We’ve already ranked the 5 most ridiculous moments in the new “Fast X” trailer, and indeed, the ball bomb’s rampage through the streets of Rome was one of those moments. In its quest to destroy public property, the ball bomb bowls through a city bus — cutting it in half — and just generally acts like the out-of-control, 21st-century son of the boulder that chased Indiana Jones in “Raiders of Lost Ark.”
The Roman Colosseum could not be reached for comment on whether it’s still standing. However, Louis Letterier indicated that movie magic might have helped mitigate the dangers of the ball bomb in Italy’s capital:
“Obviously we had visual effects help, but we just needed to keep everything grounded in the practical. The visual effects were mainly for safety and scope, but we needed the basis to stay in our reality. Without that, it would become too much. I wanted it to feel like Fast 1, Fast 3, and Fast 5 — movies that feel grounded. That is my style, and everyone accepted that, so everyone was really on board. Everyone was excited to re-explore physical stunts.”
Technically, Letterier is giving a very accurate description of “Fast X” as “grounded,” in that it’s no longer floating cars through space. There’s another moment in the trailer where two helicopters try to airlift the head of the fambly, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), away in his signature Dodge Charger. Dom promptly puts his wheels back down on the road, as if to say, “No! You will not lift this car off the ground. You will never be able to break my family.” And of course, both helicopters come crashing down, sending up fireballs and driving up ticket sales.
“Fast X” races into earthbound theaters on May 19, 2023.