When the first ‘The Fast & The Furious’ came to our theaters in a distant 2001 under the subtitle ‘Full throttle’ and in the form of a kind of apocryphal remake of the fantastic ‘They Call Him Bodhi’ by Kathryn Bigelow in tunera key, it was completely impossible to suspect that it would mean the first stone of a franchise whose evolution we could label, at least, as surprising.
With the passing of the years and the aftermath, what began as an action thriller to use —tacky two thousand apart— and with its feet on the ground the earthly was progressively abandoned until it ended up literally reaching the stratosphere; shamelessly embracing the absurd and defying the laws of physics to the point of practically becoming a kind of self-parody.
22 years after its debut, the adventures of Dominic Toretto and company line up their last race with a ‘Fast & Furious X’ that marks the beginning of the end, taking even more to the extreme the drift that began to take place in the decisive ‘Fast Five’; toasting a fascinating and hilarious pastiche halfway between a superhero movie and a super-spy thriller more international.
The result, as it could not be less, are 140 minutes with a farewell aftertaste and that gather each and every one of the hallmarks that have made the license greatincluding his taste for cheap melodrama and the most delirious setpieces, and which are enriched by two determining elements: his deranged villain and a narrative that does not skimp on sensationalism to keep you glued to your seat.
delicious nonsense
At this point in the film, both the ‘Fast & Furious’ license and those responsible know perfectly well what they are playing and, what is more important, what lines they have previously crossed that prevent them from going back. Thus, after skyscraper robberies, battles against nuclear submarines, space travel and other niceties, the only thing left is to re-embrace self-awareness, play meta reference almost breaking the fourth wall and gamble everything on a single card.
Thus, this tenth part, after a cumbersome first act that brings to the table the hilariously solemn pettiness of the house with lapidary phrases about faith and family taken from a self-help book, reinvents one of the most mythical sequences of the now decalogue ; opening the door to its most ambitious plot to date in terms of scale and triple twist somersaults which, incredibly, manages to land without a problem.
Impossible meetings, unexpected relationships, traumatic events, forced alliances, almost television cliffhangers, soap opera twists… the repertoire of rabbits that ‘Fast X’ pulls out of the hat to catch you and make you salivate to devour its continuation is almost infinite, and it is enhanced by some characters as charming as usual. special mention for the Dante of a totally out of control Jason Momoa; an antagonist halfway between the Bondian trope and the private label Joker who fulfills his role as a great threat for the climax of the saga.
But it is clear that here you do not come to see dialogues typical of Aaron Sorkin or dramatic arcs typical of a Shakespearean tragedy. If something makes you sit excited in front of a tape of the fast and furious, it is his action scenes, and ‘Fast & Furious X’ more than meets expectations laying waste to European cities, wreaking havoc on highways, and piling up corpses in fights and gunfights while Flush the teachings of Sir Isaac Newton down the drain about the law of gravity.
The landing of Louis Leterrier in the direction as a substitute for veteran Justin Lin has been flawless. The Frenchman, seasoned in the genre with films like ‘Transporter’, he has molded some colorful, vibrant and chaotic setpieces; the latter not being in conflict with a magnificent sense of causality that makes them function as complex effects machines chained to the service of destruction and the enjoyment of the public most dedicated to the cause. Applause and laughter are guaranteed.
‘Fast & Furious X’, between complicit elbows and winks, and without necessarily being the best in the series —it doesn’t matter either— is a dream come true for those of us who, as a server, have entered the game of the saga and enjoyed its mutation towards a tone and a style that understands the comic essence much better than many adaptations of the cartoon to the big screen.
And it is that, probably, we are before the best movie of ‘The Avengers’ with big cars, sleeveless shirts, the smell of gasoline and superpowers to walk around the house that we can put in our mouths. If what is to come after the coitus interruptus of his third act he will maintain this level, welcome.
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