Jason Momoa in Fast X (Universal Pictures)

It was only a matter of time before the “Fast & Furious” franchise abandoned all pretenses of reality. Granted, half the appeal of this inexplicably long-lasting action series was how, post–Fast Five, it gleefully broke the laws of physics per film with death-defying car stunts. It’s just that Fast X, the 10th entry in what’s meant to set up a “Fast & Furious” finale, turns the saga of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew into full-blown Saturday-morning cartoon territory. Unlike its own cartoon spinoff Fast & Furious Spy Racers, this one goes out of control fast.

This film’s issues are the opposite of The Fate of the Furious and F9’s overly melodramatic scripts and self-seriousness. Fast X simply kicks the Axe Body Spray–Hot Wheels vibe to 11 and relishes its absurdity, including quasi–Avengers lore (Dom has a kid and a formally estranged brother, Jakob, played by John Cena), high-tech government organizations, and cyber hacker nonsense, from start to finish. All it’s missing are character moments, or any quiet moments for that matter. The perpetual action sensory overload is tempered, however slightly, by Jason Momoa’s insane performance, making him the best (or at least most memorable) “Fast &Furious” villain to date.

Enter Dante Reyes, the retconned son of Fast Five drug lord Hernan Reyes, who holds a grudge against Dom for his father’s death. But simply killing him isn’t enough: Dante wants Dom and the “family” to endure nine levels of hellish torment beforehand. First, he pilfers the army of Dom’s former enemy Cipher (Charlize Theron), then sets up an ambush for Dom’s crew in Rome. Now global fugitives yet again, Dom, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) become targeted by Dante and former ally Mr. Nobody’s covert ops division, The Agency, now under the new management of Agent Aimes (Alan Ritchson). And then things just… branch out.

If most films have an A-plot and a B-plot, then Fast X has at least four B-plots: Letty escaping a black-ops prison; Roman getting the team to safety while still behaving like a cocksure man-child. Dom teams up with Mr. Nobody’s daughter, Tess (Brie Larson), as well a new character, Isabel (Daniela Melchior); and there’s a rescue-turned-road trip involving Jakob and Dom’s son Brian (Leo Abelo Perry), which actually proves quite charming, thanks to Cena’s easygoing performance. It’s exhausting to keep up with what’s happening, and the film never gives you time to let any moment sink in. The formula of vigorous hand-to-hand fight scenes, ridiculous car stunts, and monologues about family repeats for nearly two and a half hours, before ending on an abrupt cliffhanger.

Thank God for Momoa, playing what I can only describe as a mashup of Heath Ledger’s Joker and Nicolas Cage in Face/Off. Momoa chews a 10-course meal out of the scenery, and the trailers don’t do his brand of villain insanity justice. Dante licks blood off his knives, delivers bombs to the Pope’s doorstep, and treats the viewer to some deadly mani-pedis (that last one makes sense in context), all without losing any physical energy or even throwing a punch. If anything, he sets the bar this year for over-the-top movie performances, especially compared to Diesel, whose relentlessly stoic demeanor is a comedic goldmine, which, based on the audience’s reactions, may or may not be intentional.

Fast X clearly wants to be the Avengers: Infinity Wars of the “Fast & Furious” movies. Multiple characters return—including some expectedly unexpected cameos—past events haunt our heroes, and the vehicular mayhem is tricked out to Looney Tunes–levels of absurdity. But the film still wants us to treat its story like a genuine emotional tragedy, despite this series all but abandoning character-driven spectacle years ago. Part of what made Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, and Furious 7 work is how they found a trade-off between sincere and silly. Its character dynamics felt believable and amplified the sensational stunts. The stunts, in turn, grounded the team’s found family bond, no matter how cartoonish their globetrotting mission.

But Fast X’s universe doesn’t resemble ours anymore. The cast is having fun, but they’re doing so in a world more impractically sci-fi and fantastical than ever before. In one of Fast X’s most meta scenes, Aimes and Tess assess the crew’s evolution from humble street racers/criminals to gravity-defying superheroes, with Aimes deeming them a “cult with cars.” It’s as apt a description for the franchise’s Hollywood evolution too—the scene’s holographic visuals make even Fast Five’s heist plotline look antiquated.

Will people get some dumb fun out of Fast X? Probably. But watching it lays bare how much gas the series has exhausted since Fast Five granted it a second wind. The sooner this finale wraps things up, the sooner “Fast & Furious” can find a nice beach in Rio to enjoy retirement.