Fast X is a darker take on “The Fast and the Furious” franchise. Industry chatter says that it is the first in a planned trilogy. Given that fact, it is no surprise that there is a cliffhanger ending. The action sequences are as top-notch as ever, although the many subplots tend to make this installment choppier than the others.

The film begins with Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) as a passenger in a racing car, driven by his young son Brian (Leo Abelo Perry) aka “Little B.” Afterward they talk about family in the garage, where Dom wistfully looks at photos of the past, with many featuring Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker).

They return home to a family celebration. Abuelita (Rita Moreno) is there with her fabulous cooking as is most of the extended Fast family.

Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) has given the team an assignment in Rome. Roman (Tyrese Gibson) gets to lead an op for the first time. Accompanying him are Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel).

Later that evening Cipher (Charlize Theron) shows up battered and bruised at Dom’s door. She reveals that someone named Dante (Jason Momoa) showed up at her headquarters. He had video footage of each of her guards’ families being held hostage. The guards subsequently turn on Cipher who has to fight for her life.

In a flashback sequence to 2011, the events of “Fast Five” unfold again before our eyes. This time, in true soap opera fashion, we see that Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) had a son (!), Dante, who tried to help in the Rio car chase sequence. Footage of Dante’s involvement now appears amidst the original “Fast Five” footage. Dante ends up dumped into the water during the chase. He survives, but vows revenge. And not just revenge as in killing people but revenge as in making people suffer before they die.

When Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) comes to pick up Cipher, he reveals to Dom that he did not order the mission to Rome. Dom puts Little B in the care of his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and then his brother Jakob (John Cena). Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) head to Rome.

In one of the great action sequences ever, Roman’s team discover that they have been set up by Dante. The vehicle in which Tej and Nathalie are driving has a huge spherical bomb inside. The intent is to blow up the Vatican. After various maneuvers, the bomb rolls out of the truck and begins to head to its target. Dom is finally able to push it into the Tiber, where it detonates before it can destroy St. Peter’s.

While the Vatican is spared, a good portion of the City is destroyed. Dom and his team are declared terrorists and bounties are put on their heads. Letty is captured immediately and taken to a black-ops site.

The new head, Aimes (Alan Ritchson), of the missing Mr. Nobody’s agency dislikes the Fast team and has it out for them. He abets having them declared terrorists, despite the missions they completed at the request of the agency.

Dante empties the Fast family’s bank accounts. The team in Rome are now penniless. Dante meets with Tess (Brie Larson), Mr. Nobody’s daughter, and she reveals who Dante is. Dom heads to Rio to track him down.

There are great contrasts in tone in this picture. On the one hand, we have the feel-good family moments. These are genuinely moving and Vin Diesel again shows his skill in projecting the positive aspects of being a father to Little B. Adding Rita Moreno was a brilliant coup. Her brief appearance makes the Fast family come full circle.

On the other hand, the scenes with Dante can be very dark. At one point, he is painting the toenails of a corpse, as the film seeks to highlight his psychopathic idiosyncratic mannerisms. He is an inexorable force who seems to keep the Fast family off balance and vulnerable.

There are some nice choreographed fights, especially the scene with Cipher and Dante in her HQ. Besides the Rome footage, there is a rousing car chase in Portugal late in the film as well as a drag race and bridge chase in Rio. Superbly done action sequences are one of the two strengths of this franchise, and this picture does not slack on that score.

The other strength of the franchise has been the Fast family and the relationships with each other. This time that pillar is weakened as we see chaos envelop Dom’s extended clan.

In previous films, the action led to a resolution, sometimes with casualties. This time there is no ending family feast. These negative elements detracted from the enjoyment which I usually feel watching one of these stories unfold. It is just a depressing film to watch in this regard.

I am not sure what to think of Jason Momoa’s choices in portraying Dante. Sometimes he comes off as somewhat normal. Other times he seems to be too cutesy and coy. He is scary like an evil clown but not scary like a crime lord.

In any case, I did not care for how the film shows Dante being able to accomplish anything he wants while the Fast team flounders. He is like a living Deus ex machina who pulls rabbits out of the hat at his convenience. His character reminded me too much of Q from “Star Trek: the Next Generation.” I did not dislike the personal qualities of Q, but I disliked his powers, which were the ultimate Deus ex machina.

The rest of the acting is on a par with previous pictures. No one here is going to win an Oscar, although it is intriguing that at least 4 Oscar winners (Moreno, Mirren, Theron, Larson) are present. The important element in the acting is creating believable family bonds and this is a skill which the screenwriters over time have been deft at accomplishing.

I was surprised at how many younger children were at my showing of this movie. I do not care for children-in-peril plot lines. Fast X goes big in putting Little B in danger of being apprehended by Dante. If this had been a normal Fast film with adult protagonists, I would not mind so much bringing children to see this picture. But with Fast X, I have to draw the line.

So you can look forward to great action as usual and the few beginning Fast family scenes at the start of the film. There is humor peppered throughout but in general this Is a much darker version of the franchise.

4 out of 5 stars

Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they’ve ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who’s fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything—and everyone—that Dom loves, forever.

In 2011’s Fast Five, Dom and his crew took out nefarious Brazilian drug kingpin Hernan Reyes and decapitated his empire on a bridge in Rio De Janeiro. What they didn’t know was that Reyes’ son, Dante (Aquaman’s Jason Momoa), witnessed it all and has spent the last 12 years masterminding a plan to make Dom pay the ultimate price.

Dante’s plot will scatter Dom’s family from Los Angeles to the catacombs of Rome, from Brazil to London and from Portugal to Antarctica. New allies will be forged and old enemies will resurface. But everything changes when Dom discovers that his own 8-year-old son (Leo Abelo Perry, Black-ish) is the ultimate target of Dante’s vengeance.

Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jason Momoa, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, John Cena, Jason Statham, Sung Kang, Alan Ritchson, Daniela Melchior, Scott Eastwood, with Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Brie Larson and Rita Moreno
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Screenplay by: Justin Lin, Zach Dean, Dan Mazeau
Based on Characters Created By: Gary Scott Thompson