Furious 7 (2015)

I finally got around to watching Furious 7 the other day. I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of the Fast and Furious franchise. I liked the first 2 movies, but I’ve enjoyed the movies less and less as they’ve gotten bigger, more exaggerated, and way less believable. I know movies aren’t supposed to be exactly like real life. Especially with action movies there has to me some sort of suspension from reality but even so I found the last 3 movies in the franchise less and less enjoyable to watch. With that being said Furious 7 is without a doubt the best installment of the series. It’s even bigger and more extreme than its predecessors but it also has certain elements that make it better than any other Fast and Furious movie ever.

As expected the stunts and actions sequences are amazing. It has superb fight scenes and some of the best chase scenes I’ve ever seen. The Fast and Furious franchise is known for its automobile action and stunts and this movie cranks it up to the next level. It really is a non-stop action thrill ride and I enjoyed almost every minute of it.

Furious 7 in my opinion also has a much better plot than the previous movies in the series. There are still plenty of plot holes and its all relatively predictable, but the filmmakers did a good job in creating drama and tense situations that kept me interested throughout the film. As most people know by now Paul Walker tragically died before having finished filming the movie. I thought the director did a fantastic job at keeping the audience at the edge of their seats in regards to Paul’s character and whether he would perish in the film as well.

My favorite thing about the film was probably the main villain Deckard Shaw (played by the always great Jason Statham). He is without a doubt the best antagonist the Fast and Furious franchise has ever had. I absolutely loved the way the character was introduced. The opening of the movie might just be one of the best character introductions that I’ve ever seen. The filmmakers did an amazing job showing just how powerful and dangerous this new adversary really was. Statham‘s character walked the walk more than he talked the talk, he was fast, ruthless and very good at what he did. All very important traits to a good villain. I hope Shaw’s character continues to be a part of the franchise somehow.

My second favorite character would probably be Roman Pearce (played by Tyrese). He didn’t have the biggest role in the film, and served mainly as comedic relief but he did that job masterfully. I was laughing at every single one of his lines. For a musician/action movie star he really has a gift for comedy. I also liked Kurt Russell‘s character Frank Petty, he is definitely another great addition to the series.

I didn’t really like how much like its predecessors, Furious 7 still has a ton of cliches and simply ridiculous scenes (Vin Diesel picking up an armored car anyone?). I didn’t really like the whole “God’s eye” part of the film, it felt waay too unbelievable. The movie makes hacking seem like something anyone can do with the simplest of electronic devices. There are certain scenes that are straight up laughable because of how exaggerated or ridiculous they are. The movie has very cheesy dialogue and not the best acting, but really that’s ok considering the type of movie it is.

What I disliked the most about the movie (which is the same as with the previous 3 films in the series) still has to be Dominic Toretto (played by Vin Diesel). I like Diesel as an actor but he is simply terrible in this one. He has awful dialogue (which he always seems to deliver in the lowest possible tone of voice) and awful one liners like “The thing about a street fight is that the streets always win” (What does that even mean?!?). The acting isn’t what bothered me the most though, it had to be the fact that by this point Toretto is pretty much a super human being. He never seems to get hurt, never gets bruised or cut despite doing things that would surely kill any other human being on earth. He has somehow developed superhuman abilities. He’s now able to lift armored cars, survive fatal car crashes and do other terribly ridiculous things. The entire character is just too unrealistic/exaggerated to be taken seriously and that to me makes the film less enjoyable.

In the end though, what made me give the movie 4 stars instead of 3.5 had to be the beautiful ending and homage to the late Paul Walker. It really was so well done, it almost had me tearing up. For all the explosions and action, at the end of the the day the movie is still only as good as the characters (and the actors who play them) in it. Furious 7 may not be the smartest or the best written movie out there but it is still so much fun to watch. It’s non-stop action and amazing stunts and driving sequences. It may be a little hard to watch at times but it is still without a doubt the best film in the franchise and one that I would very much recommend watching. 4/5