Fast X adds Jason Momoa to the Vin Diesel-driven franchise for the first instalment of a series finale that already feels like it’s spinning its wheels

The sky was the limit in 2021's F9; having seemingly run out of exotic locales to ship the franchise's revolving roster of rev-heads off to – you can really cover a lot of ground in 20 years, especially if you've got a souped-up ride – F9's co-writer and director, Justin Lin, hazarded a trip to space. Making his Fast debut, Jason Momoa plays Dante Reyes, a swishy sociopath seeking to avenge the death of his father, Hernan Reyes, the Brazilian drug lord last seen dead on a sun-baked Rio de Janeiro bridge in 2011's Fast Five. Somewhere between Heath Ledger's Joker and Captain Jack Sparrow and swathed in lavender silk, Dante also operates according to a succinct moral code: "Never accept death when suffering is owed." There's a lot at stake, certainly, both on-screen and off: With a budget of $US340 million, Fast X is one of the most expensive movies ever made. Fast X opens with a retread of the vault-theft escapade, now seen from Dante's perspective – though the snazzy mustard suit he's sporting in the flashback, together with the use of a film-grain filter, suggests the 70s more than 2011.