Furious 7
DIRECTED BY: James Wan, WRITTEN BY: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson, STARRING: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, RUN TIME: 137 Mins, RELEASE: 2015
Dominic Torretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew thought they left the criminal mercenary life behind. They defeated an international terrorist named Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and went their separate ways. But now, Shaw's brother, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is out killing the crew one by one for revenge. Worse, a Somali terrorist called Jakarde (Djimon Hounsou), and a shady government official called "Mr. Nobody" are both competing to steal a computer terrorism program called God's Eye, that can turn any technological device into a weapon. Torretto must reconvene with his team to stop Shaw and retrieve the God's Eye program while caught in a power struggle between terrorist and the United States government.
It's fair to say that the F&F franchise has come a long way since the original outing (The Fast & the Furious) all the way back in 2001. However, they haven't just come a long way and become something far much more than I could have ever expected ( I have to be honest, I never liked them to begin with), they have also travelled a great journey in regard to the characters and the story. From illegal street racing to cool heist film and then to all out action extravaganzas; F&F has certainly covered many bases. That being said, what stands out more than anything in these films is how the characters go from individual conflict to becoming a strong and unique family dynamic, and the success of this lies not only in the great writing but the genuine bond, respect and love for each other that these actors and actresses have forged for each other over these 14+ years.
Now, I think that it is also fair to say that along with Star Wars: The Force Awakens and quite possibly Avengers: Age of Ultron (to a lesser degree), F&F7 was easily one of the most anticipated and talked about films of 2015. Unfortunately, as I'm sure we all know, F&F7 has been eagerly awaited for much different and far sadder reasons than the other two mentioned. Let me point out that this franchise has earned millions of loyal fans and people are always going to be excited when another one is announced, but to say that this 6th sequel has not been waited for so passionately because Paul Walker died whilst it was still in its filming stages is pretty naive.
So let me focus on that for a moment before I get to the actual review of the film. I don't think that anyone can argue the fact that Vin Diesel has been the spokes-person, the loudest voice (figuratively speaking) and the driving force behind keeping the memory of his fallen brother alive. To that end, he has done this with utter class, humility and absolute love and respect for the much missed actor. In my opinion there is no one that could have done it better, and we should all thank and appreciate him for that. In keeping Paul Walker's memory alive he (Diesel) has also made many promises about the film (followers of the franchise will understand what it is that I am talking about). But, did the film deliver on all that was expected and promised? In my opinion, that is an unequivocal YES!
F&F7 is by far the most exciting to date. First let me tell you that you certainly get the things that we have come to expect from these films: beautiful people, fast cars, crazy chases, comedy, plenty of action and close up bikini butt-shots. So if you are an avid fan, you can all look forward to that and rest easy in the knowledge that you are definitely going to get it. The action is brilliantly maxed up to high-octane levels and it is done so well that you really don't care about the fact that every character should have died at least twenty times over. If you can't watch these films without the suspension of disbelief then you really shouldn't be bothering.
Taking on the role of the token bad guy is the always reliable Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw, the brother of Owen Shaw who got a fine pasting in the last outing. However, unlike his brother, Deckard will not be so easily beaten. Statham enters F&F7 in a manner in which he means to go on; with a great opening sequence showing how much of a badass his character is. Statham moves through this film like the coolest man possessed that you have ever seen, stalking and hunting the team with nothing but vengeance in mind like a bald cockney Terminator. He truly is a force to be reckoned with and plays it with his typical laid-back and nonchalant style. He was a great casting choice for this role and pulls it off perfectly. My favourite addition to the cast is without-a-doubt Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody, the mysterious government official looking to gain control of 'God's Eye'. There is just something so undeniably cool about Russell that makes his every on-screen presence and absolute pleasure to watch.
The writers really have stepped up to the plate on this one and their obvious goal of making F&F7 the greatest so far has most definitely been achieved. That being said, seldom is any film ever perfect and if I were to point out one negative (and I really can only find one) it would most certainly be the scene between Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Kara (Ronda Rousey). I cannot for the life of me understand why filmmakers insist on putting Rousey in films, she is just terrible. She only had two or three lines and even they seemed like an uphill struggle for her. There wasn't even a decent amount of action from her to warrant it. All her presence achieved was to annoy the hell out of me for a couple of pointless minutes. However, if that short scene is the sum of all my gripes then that really isn't bad going at all.
The family unit of characters are stronger and even more awesome this time around. It's not often that you have a large ensemble cast and find yourself truly caring about each one of them, but such is the greatness of them all that this is exactly how you are left feeling. Tyrese Gibson continues to add great comic relief to the series as Roman and as far as I am concerned he is even better than before, whilst Diesel leads his team with commanding and deserved respect and determined focus as he and the group hunt down Shaw and look to retrieve the promised 'God's Eye'. Tony Jaa makes an impressive appearance in the guise of O'Conner's martial arts mastered nemesis Kiet. As much as I liked his short role in this film it really only made me realize how excited I am about seeing him in The Raid 3. He's simply flawless and (artistically speaking) beautiful to watch.
Now, for anyone that is going into this expecting the whole thing to be a tribute to Paul Walker; it is not. It is simply a great film with Paul Walker in it as one of the main cast members. What I mean by that is that in response to his tragic and untimely death, the filmmakers have not tried to overcompensate by making it all about his character or tried to force him (or his image) in there as many times as possible. After all, these films do not revolve around one character alone, but around that of a family of characters. To try to play it out any other way simply would not work. I think it's also important to point out (and I say this because it has been done time and time again) that you absolutely should not watch this trying to figure out what scenes starred Paul Walker and what scenes comprised his likeness. To do that does him, the film and his cast members an injustice. Just watch it and appreciate his final film for what it is. That being said, F&F7 did indeed promise a tribute to the man, and boy did he get it. For the sake of unwanted spoilers, I am not going to say how and at which point that this is achieved, but what I will say for sure is that it could not have been done any finer. If you have just the slightest bit of sensitivity in you then I suggest you take a tissue with you when you go to see it. It is so obvious as a viewer that MUCH thought went into giving Walker the greatest send-off that they could have given him. His tribute was put together with such class, dignity, love, respect, heart and poignancy that it is almost impossible not to be affected by it.
I cannot speak of the future of this franchise now that it has suffered the loss of one of its biggest and brightest stars. I know that there is still room out there for more, and indeed it has been talked about, but what I do know is that anyone that is a fan of this awesome franchise will undoubtedly be massively impressed with the latest instalment. It's fun, fast, witty, emotional, explosive and brilliantly executed and takes the series to a whole new level of greatness. I seriously doubt that you will be at all disappointed with this wonderful action extravaganza.