‘Furious 7’ Review – One of the Best ‘Fast and Furious’ Films

Furious 7 Film Review
Paul Walker stars in ‘Furious 7’ (Photo © 2015 Universal Studios)

“Shaw lives in a world that doesn’t play by your rules and, like it or not, you and your friends are a part of it now,” says Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell). “I don’t have friends…I got family,” replies Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) who was just saved by the mystery man and his commandos from being killed by an ex-mercenary named Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) in Furious 7, the seventh installment of the speeding car/blockbuster action franchise.

The film kicks off with Dom still trying to help Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) remember the life they shared together before she was shot (her injuries resulted in memory loss). Meanwhile, Dom’s brother-in-law ex-cop Brian (Paul Walker) is struggling with settling down and being a good dad to his son and husband to Dom’s sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster). He still misses the bullets and the high speed chases, and it’s been a difficult transition from living a life on the edge to being a stay-at-home dad driving the carpool. However, Brian gets back in the game after his semi-domestic bliss is literally blown apart when Shaw plants a bomb at Dom’s house and barely misses not only Dom but Paul, Mia, and their son. To make matters even worse, Dom discovers his old adversary-turned-friend Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) just barely survived a fight with Shaw and is now in the hospital recovering. It’s Hobbs who informs Dom that the man behind the attacks is Deckard Shaw, Owen Shaw’s big brother who’s hunting them to get even for what they did to Owen in London.


Dom and Brian are in the process of getting the old crew back together to try to come up with a plan when Mr. Nobody, a shady government official, enters their lives with a proposition. A Somalian terrorist is in search of a computer program called God’s Eye that can turn any technological device into the ultimate big brother manhunter. A computer hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) who developed the program and knows its location has been captured by the terrorist. If Dom and his crew can successfully go in and free Ramsey and retrieve the computer program, Mr. Nobody promises to let Dom use God’s Eye to find Shaw – and to assist Dom in killing him. So Dom, Brian, Letty, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), and Tej (Ludacris) team up for their biggest, boldest, and most dangerous adventure yet.

Outlandish, action-packed, and so far over-the-top the peak is no longer visible, Furious 7 elevates the franchise to a new level with some breathtaking, eye-popping and, yes, implausible action scenes and a heartfelt farewell to its departed star, Paul Walker. This Fast and Furious entry is more like a Mission Impossible film than it is similar to the original Fast and Furious, with cars falling out of a plane and plummeting to the ground with Dom and his crew inside safely parachuting onto a highly guarded dirt Somalian highway where they take part in a thrilling high speed chase. All of the car chases, fight scenes, shoot-outs, and explosions in Furious 7 are more intense, thrilling, and at times even more ridiculous than in all of the previous F&F films.

The cast have real chemistry together, knowing and owning their roles but this time inserting a little more humor and emotion than any of the earlier installments. Even the cheesy dialogue doesn’t seem to be quite so bad in this outing.

Most impressive and touching, however, is the epilogue where Dom delivers a soliloquy in honor of Brian, discussing what they meant to each other. It’s a very classy and poignant end to the film as well as a tender goodbye to its fallen star Paul Walker.

GRADE: B

MPAA rating: PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language

Running time: 137 minutes

Directed by: James Wan

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