I have the knowledge base about cars roughly equivalent to a five year old.
I have no idea what MOPAR is.
Some devotees of the Fast and Furious franchise can talk muscle cars the same way my comic
book geeks can talk superhero costumes.
I get more excited by action with little connection to reality--like The Avengers....
But, it’s hard to resist a movie with most of the biggest action movie stars in the world
all in one place.
It stars Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Tony Jaa,
Kurt Russell, Gal Gadot, Djimon Hounsou, and Ronda Rousey.
Also with director James Wan at the helm, and the loyalty I feel to see the last film
of Paul Walker’s career, FURIOUS 7 had me ready for action.
Here’s James Wan, (of the Saw and Insidious franchises) talking about how he approached
the directing and why he wanted to take part in
the franchise:
To
say that it has over the top action is an understatement.
It's like they threw a kitchen sink full of car parts at it.
Upon leaving the theater, my husband (Cinema Spouse) said, “if they make another one,
they’ll have to shoot the cars into space”.
There’s lots of noise, fighting, trash talking, booty shaking, and, obviously, fast cars.
The plot is more than a little convoluted, but as someone who hasnt watched the Fast
and Furious flicks over and over, I could still keep up with the story, so it wasn’t
a huge drawback.
Make no mistake.
This movie is ridiculous.
Leave your willing suspension of disbelief at home.
However, if there’s Kool Aid to be swallowed about believing Vin Diesel (who produces as
well as stars in Furious 7) and the rest of what he says has become the “Furious Family”,
genuinely wanting to finish this movie and make it the best one, in honor of Paul Walker,
who died in a horrible car crash before the end of filming, I DRANK IT.
Here’s Vin Diesel:
They hired Paul’s brothers Caleb and Cody Walker to help seam together scenes unfinished
by their brother Paul.
They also used computer tricks and older footage and recordings of Paul to make it work, and
there’s no way you can tell.
Convoluted as the story is, the way they “say goodbye” to Paul was well done and pretty
poignant.
Of course the characters have fun, even given the sad story that unfolded in real life behind
the scenes.
Here’s Dwayne Johnson talking about his role as Hobbs, and working with Jason Statham:
Of course the characters have fun, even given the sad story that unfolded in real life behind
the scenes.
Here’s Dwayne Johnson talking about his role as Hobbs, and incorporating his experience
as a wrestler into the fight choreography:
For fans of the franchise, there’s arguably an equally impressive new character in Furious
7, and it’s a car:
So.
Either you are up for car races and crashes, crazy action, and protracted fight scenes
with bald muscle-bound movie stars is entirely up to you.
Furious 7 does all it set out to do, and it did it with heart, which no offense, but for
a movie that’s always been about drag racing, is pretty impressive.
4 out of 5 stars.
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Thanks for watching, DRIVE CAREFULLY, and go find a new favorite film.