20 May,2023 07:09 AM IST | Mumbai | Mayank Shekhar
A still from Fast X
It's only that far and fast you can go in a car. Especially, if you've been doing it for over two decades. There's a line in this film, self-referencing to the effect too.
Also, in anticipation of the absolute mayhem to be unleashed under-water, on the road, in the sky, through tunnels, over oceans - along with some of the solidest hand-combat sequences. As you suitably fasten your non-existent seat-belts, behind 3D glasses, for Fast X, that's the 10th instalment of Fast and Furious (F&F).
This is also the sort of movie that I prefer to keep my unwavering eyes on the screen - aware still of the packed hall in the peripheral vision, on a Friday afternoon. Like the bloke from the row behind, whose legs are dangling over the seat next to mine - responding to striking stunts and general madness, even lines and favourite characters.
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Making F&F, 21st Century's most popular/loved franchise, by far. In another genre, Harry Potter since Philosopher's Stone (2001) might come close - except, the original, written material there had been around since a few years before, so it doesn't quite count.
Those born when the first F&F (2001) released, hold day-jobs by now. The global connect remains. Based on similar past experiments (with Deadpool, Spider-man) - somehow the communal/tribal/theatrical experience of a grand Hollywood enterprise changes a lot, when you catch it in its Hindi dub.
The audiences' cackles are louder, visceral, and real, rather than subdued, hushed, and âmultiplexy'! The demographic is not the same.
In that regard, after Vin Diesel as deadly Daniel Toretto, of course - strangely, the guy in my Chembur theatre everyone was jamming with the best was Roman (Tyrese Gibson), from the Toretto crew.
And he's barely there - so why's that? Because he speaks in thick Bambaiyya Hindi, throwing, "Lale di jaan, yeda, apun khaela hai," etc. Think of him as Uday Chopra from Yash Raj's inspired Dhoom (series)!
The destructive mission in this movie, of course is, to quote the villain, Dante (Jason Momoa): "Toretto ko tadapna hoga!" Meaning, he'll have to grovel and
pay for his sins, which was to loot the wealth of the demonic Dante.
The film opens with a heavily kinetic chase-sequence of the bank vault getting dragged through the streets, as cars and jeeps tear through walls and bridges.
Toretto is also proclaimed world's number one, in the wanted list - with a schism created between the (government's) "agency", and him plus family. So, practically the whole world is after him, while he tries to save it from Dante's inferno. Outside of super-hero flicks, you barely come across antagonists of the stature of Dante, anyway.
His screen presence is evil, alright. Yet, the sense I got was if Momoa's deranged Dante not getting choreographed as an even crazier looking/seeming/acting villain, in this case, was an immense opportunity underused. Momoa should have played more a Mogambo!
From that vault on the street sequence, down to literally a manic set-piece every second - you also wonder how effective is escapism, if an entire film resides in it? Or maybe it is - that's essentially what you walked in for.
By the time, in this âbhassad', the city of Rome itself is annihilated several times the fall of the Roman Empire, the rush is complete, I suspect. Appreciating anything else would be judging a porn picture for its acting performances.
This is the first part of the movie, Fast X. The scales have been upped to the point that it appears impossible how the filmmakers will outdo themselves further. Since the start of the franchise, technology - from visual effects (VFX), down to such top-class camerawork on high-speed drones - has been enhanced enough to ensure total screen immersion.
And so, F&F is more than simply a city car-freak show. Not that you miss any of the automobiles, there's even a swift dinky on the road here. Check out, in particular, the chase down the street staircase, with cars going sideways and in reverse-gear, as sparks fly between the wheels and steps. Consider equally the top-notch woman-to-woman action scene, and the character literally banging her head hard against the elevator door.
You're still more awed by the planes, helicopters and hybrid machines - as the filmmakers go off on a global tour, from London, Rio De Janeiro, Portugal, Naples, all the way to frickin' Antarctica! The script is merely an expensive excuse to carry on.
I do have something on my bucket-list, though. Traffic jams apart, the only Indian city capable of hosting the F&F franchise is probably New Delhi. Maybe Ali Fazal (who had a cameo in F&F 7) can put in a word. Imagine how the already jubilant desis will react to that!
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