316: Fast X

[00:00:00] Daily 26, new film. Let's get to Fast X or Fast 10 which is the latest in the Fast and Furious franchise. This one is directed by Louis Leterrier and Justin Lin. Stars a massive cast Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Natalie Emmanuel, Charlize Theron, John

[00:00:25] Cena, Helen Mirren, Brie Larson, and goes on and on. And the synopsis is Dom Toretto and his family are targeted by the vengeful son of a drug kingpin Herman Reyes. So... Oh and Jason Momoa. That's a big one.

[00:00:39] Sorry he was way down on the list. So Fast and Furious, I'm not a big car guy as I talk about a lot. I like car chases and cars used in movies but I'm not

[00:00:49] really a car geek or get super excited when I see a really cool car. Not that there's anything wrong with that. That's just not my personal taste. And so this franchise I got to it pretty late. I think the first one I saw was Furious

[00:01:04] 7 and then I went back and watched the others and I've kept up with it ever since. And there's no denying it's incredibly stupid. Like it's not one I'm ever gonna think is amazing. I'll still watch them at this point because I have

[00:01:14] seen now all 10 movies or I guess 11 including Hobbs and Shaw. And I see why it's popular. It's got some ridiculous action, a huge cast and very stylish and all that but breaking each of these movies down... First of all, Fast 5 is still

[00:01:35] by far the best in my opinion. And then maybe 7 is a close second but I think the fifth one is by far the best. But for the most part all of the reboot quote-unquote films since 5 they're all at about the same level. They're all

[00:01:50] serviceable. They've got some crazy over-the-top moments and some good charm and all that but it's never one I really feel the need to rush out and see or rewatch or recommend. Really they're enjoyable, they're charming, they get the

[00:02:09] job done but not much more than that. And this one in particular it is about at the same level as 8 and 9. Probably like this one more than those two. But really the only thing that makes this movie a little bit better which was

[00:02:23] surprising to me is Jason Momoa. I thought his performance and maybe it's writing or direction I don't know but that villain is probably the best villain of the whole franchise in terms of entertainment value. Like there's not a

[00:02:36] lot to him you don't really get to know him that much but I thought that I was always interested when he was on screen and I thought he was funny I thought he was charismatic and so I really really enjoyed Jason Momoa in the movie.

[00:02:49] Everybody else is alright they're about the same as they always are like Vin Diesel and I do like Charlize Theron in these movies she was an unexpected choice to have and she doesn't do a lot but I like Charlize Theron a lot and

[00:03:01] she's good. And maybe it's no surprise in talking about this the whole family thing is so stupid like which most people probably agree with and are aware of but the whole I don't got friends I got family

[00:03:15] and it's all about family and all it's just so mindless and repetitive and does nothing for the story does nothing for the emotional angle like I'm gonna care about them at the level that I do no matter what no matter how many times they

[00:03:28] say family it's all about family like I don't care it's really not about family at all. And again I think most people get that but that does kind of irk me where they keep bringing that up all the time and they always have to end with a

[00:03:40] stupid cookout at the end of the movie and all this stuff so that part of the franchise does wear on me a little bit because it feels very thrown in and false when clearly the franchise is very very stupid. But besides that I didn't

[00:03:58] know going in that this one was the first of a trilogy so I did find that the final act and that ending was a little frustrating and surprising because I was thinking there's only like five minutes left like how are they gonna wrap this

[00:04:11] up so quickly and then it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger so I don't hate that inherently but it's almost the same thing with the Mission Impossible film from last year where it ends on a cliffhanger because it's part one of two

[00:04:24] I don't mind that but same time there is so little actual substance and story in these movies I don't think there needs to be three. Now I will be happy that Jason Momoa will at least be in one more if not all three I'm happy about

[00:04:39] that because that'll add a little bit more entertainment value for me. And then besides that the action is alright like the stuff on the highway is pretty good stuff with the helicopter is good the race with Vin Diesel and

[00:04:54] Jason Momoa is good so it's all the same like it is almost Michael Bay in a way where you could put one action sequence in another movie and you wouldn't even notice that it was part of another film so for better or worse.

[00:05:09] And I can see why hey if this is a franchise for you for whatever reason or you can just get down with it I'm all for that we all have those franchises I

[00:05:17] definitely do but this is just one that I will always watch but I'm never in awe of or a five out of five. Now prove me wrong I would love to see that I really doubt we'll ever get there I think it'll always be fairly middle of the

[00:05:31] road but they're entertaining they pass the time I like the cast I like the soundtrack I do just wish with the amount of money involved in the cast that they did a little bit more with it but I doubt we'll ever see that.

[00:05:47] So that one is a three out of five.