Photo courtesy of Universal Studios
The movie series of Fast and the Furious has been going strong since the first movie came out all the way back in 2001. Universal Studios truly did not disappoint with their latest movie, Furious 7. The series stars Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, Paul Walker as Brian O’Connor and Jordana Brewster as Dominic’s sister, Mia Toretto. It portrayed unique stories over the years that contain missions that involve driving fast cars, avoiding police, and taking down all sorts of enemies. Furious 7 looked very cool on the big screen with many features that made this film completely different from the previous six. After seeing all seven films, in my mind, this one was definitely one of the best in the series.
Vengeance hits home is the main message written on the movie’s poster. This message stems from end results of Fast and Furious 6. This leads into Furious 7 where the main vengeance appears out of Jason Statham who plays the role of Deckard Shaw, Owen’s brother. Statham’s performance in Furious 7 was very well done. He was in good enough shape to take on various physical aspects both on land and in the cars.
Each of the main characters (Diesel, Walker, and Brewster) all played important roles within this film. I was also very impressed with the job done by the original starring cast and the people making their first appearances in this movie saga. Original cast members included Ludacris playing Tej, Tyrese Gibson playing Roman, Michelle Rodriguez playing Letty, Lucas Black playing Sean Boswell, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson playing Agent Hobbs. Each of these characters continued to do what they do best throughout the movie, especially driving the fast cars and being comedians. People may not think these films are very funny, but there are certainly a lot of funny moments that bring a little humor to this movie.
Along with Statham, two other people played pivotal roles in Furious 7 as new characters. These actors were Kurt Russell who played Mr. Nobody and Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey. Russell’s character is a close friend of Hobbs who provided Dominic Toretto and his crew with help to find Shaw. As for the character Ramsay, she helps assist the good guys by letting them use a device that can help them find Shaw.
The main theme of Furious 7 is something that wasn’t present through the first four movies, but once Fast Five came to theatres, we started to see it. The buildup was in the sixth movie and it was basically let out of its cage in Furious 7. This theme is family. Dominic Toretto refers to his entire crew not as friends or allies, but as his family. Throughout the movies, Brian O’Connor and Mia Toretto develop and strengthen their relationship to create their own family.
Speaking of Brian O’Connor, this was Paul Walker’s last official movie. Walker was working on his part in three different movies right before his tragic death on Nov. 30, 2013 at the young age of 40 years old. He was able to complete all of his scenes in two of the movies before his death. What was unique about Furious 7 was that Walker’s passing came in the middle of the film’s production. So the biggest question was, what would they do with Paul Walker’s character in the film? Do they just kill him or were there other plans? First of all, they obviously needed to use technology to help make Walker’s brother look like Paul Walker in the film. What they did was truly incredible and it definitely released a few tears from the eyes of many people, including myself. Universal Studios worked hard to keep Walker’s character for the full length of the film. I don’t think anyone expected a tribute to Paul Walker. Seeing all of Walker’s biggest moments in the franchise was awesome because it showed just how much he really ment to this entire Fast and Furious series. The director and producers of this film decide to have Brian O’Connor drive away from Dominic Toretto on a separate road. This showed how these two characters officially go off on their separate ways.
Stunts were an important component in Furious 7 just as it was in the previous six films. There were several fighting scenes including another girl fight that was seen in the sixth movie. Cars flying is another unique type of stunt. Another stunt that attributes primarily to both Diesel and Statham’s characters is using their own cars as weapons. This creates both a crazy and frightening moment that you more than-likely will never see during your lifetime. Now having said this, there were some stunts that seemed to go a little too far and were not exactly needed in the film. But overall, everything was really well done.
Furious 7 was an overall excellent experience. Those in this movie or other movie sources have yet to confirm if there will be a Fast and Furious 8. Not many know how the story will continue without the hard work and dedication of Paul Walker. I believe that the way the movie ended should be how this series comes to an end. What was done for Walker in the last scene was a perfect way to conclude all of the events that occurred in the entire series. Now having said that, there is a very good chance of Universal Studios bringing the series back for an eighth production. The Fast and the Furious series continues to produce movies with many surprises and plot twists. They have certainly done well with the series in its 14th year in existence. But only time will tell if the series is officially over or more special moments will be made in one of the coolest film franchises of the New Millennium.
Grade: A-
