Fast X 4K review

Aug 15, 2023- Permalink

The Fast & Furious franchise is a popcorn-friendly movie series with fast cars and action that routinely defies the laws of physics. I’m also pretty sure that star Vin Diesel gets a bonus payment any time he utters the word “family.” Fast X is, for the Roman numeral challenged, the tenth main movie in the Fast universe. (I’m assuming everything has a universe these days.) Vin is joined in the cast by Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Scott Eastwood, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, Helen Mirren, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, Jason Statham, Jason Momoa, and Charlize Theron.

In this flick, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) goes up against Dante Reyes (Momoa), who seeks revenge for a laundry list of perceived wrongs. Cars go fast. Family. Cars fly through the air. Family. Cars explode. Family. Universal has released a 4K of the movie and I had a chance to take a look.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded upscaled 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation is crisp and clear, with tons of detail in facial textures, textiles and environments. The colour palette is enhanced by the HDR and we have bright whites and deep blacks with no loss of detail in the shadows. The specular highlights, whether from fiery explosions or sun bouncing off chrome, look amazing as well.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. The Atmos soundtrack puts you in the driver’s seat with the surrounds and height channels delivering both ambient and action sounds and the subwoofers adding a chest-thumping low end to the proceedings. Despite the roar of the engines, dialogue is still clear.

The 4K set comes with a 4K disc as well as a Blu-ray and digital code. Once again, the digital code is omitted from the Canadian version. Extras include a gag reel, a 35-minute behind-the-scenes-doc, scene breakdowns with director Louis Leterrier, a couple of music videos and a few other character/performer featurettes.

Fans of the Fast & Furious franchise will want to take the Fast X 4K for a spin. With great audio and video and some nice extras, it’s a fun ride.