Furious 7

I think by now everyone knows the insane story of this long-running franchise. 

It all started back in 2001, with a lot of much younger looking kids, starring in a film about California street racing, all contained within the simple streets of Los Angeles.

The series then had a few stumbles, and almost died when its third film, Tokyo Drift, was very close to going straight-to-DVD. Many years later it was "rebooted" with what I would argue was its second-to-worst installment, Fast and Furious. 

Given all that, it's crazy to think that now, this is pretty much Universal Studios' "expanded universe" and is guaranteed to win the weekend box office without much competition. 

There aren't many examples (really only Harry Potter and kind-of James Bond come to mind) where the films later in the series are better than the ones beforehand, but with the incredibly entertaining and well-crafted Fast Five, it was clear that Vin Diesel and Co. were taking this franchise to the next level. Fast and Furious 6 continued that trend, quickly becoming my second favorite, right behind Five, and left me practically drooling for Furious 7. 

But unfortunately this story would not continue without tragedy, in this case the shocking and saddening death of franchise lead, Paul Walker. Production came to a halt as it was only about halfway done, and the film was delayed a year while the cast and crew regrouped and decided how best to continue. Which leads me to a further point about this franchise, which is the main reason it is so endearing, it is genuine. There is a focal point on family throughout and it's obvious that the cast and crew are as close as family in real life. Walker's death was not only heartbreaking because we lost a truly decent man (just check his charity work for proof of that) but because of how crippled it seemed to leave his friends and fellow cast. Following several of them on social media really made it hit home that they had lost a dear friend, and not just someone whom they worked with. 

It quickly became clear that Furious 7 was going to be an emotional experience. 

They aren't actually fighting in this photo. It's a dance off...

Also not a fight scene, but actually a dance battle.

Furious 7 picks up a little while after Fast and Furious 6, and interestingly enough (for those that are keeping track) right after Tokyo Drift. The villain from the last film, Owen Shaw, has a bad, ex-special forces brother in Jason Statham, and he wants revenge. On top of all this, a new player, Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russel) wants Dom (Diesel) and Co.'s help in acquiring a hacker. Like many of the past FF films, the plot is pretty light/stupid/unnecessary and that's something that audiences are used to by now. However, I really did feel like this was the most disjointed plot of the last three films, and it has some humongous gaps in logic. Again, not something that this series tries to excel at, but this time around there were just some real head-scratchers whereas I could mostly ignore the previous two films' logical shortcomings. Unfortunately, all this attempt at a plot leads to a film that is about 15-20 minutes too long (which was also an issue with FF6) and the action in the final third starts to feel like it's becoming a bit derivative. All this aside though, you have to take a step back and look at the bigger picture and realize that what Furious 7 was once supposed to be had to change (how drastically, we will probably never know) due to Walker's death. With that in mind, I give the team kudos for still putting together a mostly cohesive film despite the loss of one of its main characters in real life. 

Pretty much the whole gang is back in this film and the focus is on Dom, Brian (Walker), Letty (Rodriguez), Tej (Ludacris), Roman (Tyrese). Hobbs (Johnson) is sidelined for most of the film but still has some fun moments and Statham is more of a co-villain than the main baddie. Truly, I wouldn't have it any other way because the film needed the familial focal point and it achieves it by focusing on the franchise regulars. Most of the acting is about what you would expect from the franchise, as is the script, but some of the more touching moments really echo louder, particularly when Walker is involved. Much as there was with some of the Joker's scenes in The Dark Knight, so too are there some eerie moments with Walker talking about death. 

"I said put it in DRIVE! Not reverse!"

From an action perspective, the FF franchise is nearly unmatched these days. It focuses mainly on practical stunts and it usually gives us multiple incidents per film where you can very confidently say, "I've never seen that before!". Furious 7 is no different and features some of the series best stunts yet with everything from cars parachuting out of planes to hypercars jumping from skyscraper to skyscraper. I'm a bit disappointed that the film's best stunts were given away in the trailers, but that seems to be a norm for this franchise as the same thing happened with Fast and Furious 6. Truth be told, I might just try to avoid watching trailers for any future installments, but that's a decision for another day. On top of its slew of vehicular stunts, Furious 7 also features the franchise's best hand-to-hand combat fights yet (there are about 4-5 throughout) that are hard hitting and feature some cool camera-flipping work. I've heard some grumblings about shaky-cam, something that I am usually very NOT fond of, but I didn't really notice it too much this film and it's certainly not overbearing. In short, Furious 7 has some of the most inventive action I've seen recently, and it really has some "movie magic" moments during its death defying stunts. 

Who comes up with this stuff?!

Rest in Peace, Paul.

I'm sure many are also wondering about Paul Walker's character, Brian, and how the film handles that. As always, I don't want to give anything away except to say that fans will be touched and the film goes to a point to help you realize that this isn't just a fictional character, but that Paul was a real person. For a franchise with so much melodrama and operatic plot lines, it was the final moments of the film, after all the action and the mayhem, where Tej comments "Would you just open your eyes for a second?" and we are let into the world of memories that this cast had of Walker. It's incredibly touching and the final frames are perfectly chosen, giving the actor as good a sendoff as anyone has ever received in film. If you're questioning whether the right decision was made, just know that the film's final moments are among its best, done tastefully with honor, fond memories, and love. 

At the end of it all, Furious 7 is a film that overcame great challenges and still managed to be incredibly entertaining and one of the best of the series. For those curious, I would rank this one ever-so-slightly behind Fast and Furious 6, which is behind Fast Five (the "undisputed" series highlight). But worry not about rankings and scores. Just go to Furious 7, see some awesome stunts, have some fun, and remember an actor who was truly a dude that deserved to be remembered, both on screen and in real life. 

CONS:

• Logic and plot has never been the series' strengths, but there are too many logic gaps here to not mention it
• Original score is below average
• For as much money as this franchise makes, the CGI, when used, should be way better
• About 15 minutes too long
• Somewhat light on humor
• Very out-of-place Ronda Rousey
• Best stunts revealed in trailers

PROS:

• The action is highly inventive and there are numerous scenes that you've never seen before
• Focuses on the main cast, driving home the point of family 
• The drama seems much more real this time around and the film's quieter, touching moments are sincere
• Despite the loss of one of its main stars, the film survived because of the hard work from cast and crew to make it happen
• This cast is like a family and the film feels genuine
• Great soundtrack
• Lots of pretty women (I had to mention it)
• It's all an incredible amount of fun, from beginning to end
• Awesome 1 vs. 1 fights
• Paul Walker's tribute/send off is perfect. No other way to say it

Rath's Review Score: 8.5/10