Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
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My friends and I started the Dirty Fightin' League, or DFL in high school. The basic idea of the DFL was that you could be attacked at any given moment.
It could be in the hall, eating lunch, or even a surprise attack when someone burst into the middle of your class to give you a Pyramid of Pain. That move was performed by clasping your hands in front of your face and making a triangle with your arms. You then pile drive your elbows into your opponent's shoulders and use your clasped hands to pummel the back of their head.
We didn't go on many dates.
At first, people thought we were morons, which wasn't incorrect. However, over time, people started embracing the absurdity of the DFL and understood it was all a joke. That's when others started to join.
I tell this story because the "Fast & Furious" movies are my cinematic version of the DFL. I saw the first one in 2001 and hated it. Then the second one came out, and I liked it less. It wasn't until "Tokyo Drift" that I finally got in on the joke. These movies know how absurd and over-the-top they are, and it's hard for me not to like them when they are willing to be self-deprecating.
"Fast X" is the 10th installment of the franchise and, for the most part, it's offering more of the same. Here are some reasons I am all in for this round of the DFL; I mean Fast and Furious movie.
It's stupid in the right way
I am a big fan of movies so bad they're good. Nicholas Cage's "The Wicker Man" is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, and it's not supposed to be funny. But "Fast X" isn't so bad; it's good, it's so absurd, it's fun. These movies love giving the bird to physics and doing things like putting a Pontiac Fiero in space. I won't ruin the incredible ways "Fast X" makes scientists the world over groan in pain, but watching Dom use his muscle car to jump a bridge, hit a crane and wall-slide to safety is just good fun.
The movie is nearly 2½ hours, and it's mainly a little talking so we can get to the next action sequence — and the ante keeps going up and up. When you think it'll be hard to top the most destructive bomb that doesn't explode in Venice in the first 15 minutes, you get hit with a cargo jet, helicopters and a Canon car in Portugal.
The cameos are fun
When your franchise has been rolling for more than 20 years, you rack up a lot of characters and the Fast franchise likes to keep all of them. It's fun to see some incredibly talented and award-winning actors jump in on the fun in "Fast X." You have your leading players, but then throw in John Cena, Brie Larson, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Charlize Theron — and a couple of others I'll keep under my hat for now — it makes it hard not to smile.
I'm not saying they all give outstanding performances in this film, but they aren't supposed to; they're supposed to add to the over-the-top nature of these movies and keep us on our toes about who they'll recruit to join the "family" next.
It took itself too seriously once or twice
I didn't like the moments in the movie when we took ourselves too seriously. Thankfully it didn't happen too often, but when it did, it lost the fun. That's not to say there aren't a couple of well-earned dramatic moments; one, in particular, will take a pyramid of pain to your heart, but there were a few moments when the movie forgot what it was.
The finish line
"Fast X" is not a good movie, but it is entertaining, and that's the point. You will be rolling your eyes for most of the film but doing it with a smirk. And remember, the filmmakers know what they're doing, and it's almost as if you can see them winking at you from behind the camera to let you know they also get the joke.
"Fast X" is officially rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language and some suggestive material.
