One Fast Move has KJ Apa as the lead playing the role of Wes. The film starts by showing his arrest as the guy was found participating in street races. He's let go after six months and the officer offers to give him a certificate for construction. Wes was in the military but as he was found involved in a crime, he won't be able to reap any benefits one gets after being in the military. He doesn't have a mother or a place to which he can relocate after getting out of prison. Serving six months in jail and the first thing he does when granted his freedom is ask about where his bike his. That's the first clue for the audience about his love for racing.
Tracing his father Dean Miller, who once used to be a racer, Wes communicates his wish to be one. Miller however didn't take him seriously and tested his skills. The boy didn't have much of a talent yet the fire to learn ignited his inner teacher and Miller set Wes on a road to success. The struggle one usually faces to get on the top was missing here. I didn't see Wes making any extra efforts or going through any hardships instead, what we saw was him going to parties with his father. If you look closely, the father-son dynamics were awkward from the beginning. They didn't want to have any emotional attachments yet there was something that pulled them together.
There's a scene in which Miller and Wes are seen sitting together in a bar. Miller tells his son about how he left his mother because he wanted to excel in his career and they did cheers to that. This was shocking because why didn't Wes say anything? There are many more moments like this in the film where a character doesn't voice his or her opinion against the injustice. Wes had a habit of ignoring things, be it his girlfriend's surprise with a son or his father's toxicity. Things do eventually come out and Wes has to face them. The characters have no depth and there's absolutely no emotional angle set. Coming to bike racing, it's not as if they were a cinematic piece of art.
The makers could either go with a strong plot or great action scenes yet, what we get is a huge disappointment. The time spent on watching this film feels like a waste and coming from an actor like KJ Apa (the fame of Riverdale) it was quite unexpected. Even the love story built here seemed inadequate. The film is a fair attempt and several fronts needed more attention. The plot being the foremost in this list needed to be shone a little more. Things that they picked up to show were incomplete and with this failure was bound to hit.
In all, One Fast Move is not equivalent to One Quick Watch and you can rather skip this. KJ Apa needs to look for more testing roles where can prove himself.
Final Score – [5.5/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
Follow @_riyasinghhh_ on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times