rhoda
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Cast: Vin Diesel (Dominic Toretto), Paul Walker (Brian O’Conner), Dwayne Johnson (Luke Hobbs), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz), Jordana Brewster (Mia Torreto), Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce), Jason Statham (Deckard Shaw), and Kurt Russel (Frank Petty)
Director: James Wan
Synopsis: Dom, Brian, and the rest of the gang return in this globe-trotting, action-packed film that offers more than gripping street chases and mind-boggling stunts. As the team settles in after they defeated Furious 6 villain, Owen Shaw, his brother Deckard Shaw is now on a mission to hunt down these action heroes in able to avenge Owen’s death.
Review:
‘I don’t have friends. I’ve got a family.’ These are the words of Dominic Toretto as he refers to his other team members in this Fast & Furious film series. Now on its seventh instalment, Fast & Furious 7, also known as Furious 7, is a guaranteed memorable film that might just prove the truthfulness in Dom’s statement.
Replacing Furious 6 director Justin Lin is James Wan who is better known for his directing skills reflected in various horror movies such as The Conjuring and Insidious. While Furious 7 is an entirely different genre, Fast & Furious followers seriously have nothing to worry about as this one highlights not only the gripping action scenes and stunts but more so, the emotional power behind the team’s camaraderie, on and off camera. After all, Furious 7 is Paul Walker’s last film before his death from a car-racing accident on November, 2013, which brought the film’s production to a halt to give way for scripts to be re-written.
Tears will surely fall as Wan and screenwriter Chris Morgan twist the film into a 134-minute tribute to Walker and this is where Wan has showed brilliance in his field. Known for its impressive continuity but beset by Walker’s unfortunate accident, the film has to adopt stand-ins through the help of the latter’s two brothers. This is further enhanced by computer effects that are so seamless, the audience won’t even notice Walker’s uncompleted scenes.
While the Late Paul Walker’s spirit is very much alive in Furious 7, let us not forget the other established characters that the audience has grown very fond of. Aside from Dom and Brian’s characters, comeback stars Rodriguez, Gibson, and Brewster, among others will surely keep you on the edge of your seat. As the film rolls from the thrilling chases in the streets of Los Angeles to the breathtaking skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi, the cast will surely take you to highly adventurous action sequences that might leave you longing for Furious 8 instantly.
Despite being one of the most anticipated instalments this year, Furious 7 is far from being perfect. There are noticeable flaws such as underused characters given to talented actors and cuts that are not so precise. However, these seem less impacting as Wan and the entire team solidified the film’s incredible standing, when it comes to bringing a satisfying action adventure with a very emotional touch.
Jason Harris
Rob Jefchak
