Furious 7: My review

I went in expecting a giant mess of spectacular car stunts and not much more, and in that regard, it didn't disappoint. The Fast and the Furious franchise has had some trouble in recent years to decide where it's going, and unfortunately, the latest entry in the series does nothing to calm our fears as to why this series should have ended after the fourth film, or that it will ever end at all. It seems that audiences today are more than happy to keep a story going for years without any closure or end, much like the runway in the series' last entry. As mindless action films go, this one is actually not too bad, but given the caliber of some of the series' films (namely, one and four) and the general delusion that sequels get better as they go forward, one can't help but wish that the franchise could just come to a grand ending and let the audience move on to greener pastures. But alas, it is not to be, and there will be at least one more film to wrap up the remaining loose ends, and given the box office returns, most likely many more entries just to cash in on its success.

The film itself, though riddled with cliches and a predictable storyline, does a decent enough job of delivering thrills, but by the film's end, it's more like something out of Mission: Impossible, than a series with roots in the world of underground street racing in Los Angeles, complete with sneaking into places to steal things for the government and a lot if fancy tech to replace fast cars. In fact, Furious 7 is appropriately named, as there's very little about it that's actually fast.

The film follows the F&F crew's last ride, to quote Vin Diesel in the trailer (their third last ride, for those of you playing along at home and keeping score, with at least one more ride to go), and it never really feels like this last ride is actually accomplishing anything. The movie ends with more openings then it started with. Both of the Shaw brothers are still alive and well by the end and big brother's more pissed off then ever.

We will never be able to separate Furious 7 from the tragic death of leading man Paul Walker during production. As far as giving him a send off and allowing his character to reach some form of closure from the franchise, I'll admit it was touching. But from a purely narrative standpoint and from the risk of taking some serious heat for being insensitive, I have to take some serious issues with the decision of the ending. As stated, this movie does not end the franchise, and with Walker's character still alive, it's hard to believe that in the future, he would not come to aid his friends and his wife's brother in their time of need. It's not going to be very believable going into the future and I feel that while I may be thought of as a jerk, if they are going to continue the series, his character has to die, or Vin Diesel's would, thus eliminating Paul Walker's need to be involved in the story.

While we're on the subject of onscreen deaths, I would like to talk about Han's death from Tokyo Drift, which finally caught up to the timeline in the sixth installment. I was disappointed in the way they handled the racing scene in Furious 7 and treated Vin Diesel meeting up with Lucas Black like some form of obligatory cameo. I personally would've loved to have seen them make him a more integral part of the story, since Black's character was so close to Han, and it would've been nice to have Tokyo Drift more a part of the universe, but in the end, it was just one more wasted opportunity.

All in all, Furious 7 is a film in a series that these days is more concerned with appealing to the masses than actually delivering a great film. Despite what the studio says about taking risk and doing right by Paul Walker, their concern is only money. And that's ok, they need money to make movies for our enjoyment. The problem is that Furious 7 is not very enjoyable. It's a huge thrilling mess and not much more. It felt like it was going through the motions most of the time and the rest of the time it was more worried about setting up the sequel than trying to tell the story we all came to see. It will make lots of money, as already evidenced by the box office returns, and lots of people will go watch it if for no other reason than to see Paul Walker's last film. If you're into stunts and thrills, I'm sure you'll find Furious 7 fulfills your needs, and if that is all you are expecting, then I say go for it. But if you're expecting to see the franchise's grand last last last ride actually give something resembling heart, then maybe this is not the place to look. Wait for the last last last LAST ride and let's see how that one goes.
2 1/2 out of 5 stars