Pedal to the metal and running on fumes, Fast X is furiously flawed

Skidding onto the screen with its ear-splitting, brain-numbing, physics-flaunting TENTH instalment, the Fast and the Furious franchise is back. 

Like a flaming neutron bomb careening through the streets of Rome, the Fast and Furious films have an unstoppable momentum. What were once somewhat simple stories about street racing have now transcended the qualifiers of good and bad.

The Fast and Furious oeuvre exists in a bubble blissfully free of self awareness, where Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his extended family of gearheads battle to save the world … with muscle cars. 

Opening at a family meal with Rita Moreno (!) as Dom's Abuelita, we are fully in telenovela mode as Dom and friends trade Hallmark-worthy moments. Dom's son, Little B, is learning to fix cars and burn rubber like his old man. "That's fatherhood," Dom rumbles.   

While the Toretto clan share affirmations about faith and family, what they don't know is they're being targeted.

In a series with no shortage of he-men, it's no surprise that producers invited Jason Momoa to the party. He plays Dante, the son of a former crime lord killed back in Fast Five, now determined to make the Toretto family suffer. 

But under Momoa's typical rock 'n' roll wardrobe is a character best described as: "What if the Joker was a drag queen?"

Playing firmly against type, Momoa is a gas as the giggling mastermind in touch with his feminine side who introduces himself with a playful "I'm Dante, enchante." 

While some will debate whether it's camp or queerbaiting, the flirtatious performance brings a fresh zest of fun to the testosterone-fuelled films. 

The fun and games continue with the Toretto compound soon under attack while Roman (Tyrese), Tej (Ludacris) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) are in Italy on a mission.

As Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) race to intervene, Dante springs his trap: a massive neutron bomb, which is quickly transformed into a flaming sphere, ping-ponging across the Roman piazza. 

Soon, the Fast and Furious family is scattered to the four winds as Dante's plan makes them into international fugitives.

Letty is sent to a secret black ops prison. Dominic is off to Rio to get back to his street racing roots and dive into Dante's origin story. Meanwhile, the Tej and Roman show heads to Britain as Brie Larson randomly arrives, joining the franchise as Tess, the daughter of enigmatic government operative Mr. Nobody. 

While it's impossible to take a film where cars pull helicopters from the sky seriously, Fast X seemingly expects fans to keep track and catalogue the dozens of characters that have been injected into the franchise over the years.