Fast X wasted Fast and Furious’ best villain in 12 years, but two upcoming films can fix it. While the Fast Saga is heading toward its ending, there are at least two more confirmed Fast and Furious movies in the works. One of them is the upcoming Fast & Furious 11, which is currently titled Fast X: Part 2 and will serve as a direct follow-up to Fast X’s ending. Considering Fast X’s disappointing box office run, the saga will have to regain momentum if it wants to end on a high note.
Fast and Furious has several tropes, including having villains with a personal or even professional grudge against Dominic Toretto and his team. This trope was taken to the next level with Fast X’s Dante Reyes, who spent all of the film making sure Toretto would pay for what happened to Hernan Reyes in Rio during the events of Fast Five. Dante targeted not only Toretto but also everyone close to him, and every action he took was part of a larger plan to make Dom suffer. This unstoppable quest for revenge made Dante a fascinating villain.
Fast X Wasted Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes
Fast X was not as good as its villain
Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes was an incredible villain, but Fast X did not live up to the character. While it may seem paradoxical that a flawed movie delivered a great villain, there are plenty of films in which the antagonist stole the show despite the movie’s issues. Momoa’s Dante was the highlight of every Fast X scene he was in, and it is safe to say he was the best thing about the movie overall. Still, as great as Dante was, Fast X was very disappointing, especially when compared to some of Fast and Furious’ best movies.
Fast and Furious Movies | Worldwide Box Office (via The Numbers) |
|---|---|
The Fast and The Furious | $206,458,372 |
2 Fast 2 Furious | $236,410,607 |
The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift | $157,794,205 |
Fast & Furious | $359,347,833 |
Fast Five | $629,975,898 |
Fast & Furious 6 | $789,300,444 |
Furious 7 | $1,511,986,364 |
The Fate of the Furious | $1,235,534,014 |
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw | $760,732,926 |
F9 | $719,360,510 |
Fast X | $714,582,375 |
As the beginning of the end for Fast and Furious, the bar was high for Fast X. After several promises of one last ride, Fast and Furious was finally about to deliver its long-awaited finale, or at least the first part of it. Rather than a celebration of the saga or an exciting setup for Fast & Furious 11, Fast X was a convoluted film with a weak story, predictable moments, and empty action sequences. Fast X’s problems were reflected in the movie’s critical and commercial reception, and it is arguably one of the worst entries in the franchise.
Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes Was Fast & Furious’ Best Villain Since Hobbs
The Rock’s Hobbs stole the show in Fast Five
Fast X’s issues are made worse by the fact that its villain, Dante Reyes, was the best Fast and Furious antagonist since The Rock’s Luke Hobbs from Fast Five. While Hobbs has since become a member of Dominic Toretto’s family and even led his own spinoff movie, the character was first introduced as a villain in 2011’s Fast Five. Hobbs was the first Fast and Furious villain to truly feel like a threat to Brian and Toretto, the latter of whom was already turning into a “superhero” by that point.
The Rock’s Hobbs changed how the Fast Saga handled its villains, going from generic crime bosses in a suit to action stars chasing down Toretto and his family. Owen Shaw, Deckard Shaw, and Cipher are just some examples of Fast and Furious villains who were clearly influenced by Fast Five’s Hobbs – and the same applies to Momoa’s Dante. Fast X managed to introduce the most interesting villain in the saga since Hobbs, someone who would stop at nothing to defeat Dominic Toretto. Of course, there were also several differences between Dante and Hobbs.
Whereas Hobbs was against Toretto because the former was an FBI agent tasked with tracking down a fugitive, Dante was all about revenge. Likewise, whereas Hobbs was serious and treated everything like nothing but a mission, Dante was having fun with his evil plans. Hobbs and Dante are very different villains conceptually, yet they are both similar in the sense of being major forces to be reckoned with that gave Toretto a difficult time. However, whereas Fast Five is widely considered the best Fast and Furious movie, Fast X was not as good as its villain.
Dante Reyes Is Expected To Return In Hobbs’ New Spinoff Movie
Fast X revealed Dante is coming after Hobbs
Shortly after the release of Fast X, Dwayne Johnson announced that a Hobbs spinoff movie bridging Fast X and Fast X: Part 2 was in the works. While not much is known about the new Hobbs spinoff, the film is expected to also feature Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes considering how Fast X ended. The Rock’s return to Fast and Furious happened during a post-credits scene in which Hobbs picked up a phone call from Dante, who warned the special agent that he was coming for him. Hobbs is the one who killed Dante’s father after all.
The Hobbs movie, which is not Hobbs & Shaw 2, could be about Dwayne Johnson’s character tracking down Dante Reyes or vice versa. It could also be some sort of bud cop movie in which Hobbs and Reyes would be forced to work together, although it is difficult to imagine how that would work considering everything the villain has already done. Regardless, if Dante is in the Hobbs film, Fast and Furious has the chance of doing more with the villain before his eventual return in the upcoming Fast X: Part 2, or Fast & Furious 11.
Fast & Furious 11 Will Conclude Dante Reyes’ Story
Fast X: Part 2 must learn from Fast X’s mistakes
While it is unclear whether Momoa will be in the announced Hobbs film, Dante Reyes will return in Fast X: Part 2, which is expected to wrap up the Fast Saga. Fast X ended with Dante exploding the bride Dom and his son was in, plus with the airplane that was carrying Toretto’s family exploding too. Even though Jakob Toretto is dead, Dante’s revenge is far from complete. Apart from Cipher returning in F9, Fast and Furious has so far avoided reusing villains for two movies in a row, which makes Dante’s return quite more interesting.
Related
8 Reasons Fast X Was Way Worse Than Fast Five (Despite Trying To Copy It)
Fast X was full of callbacks to Fast Five, but the latest Fast and Furious movie wasn’t nearly as good as the saga’s fifth installment.
Hopefully, Fast & Furious 11 will learn from Fast X’s mistakes and deliver a movie that is as good as its villain. The new film should capitalize on Dante’s reception, perhaps focusing more on how brutal he can be. Having more of Dante may help Fast X: Part 2, but the sequel needs to be a good movie first and foremost. Assuming it will indeed conclude the Fast Saga, Fast & Furious 11 must be a worthy finale for the series, and it already has the perfect villain to accomplish so.
Stream Fast X on Prime Video
