FURIOUS 7 Review

FURIOUS 7 review by Josef Rodriguez.

The tragic and untimely death of Fast & Furious star Paul Walker has set a certain tone for the franchise’s latest installment, Furious 7. The departure of director Justin Lin, and subsequent entrance of Insidious and Saw director James Wan, has also proved to be a hugely noticeable change of pace for a franchise that has essentially become, as some have said, a more ethnically diverse Avengers series …with cars.

This time around, the shenanigans of Fast & Furious 6 have come back to haunt Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his ragtag clan of racing bandits, with Ian Shaw’s (Luke Evans) big and bad older brother Deckard (Jason Statham) on their tail. A genetically modified superhuman who did some dirty work for an English Black Ops syndicate, Deckard was unsuccessfully “retired” after his purpose had been served. On the run and untraceable for more than five years, he has returned from the shadows to finish what Ian couldn’t.

Recruited by a government official known only as Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell), Dom, Brian (Paul Walker), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Tej (Ludacris), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), and a recently hospitalized Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), must retrieve a red herring known as the God’s Eye, a sophisticated tracking device with the capability to track anyone, anywhere, at any time using any digital frequency in its vicinity. In doing so, Mr. Nobody promises Toretto that the device, and Nobody’s army, will be at Toretto’s disposal to bring down Deckard for good.

A new director, a host of scheduling conflicts, and a dead star have all effectively made Furious 7 one of the most troubled blockbusters in recent memory. Reshoots, rewrites, and a healthy dosage of CGI have all contributed to fixing the unfixable, and somehow Furious 7 has emerged as the strongest entry in the series so far, with some of the most beautifully conceived and unabashedly insane set pieces ever committed to film, a number of surprisingly strong performances from its veteran cast, and an emotionally resonant send-off to the family’s fallen comrade.

Fans of the series need not worry. Furious 7 is everything we’ve come to expect from this, no pun intended, newly recharged series. And more. Extended action sequences, like a daring rescue through an isolated mountain landscape or the already infamous building hops in Abu Dhabi, will surely go down as the best in the series, but Furious 7 actually earns most of its kudos from the surprising dramatic heft that comes with each of these sequences. Writer Chris Morgan has often been the unsung hero of the Fast & Furious franchise, and his nearly seamless blend of blatant soap opera theatrics and big-budget mayhem is arguably his best work yet.

As the series’ newest helmer, James Wan knocks it out of the park with his trademark cinematography, a frenetic but controlled pace, and an indulgence in the likable characterization that has made the series what it is. He’s obviously a fan of the franchise, approaching the material with the giddiness and enthusiasm of someone who knows the characters and the structure, but also as someone who isn’t afraid to put a spin on the well-worn formula of these latest installments.

Cameos by Ronda Rousey, Tony Jaa, and Dwayne Johnson add some much-needed hand-to-hand combat to the proceedings – Gina Carano’s role in Fast & Furious 6 was also a thing of acrobatic bad-assery – but the fight scenes are often lensed too closely and cut on impact, functioning only to dilute the excellent choreography on display. It’s a shame, too, because Wan has some of the best fighters in film at his disposal, and it’s disappointing that he would then opt to obscure the work being done by these seasoned professionals.

And then there is, of course, the matter of Paul Walker’s untimely death, which forced the production into a screeching halt, followed by the casting of Walker’s two brothers and some tricky CGI work to finish the film. It is noticeable, but not distractingly so, and the film’s final goodbye is worth shedding a tear over. Walker has always been the glue that held this franchise together, and it’s daunting to think of where the series could go next.

Without him, the Fast & Furious films will undoubtedly be missing a giant piece of this chaotic, super-charged puzzle, but Diesel and the rest of his crew prove their worth as performers and, like they always say, as family. Wherever this series goes next, it will be with the memory of Walker in their heads, hearts, and engines. Seven entries in, and the Fast & Furious series still has room to go bigger and better.

FURIOUS 7 is now playing in theaters nationwide.