MOVIE OF THE WEEK (4/1/15): FURIOUS 7
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| "So ... Do you want to exchange insurance information before or after our fight?" Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) prepares to square off with a very unhappy Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) in a scene from director James Wan's addition to the Fast & Furious franchise, FURIOUS 7. Credit: Scott Garfield © 2015 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kurt Russell, Tony Jaa, Nathalie Emmanuel, Djimon Honsou, Jason Statham and Jordana Brewster
WRITER(S): Chris Morgan (screenplay); Gary Scott Thompson (characters on which the film originated)
DIRECTOR(S): James Wan
WEB SITE: http://www.furious7.com/
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): Picking up at the end of Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7 begins with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) laying waste to a hospital where his brother Owen (Luke Evans, Furious 6's baddie) is recuperating. Deckard, as you might imagine, is not happy about his brother's injuries. Thus, he – a former high ranking British super assassin who went rogue once they tried to remove him from duty – is going to take it upon himself to take out the people responsible for his brother's injuries.
That means taking out Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), his still-suffering-from-memory-loss female counterpart/love Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), ex-cop turned Dom's best buddy Brian O'Conner (the late Paul Walker), Brian's wife Mia (Jordana Brewster), tech expert Tej (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), wanna be ladies man Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Diplomatic Security Services agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). And since Han (Sung Kang) has already met his maker at Deckard's hands in Tokyo, Dominic knows he and his crew need to get ready for war.
Oh yeah, did we mention how a too-cool-for-school government agent (Kurt Russell) knows all about Deckard Shaw's plans for Dominic and his team and needs their help in dealing with retrieving a software program known as "God's Eye" created by a hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel)? Yeah, there's that too.
Looks like this may be Dominic and his crew's wildest adventure yet ...
That means taking out Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), his still-suffering-from-memory-loss female counterpart/love Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), ex-cop turned Dom's best buddy Brian O'Conner (the late Paul Walker), Brian's wife Mia (Jordana Brewster), tech expert Tej (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), wanna be ladies man Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Diplomatic Security Services agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). And since Han (Sung Kang) has already met his maker at Deckard's hands in Tokyo, Dominic knows he and his crew need to get ready for war.
Oh yeah, did we mention how a too-cool-for-school government agent (Kurt Russell) knows all about Deckard Shaw's plans for Dominic and his team and needs their help in dealing with retrieving a software program known as "God's Eye" created by a hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel)? Yeah, there's that too.
Looks like this may be Dominic and his crew's wildest adventure yet ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Fans of the previous six Fast & Furious film; Paul Walker fans; fans of racing video games; 80s action movie fans
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who hate movies w/ implausible sequences, one liners and/or lack of realism; anyone who hasn't liked any of the previous Fast & Furious movies
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? If you hate movies where the dialogue is horrible, the plot is ridiculous and everyone involved in an action sequence should be dead five times over, you will absolutely hate Furious 7 because it is loaded – I repeat, LOADED – with all three aforementioned elements.
However, if you enjoy car chases, car crashes, guns, fights and anything else you would throw into the equivalent of a live action version of a Grand Theft Auto video game on film, Furious 7 is a perfect jolt for an adrenaline junkie to enjoy ... Complete with a, dare I say, beautiful tribute to its fallen co-star at its completion.
Trying to write anything from a pure artistic standpoint about Furious 7 is like talking to a fan of a pop star about all their misdoings and/or why you think their actual music is terrible: It's pointless. At this point, you either hate the Fast & Furious movies because you know they are male fantasies that feel like a 12 year old wrote them ... And then got someone to invest millions of dollars in them to make them a reality.
So ... That potential major complication notwithstanding, Furious 7 is frivolous, mindless entertainment for its nearly 2 hour, 20 minute run time filled with ridiculous stunts, gun battles and MMA fights – don't want to give it away, but your favorite WWE Superstar turned box office hero does one of his trademark moves in the film. The thing that gives it its true appeal, however, is none of that: It's the chemistry the cast shares with one another. As anyone who's kept up with the film series knows, Dominic's character – once again played by Diesel with barely opening his mouth to eek out his dialogue jaw tightness – stresses the idea of he and his crew being a family.
That little note is what helps underscore the entire film as each character's concern for the other feels genuine. Whereas Entertainment Weekly recently wrote an interesting feature about how the Furious franchise is more reflective of the world today in terms of ethnic makeup, the film itself really hammers home the idea of connections among its heroes, which in turn makes all their lunacy enjoyable. That likewise in turn makes the film a little melancholy given Walker's death, each of scenes reminding you there was more to him than an appeal most men would (no pun intended) kill for. His humanity shines through as he feels like the one true character that represents the family ideal Dominic's preaches about the most, which makes the last 5 minutes of the film its best.
Whether or not Furious 7 will go on to show the franchise is starting to run out of gas remains to be seen; if you enjoyed the previous six movies, however, there's no need to pump the brakes on installment number seven.
However, if you enjoy car chases, car crashes, guns, fights and anything else you would throw into the equivalent of a live action version of a Grand Theft Auto video game on film, Furious 7 is a perfect jolt for an adrenaline junkie to enjoy ... Complete with a, dare I say, beautiful tribute to its fallen co-star at its completion.
Trying to write anything from a pure artistic standpoint about Furious 7 is like talking to a fan of a pop star about all their misdoings and/or why you think their actual music is terrible: It's pointless. At this point, you either hate the Fast & Furious movies because you know they are male fantasies that feel like a 12 year old wrote them ... And then got someone to invest millions of dollars in them to make them a reality.
So ... That potential major complication notwithstanding, Furious 7 is frivolous, mindless entertainment for its nearly 2 hour, 20 minute run time filled with ridiculous stunts, gun battles and MMA fights – don't want to give it away, but your favorite WWE Superstar turned box office hero does one of his trademark moves in the film. The thing that gives it its true appeal, however, is none of that: It's the chemistry the cast shares with one another. As anyone who's kept up with the film series knows, Dominic's character – once again played by Diesel with barely opening his mouth to eek out his dialogue jaw tightness – stresses the idea of he and his crew being a family.
That little note is what helps underscore the entire film as each character's concern for the other feels genuine. Whereas Entertainment Weekly recently wrote an interesting feature about how the Furious franchise is more reflective of the world today in terms of ethnic makeup, the film itself really hammers home the idea of connections among its heroes, which in turn makes all their lunacy enjoyable. That likewise in turn makes the film a little melancholy given Walker's death, each of scenes reminding you there was more to him than an appeal most men would (no pun intended) kill for. His humanity shines through as he feels like the one true character that represents the family ideal Dominic's preaches about the most, which makes the last 5 minutes of the film its best.
Whether or not Furious 7 will go on to show the franchise is starting to run out of gas remains to be seen; if you enjoyed the previous six movies, however, there's no need to pump the brakes on installment number seven.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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