Furious 7
Starring: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez and Ronda Rousey
Directed by: James Wan
Run Time: 2 hours and 17 minutes
Furious 7 is the absolute greatest installment in an absolutely ridiculous franchise and one of the best movies in the history of absolutely ridiculous movies. It’s more a compilation of chase scenes, cliches and combat sequences than an actual movie and as long as you go to the theatre understanding that, you’ll enjoy the two hours and change you spend snickering at the absurd action that takes place on the screen.
This latest – and potentially final – entry in the series picks up where Fast & Furious 6 left off.
Deckard Shaw (Statham) is hunting Dominic Torreto (Diesel) and his crew because of what they did to his brother in the previous movie. He tracks them down initially by stealing their info from Hobbs’ (Johnson) computer and leaving the hulking Diplomatic Security Service agent in the hospital with myriad injuries. Because the film has nearly a dozen characters to weave into the story, there is a subplot involving a computer hacker (Nathalie Emmanuel from Game of Thrones) and a band of mercenaries that have kidnapped her in order to use her latest program for evil, rather than good.
Fights take place. Car chases ensue. Laws of science and human physiology are defied.
Stuff blows up. Buildings crumble. A car fly through all three of the Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi.
If you go in expecting the cinematic mash-up of kids playing with Hot Wheels and G.I. Joe figures at the same time, Furious 7 is undeniably enjoyable. If you go in expecting something else, you clearly haven’t seen any of the six previous entries in this series and deserve to be disappointed. These movies are about action, not authenticity and director James Wan does a very good job with the fight scenes and car chases throughout.
There is also a nice moment at the end of the film that serves as a goodbye to long-time series star Paul Walker, who passed away in a tragic car accident before the film was finished shooting last year.
If you liked the previous Fast and Furious movies, you’ll love this one.
