Furious 7 Movie Review

Furious 7 is film that lives up and even exceeds expectation. It is a high-octane, action packed ride of an on-screen family we have followed since the very first film. It is also a fitting tribute to the late Paul Walker.

The franchise has indeed come so far since the very first Fast and Furious movie. From Race Wars in California to the streets of Tokyo, then to Rio and now we go to the sandy streets of Dubai and going back to California to come full circle. It may have started as a fast paced heist movie but it has evolved through the years into a full blown action film mixed with spies and international conflicts.

The seventh and rumored to be the last brings all the fun and action as well as drama. It ups everything from the hot cars, the guns, the fight scenes and even the sexy babes.

What makes Furious 7 a good film is that it stays true to its roots. It does not pretend to be any other type of film. It’s an action film and it delivers as an action film. And with the action come the comedy and drama and sometimes the occasional twists. Now these are just add-ons with the action taking the driver’s seat.

The film works. And part of what make it work is the chemistry of the cast. Vin Diesel is top billing but it’s his chemistry with his co-stars that delivers the emotions which brings the film its unique dramatic style. Paul Walker may have not completed this film but the scenes that he did finish showed his dedication and hard work. Michelle Rodriguez brings a new side to Letty we have yet to see not to mention getting more physical in fight scenes.

Ludacris gets his own fight scene as well and Tyrese brings out the comedy especially one involving a mid-air drop. Jordana Brewster only has a few screen appearances but hers was crucial as it would affect the future of Brian, Walker’s character. Dwayne Johnson returns as Hobbs but like Brewster, his screen time was a bit short. But you get tons of action when he does appear. The same goes to Elsa Pataky who briefly appears at the early part of the film. And to officially connect Tokyo Drift to the franchise, we get a scene featuring Lucas Black and Vin Diesel. Now these are the original cast and each time they appear on-screen either alone or together, they deliver the needed feel and uniqueness of the world of Fast and Furious.

Now as I said, this is an action film. And it truly lives up to what is expected. Ever since the first Fast and Furious film, we have seen several stunts involving cars that were mind blowing. This time they took it up several notches to bring us a new way of seeing vehicular onslaught. There are several memorable action sequences in Furious 7. The first being the vehicle aerial drop from a military plane. Wan, the director, managed to bring a fluid flow of the entire sequence starting from a comical dialogue while still inside the plane to the visually memorable drop. Another sequence gets the term “Flying Car.” That’s right. Fast and Furious has graduated from jumping to a moving yacht to jumping through two buildings while moving at top speed while on the top floors. We also have the one where Brian jumps from the edge of a bus while it’s falling from a cliff into the back of a car. And who can forget the head on collisions between the cars of Diesel and Jason Statham.

We also get to see more fire fights in this film than the before. In Fast Five, we got the epic finale where police are chasing Dom and Brian while they carry the vault. This time, we get to see our heroes try to evade a drone which is literally blowing each of their vehicles to bits.

In Furious 7, we have the pleasure of getting the best fight sequences in the entire franchise. In Fast Five we were entertained by the Diesel versus the Rock fight. This time, there are literally a lot of memorable fight sequences. Starting with the Rock versus Jason Statham, Vin Diesel versus Jason Statham, Paul Walker versus Tony Jaa, Michelle Rodriguez versus Ronda Rousey and the epic final fight between Diesel and Statham, the fight scenes just gets tougher and tougher as the movie progresses. Tony Jaa really lives up to the hype of his Ong Bak films. His movement is just amazing and when he is on screen, you are mesmerized by his kicks and jabs. Despite being the bad guy, there are moments where you root for him.

Despite bringing a lot to the table, there are parts where Furious 7 didn’t quite lived up to. That part involves Jason Statham’s character. From the trailers and the end of Fast and Furious 6, it appeared Statham would be the main villain in the film. But it didn’t turn out the way we thought. The film starts with him visiting his brother Owen in the hospital and when he exits we see that he has caused chaos killing all the heavily geared guards and destroying the lobby. Now with a scene like that you would expect Statham having more contact with the rest of the cast. But after killing Han and delivering a bomb to Dom’s house, he pretty much faces Diesel directly. Basically he is one of the villains in the film. The other one is Djimon Hounsou who is after the God’s Eye. The film is torn between having two villains but still manages to bring the two together though not perfectly. Maybe it is just a simple let down that Statham is a lone individual out for revenge while Hounsou has the army. Still, you can forgive the film for this especially with Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody and the lovely Nathalie Emmanuel from Game of Thrones thrown in the mix.

Furious 7 gives a perfect ending to Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Connor. With his untimely death, this film was faced with rewrites that caused its delay. Whatever those original scenes were, the end product was great. Despite having a lot of action, the drama and love can be felt throughout the film. Furious 7 is a fitting tribute to Walker with its emotional ending which really brings everything to a close.

That being said, the Fast and Furious franchise should end with Furious 7. It is hard to top this film given all the action and emotions it dished out. It is a perfect close to a successful franchise. Furious 7 is unique blend of action, cars, speed, love and family which will pull you to the edge of your seat and bring tears to your eyes as you remember this memorable on-screen family.

Furious 7 gets 9 out of 10 from me.