Fast & Furiousis undeniably one of the most iconic and successful action franchises of the past few decades, but just like the characters themselves, the movies’ style and aesthetics have been on a major journey over the years. WhileThe Fast and The Furiouswas a fairly grounded story about a group of car thieves being infiltrated by an undercover cop, the franchise’s increased budget soon transformed the stories into bigger, bolder, narratives of international terrorism and espionage. Unsurprisingly, the character ofDom Toretto also changed dramaticallyin the same way.
This gradual transition from a grounded thriller to an all-out action spectacle is bothFast & Furious’ greatest strength and its heaviest curse. There’s no way that the series could have continued for over 20 years with such low-stakes storytelling likeThe Fast and the Furious, but the increased focus on action and intense car stunts has also been detrimental to the overall quality of the stories. WithFast 11set to conclude the saga,theFast & Furiousmovies are in a completely different place now- just like their protagonist Dominic Toretto.
The Old Character Never Could Have Existed In Fast X
The reason that Toretto’s character had to change so dramatically was because the films were doing the same: it wouldn’t have made sense for the later sequels to have such a grounded protagonist when their stories were so outlandish. The Dom fromThe Fast and the Furiouswould never have found himself involved in government espionage and vendettas with deadly crime families - sothe writers had to change the character’s valuesin order to make his presence in these stories more logical.
Who Dies In Fast X (& Whose Fates Are Unknown)
The tenth Fast and Furious movie delivers some surprising character fates. Here is each Fast X death explained and what happens to the rest.
Dom became stronger, more stoic, and more traditionally “good”when he returned to the franchise in the fourth movie. He wasn’t the morally ambiguous protagonist that was present in the first film, but rather somebody who completely shunned his criminal background and fully took up the good fight. Much of this was due to the franchise’s closer focus onDom Toretto’s family, which helped humanize the protagonist and give him reasons to fight for their protection when the threats got bigger and more deadly.
Dom’s Character Became As Unrealistic As The Fast & Furious Movies He Was In
The Original Dom Was Never Such A Hero
The word “unrealistic” is thrown around a lot in reference to the laterFast & Furioussequels, with many audiences believing that the franchise has lost its way. And it’s true that films likeF9andFast Xsometimes go too far with their outlandish stunts (like sending a car into space or swinging one across an enormous canyon), but this is simply a result ofeach subsequent sequel needing to outperform the last.
All of [Dom’s] moral complexity is gone, replaced instead by a hero who can simply do no wrong.
The franchise has cursed itself by creating a tradition of getting bigger, bolder, and more high-stakes with each passing film, and this has manifested in Dom’s character doing the exact same. In every new sequel,Dom seems to be increasingly virtuous, brash, and selfless, which has resulted in a character that’s essentially a parody of the Dom Toretto fromThe Fast and the Furious. All of his moral complexity is gone, replaced instead by a hero who can simply do no wrong.Dom has almost become superhuman, and his infallibility makes his most intense stunts less exciting.
Strangely Enough, Paul Walker’s Brian Didn’t Change As Much As Dom Toretto
Their Dynamic Was Fast & Furious' Saving Grace
Interestingly, it was only Dom’s character that underwent this massive change throughout the series. Those around him remained somewhat grounded and conceivably complex as the sequels progressed, whileDom drifted further and further away from the virtues that made him interesting in the first film. Most notably, it was Brian O’Conner who remained the most similar throughout the franchise; his moral conflict between lawfulness and his inherent love for racing made him a fascinating character to watch and cemented him as a perfect foil for Dom.
FollowingBrian’s emotional ending inFurious 7, there was nobody to restrain Dom’s ego and keep his character fully grounded anymore - and this is where the franchise encountered major problems. The friendship between Dom and Brian had been the driving force of the series since the very beginning, and without this dynamic to keep things fresh, theFast & Furiousfilms quickly lost sight of their true purpose and simply moved their focus to creating the biggest stunts possible. Letty fulfills a similar role in keeping Dom in check, but her character has also become much less rounded in recent films.
Fast and Furious 11
Cast
Fast X: Part 2 is the final movie in the Fast Saga. It reunites Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto with the rest of the cast for one last ride. However, the franchise is open for spinoff films like Hobbs & Shaw afterward.
