Furious 7

Bye Paul...

I'm going to do that thing I do sometimes in my reviews, and tell you that this movie needs no synopsis (because it really doesn't). Out of respect for the involved creative parties, I will say that it is about the brother of the antagonist from the last movie, seeking revenge for his brother being hospitalized by the gang we now know from six previous movies. This is not to say that the film was bad, just that the plot was basic, but we all know a movie can transcend the need for good storyline. This is one of those rare occurrences.

So, the story here is your basic bullshit revenge story, and I will not insult my readers by gauging the movie based on the merits of a lacking storyline. This series threw-out the need for good storyline after the first movie by becoming self aware around the fifth installment. This is not a series where you are going to find the best acting (for the most part), the best plot, or any awards attached, this is a series where you strap in and have fun. This is a series where Dwayne Johnson can flex his way out of an arm cast, rotate his shoulder (with provided cracking sound effects), moments later drive an ambulance of a bridge, walk away unscathed, and it seems perfectly normally. This is a series where if CPR fails to bring someone back from the dead, a touching story will do the trick. Lastly, this is differently a series where Vin Diesel and Jason Statham can have a sword fight with wrenches and car parts. This series holds very little basis in reality, but ever since they embraced and ramped-up the ridiculous action it has been extremely enjoyable. Every once in a while a movie like this is a nice break from either ultimately bad movies with nothing but shit surrounding them, and amazing movies that you have to pay attention to. If you want Ronda Rousey demonstrating MMA ,or The Rock giving Jason Statham The Rock Bottom, this is the movie for you.

While I love the mindless violence, and cheesy one-liners presented in this, I have to admit that the directing is a bit of a dice roll. Sometimes the glamour shots and slow motion bullshit are right one the money; other times, they make you want to hold the directors head under water screaming "COULD YOU PLEASE GET TO THE POINT!" James Wan has a fair amount of my respect for some of the movies he has graced us with in the past, but the direction in this was all over the map. Don't get me wrong, when the action is exploding he does a great job; but, for those really important moments, he likes doing the same trick numerous times and it gets to be a bit tiresome.

Now, for the acting. I ask that everyone please remember that this is said with the utmost respect for everyone involved. Almost everyone in this picture seemed to deliver their lines half halfheartedly, right up until the last part of the film (more on the ending later). Everything just seemed so stale coming out of people, and that struck me as a bit strange since all of the movies before this seemed to have a lot of excitement attached. I'm not saying all of the actors were horrible, just that there were moments where I could tell that certain actors didn't want to be there that day. Dwayne Johnson is about par for the course here, as is Michelle Rodriguez. Everyone else seemed to not care as much. I do think we have to crown Ronda Rousey as the absolute worst performance given in this. She had a total of two lines and couldn't seem to deliver.... TWO LINES!

Final Verdict: Rent it  It is hard to gauge a movie like "Furious 7," but in the end I have to go with how entertained I was by the movie. I was thoroughly entertained, and the ending might have you wiping your eyes.



*Spoiler Warning*
 Let's go ahead and talk about the ending real quick. We see "Brian O'Connor" (for all intents and purposes) playing with his family on the beach. Dom says some really touching shit, and goes off without saying good-bye. Cue the flashbacks to all of the other movies in the series. Brian catches up with Dom on the street says something about him not saying good-bye, and they both ride into the sunset together.

This is the perfect ending, and it got me a little chocked up. I honestly wasn't effected by Paul Walker's passing... I mean I was sad for his family and friends, but it didn't effect me much. For those who were effected by it, this was the perfect ending. It was handled gracefully, and the actors were noticeably effected in the film. Even for someone that wasn't directly effected by his passing, this got to me, and I appreciate the artist sharing it with the world.