“No one outruns their past,” a wise man once said. But Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) also said it in F9, a movie where the guy who sang “Pimpin’ All Over the World” went to space and John Cena ziplined over Edinburgh. As the Fast & Furious franchise has grown through 10 films, a spinoff, an animated series, a terrible theme park ride, and more, this group has grown from street racers stealing DVD players to freelancing for secretive government agencies. They’ve put a lot of road behind them, going from thieves to apparently the world’s greatest defense against terrorist threats, but one thing has always remained consistent: family.
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Fast X is supposedly the beginning of the end (whether Fast X is the beginning of a two-part finale or the start of a trilogy is still unknown), which has the whole family going even bigger than ever before against a threat that could destroy them all. Especially in recent years, Fast & Furious has embraced the ridiculousness, expanding the possibilities beyond what we could’ve ever expected back when this series started in 2001, and that absurdity has been part of this world’s charm. Dwayne Johnson can redirect a submarine’s missile with a punch, and Dom can completely rewrite the laws of physics, and it’s this insanity that makes these movies the rare theatrical experience that makes you want to stand up and cheer at the screen. With the finish line in view, Fast & Furious is going big before it goes home (likely for a barbecue), and Fast X shows how this can be a double-edged sword.

The biggest, wildest, and most brilliant addition to Fast X is the new antagonist Dante (Jason Momoa), the son of Fast Five’s drug lord Hernan Reyes. Since Dom brought an end to Hernan in that film’s climactic chase, Dante wants revenge and to make Dom suffer. And since Dom literally can’t go more than ten minutes without mentioning how much family means to him, Dante knows exactly where to hit to hurt Dom the most. With tech stolen from Cipher (Charlize Theron), a deep need for vengeance, and the desire to destroy Dom’s family, Dante might be the most intimidating villain that the F&F franchise has seen so far.

Image via Universal

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And Momoa is certainly having the time of his life in Fast X. Not only does he play Dante as an unhinged maniac who seemingly has no chance of becoming yet another villain brought into Dom’s family, but he acts like the only character in this entire series to realize just how batshit bonkers this entire universe is. He’s an absolute flamboyant goof, popping up in wild outfits, ready with a slew of instantly quotable lines, and with a personality that is both hilarious and unpredictable. If Dom represents stoic, stern masculinity, Dante is the exact opposite, and Momoa is a true joy to watch as he chews every piece of scenery he can find. But Momoa manages to be one of the most entertaining new additions to this world in quite some time, and also the most intimidating villain within this series.

The problem with Fast X’s approach to going big in what seems like the final chapters is that there’s just too much to lasso in, even with a runtime pushing two-and-a-half hours. With this cast scattered around the world, there’s only so much time to spend with any one group of characters, and while part of what’s always made this series fun is the group dynamics, separating these groups from each other makes you miss the family not being together. With at least one more entry left in this specific story, that means there’s plenty of room to branch out, but as is often the case with films that are building towards a larger story that can’t be contained into one film, Fast X often feels more like it’s building towards what’s to come as opposed to what this film’s story should be.

This segmentation of the story makes this frequently seem like several mini-movies crammed into one incomplete narrative—many of which have their own tone. While Dom is after Dante, Roman (Tyrese Gibson) is leading his own first mission with Tej (Ludacris), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), and Han (Sung Kang), which primarily becomes about dropping exposition, random cameos, and classic Roman and Tej antics. Meanwhile, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) has to escape her own strange situation, Mr. Nobody’s associates (newcomers Brie Larson and Alan Ritchson) have conflicting ways of handling “the family,” while John Cena’s Jakob is on his own family adventure with Dom’s kid, Brian (Leo Abelo Perry). This is already a sprawling story, but throw into that mix that Oscar-winners Helen Mirren and Rita Moreno pop in for only a few minutes without anything to do, Mia (Jordana Brewster) is once again mostly left out, and characters like Scott Eastwood’s Little Nobody quickly appear and are phased out of the story immediately. The scope and size of this series have always centered around the bombastic and truly unbelievable action sequences that this entire crew is a part of, so scattering this massive cast around the globe severs a major part of what makes these movies so fun to begin with.

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It’s also a shame that because this film was made with future installments in mind, none of these stories find any sort of conclusion—instead, they’re just paused until Fast 11, whenever that may be. This fragmentation of stories also makes it easier to criticize what doesn’t work. Sure, when this group is all together, racing around and blowing things up, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of it all. But with some of these stories—especially Cena and Perry’s journey—managing to be fun, they seem inconsequential and even counterproductive to the larger mission. Again, it’s as if Fast X has to cram these characters into this film, and there’s just too much to handle.

Thankfully, despite there already being ten films worth of characters to draw from, the new additions are quite solid. It can’t be understated how great Dante is as a villain, while Larson fills Mr. Nobody’s shoes quite well, and Ritchson’s Aimes is a decent addition to this cast of massive actors who could snap any of us into a twig at any moment. Daniela Melchior, who doesn’t get enough to do, is still a nice reminder of these characters’ pasts, and it would be great to see more of her in later installments.

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And considering the drama behind the scenes, in which Justin Lin left the production after filming had started, Louis Leterrier does a decent job with his first go at this world. He gets the over-the-top tone that this franchise needs, and working with a script by Lin and first-time F&F writer Dan Mazeau, Fast X acknowledges and has fun with just how wild this series can go. Characters comment on how this team went from low-level thieves to a major part of the world’s safety, and there are plenty of jokes at Dom’s expense and his frequent talk about family. Like F9, Fast X is in on the joke and wants to joke around with the audience about how insane this series is at its core.

Even though Fast X is spread too thin, and we’re starting to see the consequences of this ever-expanding family, it’s still a blast to watch. There are parts that certainly don’t make a lick of sense, and there are entire characters and stories that this installment probably could’ve done without. Yet that’s all par for the course with Fast & Furious, and at this point, it’s the type of series you either embrace with open arms, flaws and all, and enjoy the ride, or you don’t—and both are understandable. For all its flaws, Fast X is still an absurdly fun time at the movies that is ridiculous and charming in all the right ways, even at its worst.

Rating: B-

Fast X comes to theaters on May 19.