Grossing over $1.5 million at the worldwide box office and currently sitting as the 5th highest grossing film of all time, Furious 7 is a continuation of the revitalised Fast & Furious franchise. Ever since 2011's Fast 5, this franchise has undergone a complete transformation from street-racing movies to big, bloated summer action flicks. Furious 7 picks up right after 6 left off. This time, Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham, plans to exact revenge on Dom and his crew for the part they played in crippling his brother, the villain of Fast 6.
Furious 7 is a bloated and over-the-top action movie with all of the explosions, action sequences in which multiple characters should die 100 times over and fast cars you could ever wish for. It is a very self aware film. It knows you haven't come to the theatre to watch actors give great performances or for everything to make sense 100% of the time, it understands that you come to watch these movies to have a laugh. If you can suspend your disbelief, you'll have an absolute blast.
This movie endured one of the biggest production dilemmas imaginable when Paul Walker tragically passed away. As someone who appreciates the filmmaking process, I can not even begin to imagine the emotional and practical strain it would've had on the director and the screenwriters. As a result, the films plot is rather choppy. Dom and his crew seem to drive to various different places to try and find a device known as "God's Eye" and everywhere they go Jason Statham's character seems to follow them. I can't honestly say too many negative things about the movie's plot. But I will commend the screenwriters for resolving the situation as best they could whilst still delivering an entertaining film.
And the Paul Walker send off they gave at the end of the film was handed very well. It bought a tear to my eye. For that one moment, I forgot I was watching a movie and instead was emotionally captivated by the send off both Vin Diesel and James Wan (the director) gave to Paul Walker's character and the man himself. Vin Diesel's narration here gets me every single time.
In terms of the things I enjoyed, I liked the camaraderie between Dom and his crew. You felt as if they knew exactly what they were doing, they're incredibly experienced working together in the field plus have a realistic banter and back-and-forth with each other. The car chase sequences are all filmed well by director James Wan who approached these scenes with a more gritty standpoint compared to Justin Lin. Plus, I really liked Jason Statham as the villain. Statham is a naturally menacing looking guy who sells the villain role with his appearance. But his character had clear motivations and clear intentions, something a lot of big blockbuster villains seem to lack nowadays.
The hand-to-hand combat sequences are a mixed bag. I couldn't tell whether or not they were using stunt doubles, but I'll give the actors the benefit of the doubt and say they weren't. Seeing actors commit to their action roles and physically selling their performance is always a positive thing. However, I didn't enjoy the way Wan filmed these particular sequences; he adopted the typical quick-cut, shaky-cam approach most directors do nowadays. In these sequences, it's hard to tell what is going on meaning for me they were difficult to get immersed into.
Other aspects of the movie I wasn't so impressed with were the use of certain characters. For example, The Rock is barely in the film. He is one of the most likeable, charming and charismatic actors in Hollywood right now who I have a blast watching on the big screen. However, he is only in the film for 20 minutes. He is incredibly under-utilised. On the other hand, we have one character who is used way too much for my personal taste. For me, Tyrese Gibson as the "comic relief character" came across as an annoying side character who was used way too much. His jokes always fell flat and I don't actually see what he brings to the team compared to everyone else there. If he wasn't in it, I feel the movie would have been no different.
Considering the troubled production of Furious 7, I have to congratulate James Wan, the screenwriters, and everyone else involved in the making of the movie for delivering a film which is dumb popcorn entertainment at its absolute finest. It has everything which made both Fast 5 & 6 successful and on top of this handled the Paul Walker situation as professionally as they possibly could. It's a fun time for sure, and a fitting goodbye.
RIP Paul Walker.
Rating - C+
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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