Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Fast X review says it’s pretty much what you’d expect from the franchise, with the astounding addition of Jason Momoa as one of the most fabulous villains ever.

You’ve got to hand it to the Fast and Furious franchise, it’s now lasted 10 installments and it never fails to give the fans exactly what they want: fast cars in impossible situations, tough guys, tough girls and major star power.

Fast X does all the above with gusto, but its major flaw exists in the fact that it’s so full of stunt driving and stunt casting that filmmakers forgot to tell a cohesive or engaging story that makes much sense.

In essence, the whole fast crew and their families are facing threats from dual sources, one of them the best villain yet, Jason Momoa as Dante, the crazy son of a Brazilian drug lord who Dom (Vin Diesel) killed years ago.

Make no mistake about it, it’s worth the price of admission just to see Momoa’s over the top killer character alone. I love what he’s done with the place. And his hair? Sublime!

Also sublime is the fact that Fast X features four, count ’em,  four Academy Award winning actresses, including Charlize Theron, Brie Larson, Helen Mirren and Rita Moreno.

These women hardly need to make appearances for the paycheck—they seem to be doing it for the fun of it all, as do so many others; Michelle Rodriguez, Scott Eastwood, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, John Cena and Jason Statham, to name a few. You’ll even see Paul Walker in a flashback scene, and The Rock, whom you thought would never grace the screen of a Vin Diesel movie again.

They’re all as sharp as ever. Interestingly enough though, it’s Diesel, or his character Dom, who seems to be slipping a bit. What used to be a glowering gaze of barely controlled fury has turned into a pursed lip pout of…indecision? Confusion? Constipation?

Whatever the case, there are far too many of these impossibly contrived, face to face confrontations with those who wish him dead. How many games of cat and mouse can one movie withstand?

Not as many as we find in Fast X. It’s a punishing two hours and 21 minutes long. When you stage a car chase scene that involves a giant bowling ball bomb in flames smashing through Rome at the very beginning, it’s just plain exhausting trying to sustain that type of velocity through the entire film.

And it’s not over yet! I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Part 2 of Fast X is still to come. At least we can look forward to more Jason Momoa and the Oscar quartet. Perhaps director Louis Leterrier is saving the best for last.

Rated PG-13

1 Hour 21 Minutes

If this Fast X review induces you to race to your local cineplex, get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Fast X review says it’s pretty much what you’d expect from the franchise, with the astounding addition of Jason Momoa as one of the most fabulous villains ever.