Movie Review: Furious 7

Not as Fast, but god damn is it Furious

I was never a follower of the Fast and Furious movies. I always saw them as dumb, testosterone filled, adrenaline pumping action movies that was all flash and no substance.

I was right to an extent of course, the first couple of films was just that. Fast cars, high speed action, scantly clad women, big muscly men, etc. It wasn't recently that I decided to hunker down with some friends and do a Fast and Furious marathon that would stretch from Fast Five up to the newly released Furious 7. I gotta say, Furious 7 is definitely a movie worth watching.

Fast Five and Furious 6 were pretty solid movies that actually had an enjoyable cast, solid story and high octane action. I applaud the ability to retroactively insert plot points into these movies that would link the entire franchise together, like how Han goes to Tokyo for the events of Tokyo Drift. It was really impressive and cleverly done. Furious 7 is like the third movie in this supposed trilogy. Everything eventually comes full circle and you’ll find yourself enjoying the continuing adventures of Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Dominic Torreto (Vin Diesel).

Furious 7 takes place after an unclear amount of time after Furious 6. The events of London and Owen Shaw follow the crew in the form of Owen Shaw’s brother Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). Dominic and Brian have to work together with a top secret section of the government to hunt down Deckard before he manages to kill everyone in the crew and their families. On top of this, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) returns and her amnesia story continues as she tries to remember who she was before her seemingly fatal accident during the events of Fast and Furious (fourth movie). Might I add that Furious 7 has this brilliant opening sequence that immediately shows the audience what kind of a bad ass the villain of the movie will be. Furious 7 takes no time to quickly establish character and it does so with overwhelming success in the first 5 minutes.  We know that Deckard Shaw is a dangerous man and that he’s out to get the crew that crippled his brother. It’s so simple that it just can’t go wrong.

Cars, check. Scantly clad women, check. All we need now are some bullets and muscly men...

Alright, now we have ourselves a Fast and Furious movie!

Throughout the movie, we’re treated with amazing set pieces like Vin Diesel driving through 3 sky scrapers in Abu-Dhabi, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wielding a mini-gun, and some brutal hand-to-hand combat sequences with Jason Statham.  While some may find that these action sequences were incredibly over the top and dumb, then this movie definitely isn’t for you…or any action flick to be precise. The act of suspending belief throughout the movie is something that should be mandatory for all viewers. If you want to have a good time and just enjoy some insane action, then Furious 7 is right up your alley. I mean how often do you get to see a Predator drone chase some high performance cars around a city? Not very often.

I swear, this looks just like the opening from Uncharted 2.

In terms of pacing, Furious 7 ensured that the audience members wouldn’t get bored during its 2 hour runtime.  Action sequences come often and are broken up by slower paced scenes that involve dialogue, story and a little bit of humour. These scenes are where I felt one of the negatives of the film was strongest. The humour felt too forced, even if it did give me a chuckle or too. But it felt like the writing was forced to make the audience laugh…it just didn't feel natural enough for me to easily enjoy. On the plus side, these scenes wouldn't last very long and we’d be sent right back into the action. It should also be noted that as the action went on, you might get a little exhausted over how intense everything is, but again, due to the excellent pacing, the action ends just before it becomes too much.

No spoilers, but this was a pretty hype-ass scene

Now, prior to the completion of Furious 7, Paul Walker unfortunately passed away. Furious 7 is most definitely a tribute film to his memory, considering how Vin Diesel and Paul Walker were essentially best friends in real life. So it’s safe to say that (without spoilers) that the send off Paul Walker is given was emotional and classy. I actually felt misty eyed during the tribute as I ACTUALLY grew attached to the characters in this franchise. It was a moment of…confusion for me. How could I actually be feeling something other than hype in a Fast and Furious movie? It was strange…yet acceptable. I did feel that it was a bit too much when a CG Paul Walker face shows up simply to extend the farewell. It was a little awkward and unnecessary. Overall though, Paul Walker and Brian O’ Connor definitely got the tribute they deserved.

One of the best Bromances I've ever seen

As a whole, I feel that Furious 7 was a fantastic action film even if the plot was generally pretty standard, the acting was mediocre, and there wasn’t enough Rock.  It was the excellent blend of action with likeable characters. It was an impressive show case of how to turn your mediocre franchise with a broken plot into something larger and connected. Furious 7 is an action film that fans of the series will be pleased with, and if you’re simply just a casual watcher that needs to watch something with cars, guns, and fist fights, then Furious 7 is for you too.

Verdict: 4/5