Another explosive entry into the movie saga that spans nearly two decades has hit theaters. Fast X is the latest movie in the Fast and Furious franchise. From street racing to saving the world, this iconic family of misfits bands together to face another threat they must defeat. 

This film focuses on Dante (Jason Momoa), who arrives on the scene to take revenge on Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family. Fans of the series will remember Dante’s father Reyes as the villain of Fast 5. Dante was killed by Dom and company while trying to stop their iconic vault heist. Now seeking revenge, Dante doesn’t want Dom to meet a quick death; instead he wants him to suffer as much as possible. 

After a mission goes wrong in Rome, Dante frames the Fast Crew as the perpetrators of the attack, putting them on the run from him and the government. They are pursued by former allies The Agency, now lead by Aimes (Alan Ritchson). But they’re not all out of luck – a member of the agency who is related to The Crew’s ally inside it, Mr. Nobody, defects in order to help them. Tess (Brie Larson) puts her position on the line to help Dom out. 

While on the run, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) try to scrounge together some materials to fight back. In order to keep his son Brian (Leo Abello Perry), safe, Dom has his little brother Jakob Toretto (John Cena), travel with him after Mia (Jordana Brewster) goes into hiding as well.

Along their journey, The Crew meet former friends and foes alike as they come together to fight Dante and his schemes. The character roster includes the likes of Shaw (Jason Statham) and Cipher (Charlize Theron), who Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) meets up with, along with a familiar but not-so-friendly face from the previous film. 

This movie feels equal to or greater than the previous movie, 2021’s F9, in terms of utterly insane action sequences, but still retains the endearing Fast and Furious heart, even after Louis Leterrier replaced long-time franchise director Justin Lin shortly after production began. And even though the story has issues with pacing, some needless infighting between characters and some potentially divisive ending scenes for fans of the series and average movie-goers alike, Fast X is among the better half of all the Fast and Furious stories.

All in all, Fast X feels like an amalgamation of what makes Fast and Furious unique as a franchise: themes of family, painful decisions and highly daring action all rolled into one. It’s certainly a good entry in the series long time fans will enjoy, and a fun thrill ride anyone can enjoy.

The final entry in the Fast and Furious saga is slated to play out as three movies, and I eagerly await what will come in the next two parts of Fast X.