell this non-story. The franchise keeps making money so nobody can tell them what to edit out. It’s unlikely the studio suits have any idea why it’s so popular so they just sign the checks and let the boys play with their Hot Wheels. And it really shows this time.

It’s hardly the least tedious 2.5 hours I’ve spent in the theater, but when it’s largely just Vin Diesel’s gritty voice, Tyrese and Ludacris taking the piss out of the franchise (again), “hey it’s me” cameos, pauses to explain the complex narrative (again!), and wall to wall noise and explosions, it gets a little repetitive. Not that that the franchise hasn’t been all of these things, but I’ve found most of the previous flicks to be more dumb entertaining at their core.

Jason Momoa is our new Big Bad… and he’s at least playing against type. Call him flamboyant. His villain is having fun and why show up to work if you aren’t having fun, right? Though since he’s nothing but showy tics, gags, and one-liners, there’s not much to really like or hate about him. He might have made me smirk a few times, but he never made me feel anything but curiosity at his acting choices. I like Momoa… but maybe I’d have liked a real character instead of a bag of fancy goofs.

The film ends on a cliffhanger which is new for the franchise. So I guess Fast XI (or whatever random variation on either Fast or Furious they pick) will be a direct continuation, presumably with Momoa continuing his nefarious (and showboating) ways. Plus a couple promised returning faces which is kind of interesting (but mostly in a franchise politics sort of way).

So, yeah, this movie is fine for what it is. I wished I had more of that dumb fun but I think its length and lack of a compelling baddie just wore me down.

Score: 77