Forget street races for pink slips. Fast X opens with a brilliant retcon of the franchise's best entry, Fast Five. We revisit the infamous safe-cracking heist in Rio de Janeiro. However, this time, we see the aftermath from a different perspective. Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner didn't just kill a corrupt businessman; they inadvertently killed the father of a new villain named Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa).
Dante watched his father die. He watched Dom steal the money. And for the last ten years, he has been waiting, planning, and building a trap more intricate than anything Cipher (Charlize Theron) ever designed. Unlike previous villains who wanted money or power, Dante wants something far more terrifying: he wants Dom to watch everyone he loves die, one by one.
The plot immediately accelerates from 0 to 100. Dante has hacked every system known to man. He frames Dom for a bombing in Rome, turning the Toretto crew into international fugitives overnight. What follows is a global chase from the alleyways of Los Angeles to the streets of London, culminating in a massive showdown at a massive dam in Portugal.
Fast X essentially splits the family into factions: Fast X
Fast X (stylized as FAST X) is a 2023 American action film directed by Louis Leterrier (taking over from original director Justin Lin mid-production). Serving as the penultimate installment in the main Fast & Furious saga—planned as the first of a two-part finale (with Fast XI set for release in 2026)—the film attempts to raise the stakes to near-mythic proportions, embracing an almost superhero-level scale of action and introducing one of the franchise’s most personal and psychologically complex villains.
Leterrier, known for the Transporter films and Now You See Me, grounds the chaos with slightly more spatial coherence than some predecessors, but the laws of physics remain firmly optional.
Unlike previous films that wrapped up neatly, Fast X ends on a brutal cliffhanger. Forget street races for pink slips
Dom is trapped inside a burning car at the bottom of a dam explosion. His son, Brian, is safe in the hands of the team, but Dom appears to be dead. The movie cuts to black, then two credit scenes reveal:
This means Fast XI (tentatively titled Fast X: Part 2 or Fast 11) will have to resolve:
If you watch Fast X looking for realistic car physics, you have missed the point. The action sequences are designed to make the Mission: Impossible series look like a nature documentary. This means Fast XI (tentatively titled Fast X:
The film fully embraces its "superhero" status. Cars are no longer vehicles; they are weapons, grappling hooks, and parachutes. Director Louis Leterrier leans into the absurdity, creating a kinetic energy that keeps you laughing and gasping in equal measure.
Yes—but with expectations in check.
If you hate the Fast & Furious franchise, Fast X will not convert you. It is loud, illogical, and arrogant in its disregard for physics. However, if you have invested 22 years into these characters, Fast X is a love letter to the fans. It acknowledges the memes (Roman literally argues that they are immortal), pays off decades-old plot threads, and introduces a truly iconic villain in Dante Reyes.
Think of Fast X as the first half of a four-hour movie. It spends a lot of time moving pieces on the board, but when those pieces explode, it is glorious. The question isn't whether Dom will survive the flaming car wreck—we know he will. The question is: How many more cars will he sacrifice for family before the credits roll for the final time?
Fast X is currently streaming on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video. Fast XI is expected to race into theaters in 2025 or 2026.