Movie Review – ‘Furious 7’ – We Are Groot

Directed by James Wan
Written by Chris Morgan based on characters created by Gary Scott Thompson
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Lucas Black, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Tony Jaa, Djimon Hounsou, Ronda Rousey, Gal Gadot
Soundtrack: Brian Tyler

It’s kind of hard to explain the appeal of the ‘Fast & Furious’ movies to those who are uninitiated, or even those who maybe saw the first one but stopped there.

They’re not high art, obviously, but, you know what?  I have to say, they reward you for sticking around.

Unlike other “franchises” that simply churn out movies with similar titles but feature totally unrelated characters, ‘Fast & Furious’ has always made an effort to keep things tied together (yes, even that ‘Tokyo Drift’ one, albeit loosely); and while it did take about four movies to truly earn that franchise tag (as opposed to merely a series), it can be forgiven for taking its time (after all, it took ‘Friday the 13th’ three movies to find Jason’s trademark hockey mask).  Sure, sometimes plots and characterizations have to be hammered out from movie to movie in order to make it all fit, like pounding puzzle pieces together rather than just placing them down, but I appreciate the effort nonetheless.

Anyway, here’s a recap for those who may need a refresher:

‘The Fast and the Furious‘ was released in the summer of 2001 and is basically ‘Point Break‘ with street racing instead of surfing (and I’d argue that it executes certain elements better than ‘Point Break’, but that’s neither here nor there).  It certainly punches you in the face with a lot of pre-9/11 zazz, but the cars are pretty and the action is largely practical, tense, and well-executed (and also Ted Levine is in it).  Definitely worth a watch.

‘2 Fast 2 Furious‘ came out two summers later in 2003, and is a sequel’s sequel.  A few cast members are back, but not all, and there’s a new director, but, on the whole, the tone and color is consistent with the first film, and the action is still largely practical and well-executed.  A few of the performances are a bit grating, but I still recommend this one based on the strength of the visuals.

2006 brought us ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift‘, which almost goes full Halloween III on us by introducing entirely new characters and plot lines (not to mention, you know, Japan), but just manages to tie things in at the very end.  ‘Tokyo Drift’ also introduces the lovable “Han” (played by Sung Kang) who would feature prominently in the next three installments.

2009’s ‘Fast & Furious‘ brings back the bulk of the main cast from the original movie plus a couple more from 2 and 3.  The plot is essentially a same-but-different version of the first two films, with a couple more twists.  Stylistically, this one represents a shift away from simpler and more practical action set-pieces to more ambitious but more CGI-reliant ones.  It’s definitely not my favorite.

A new decade delivers the game-changer, ‘Fast Five‘, released in 2011.  There are still super cars, there will always be super cars, but this one moves away almost entirely from the whole street racing theme to become something of a roided-out ‘Italian Job’.  The Rock enters; one last face from the original pops his head in; and the laws of physics are done away with.  It’s different, but most, including me, agree it’s one of the best in the franchise.

‘Fast & Furious 6‘, from 2013, finds our heroes living the good life in non-extradition countries after their successful Rio heist, but The Rock has a mission that only they can handle, and will give them their freedom in America if they pull it off.  I enjoyed the continuation of the overall story in this one, but felt the action was over-the-top (especially at the end) to the point of almost boredom.  Then again, it’s got Gina Carano, so, sold.

All of this brings us to the mission at hand, which is the ‘Furious 7’.

Truth be told, I was one of those people who only saw the first movie in theaters and never got around to the others, but the filmmakers did everything they could to sell me on the latest one (namely Jason Statham and Kurt Russell), so last weekend I decided to catch up and watch six movies in one day.  I didn’t know if I’d be able to handle it, but it turned out to be less hazardous than ‘The Hobbit’ marathon, so I’d say it was worth it.

Like I said, the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise has always been good about tying things together, so I definitely got the full experience of ‘Furious 7’ thanks to my catching up, as there are callbacks that go even as far back as the original film, but does it work as it’s own movie?  That’s a tough question for me to answer, but I’m leaning towards yes.  The beauty of action movies is that they don’t have to be perfect in order to be perfectly entertaining.

Compared to ‘Fast 6’, the action in ‘Furious 7’ is scaled back and more down-to-earth, which I appreciate, and it seems like there was a concerted effort to have more actual vehicles blowing up.  There’s still more CGI than I personally would like, but it’s fairly balanced.  Location-wise, there’s a nice big return to LA, which fans of the original will appreciate.

Really though, as much as these movies are about action, they’re also about FAMILY, and in that regard, this one’s a bittersweet affair in light of Paul Walker’s death (kind of like ‘The Crow’).  I don’t know if they plan on continuing the series without him, I kind of hope they don’t, but for this one I think they handled the circumstances well.  It’s a fitting tribute to a man who was beloved by many.

So, is ‘Furious 7’ worth your time and money?  I’ll say yes.  Even if you’re not a fan of the series but you’re in the mood for a good action flick, it’s a good’n.  For hardcore fans of the series, it’s probably in the top three (my personal ranking would be 1, 2, 7, 5, 3, 6, 4).  Go check it out at your local movie house.

Rating: ★★★★☆

RIP Paul Walker