You have to admire what the creative forces behind The Fast and the Furious sage has been able to accomplish. While most film series see its prequels and sequels pale in comparison to the original entry, the Fast and Furious Films continue to get better and better.
The seventh film, of a franchise that began all the way back in 2001, is a thrill-a-minute ride that is worthy of being Paul Walker’s last film. The stakes have never been higher for Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) crew with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) determined to exact terrible vengeance on the group for the murder of his brother, Ian, at the end of the last film.
This film is all about family. While Shaw is determined to kill Toretto and company to avenge his family, Toretto is determined to go “on one last ride” with his crew, to take down Shaw, so he does not have to go to any more funerals of his family members.
With the dramatic stakes being so high, it is only appropriate that this film boasts the best physics-defying action sequences in a series full of them. It is best for audience members attending this film to embrace the over-the-top-action instead of questioning how these men could pull of these superhuman stunts.
This film also scores big in the comedy department. Tyrese Gibson’s Ramon— who was identified by another character as the joker of the group—is a riot in every single scene he appears in. While he provides most of the laughs, there some good funny bits for Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Ludacris and newcomer Kurt Russell in this film.
What really elevates this film over the previous installments is the emotional punch it packs. There is a tribute to Paul Walker at the end of the film (that I will let you see for yourself) that will likely make you shed some tears.
Yes, this film does have flaws. The dialogue is banal at times. There is also some bad acting in some scenes. But that doesn’t really matter, as this film was not produced with the goal of winning a boatload of Oscars. It was created to entertain, and entertain it does.
I highly recommend you to go down to Elite Theatre, order some delicious popcorn, and buckle up to enjoy one of the best movie adventures of the year.
Four-and-a-half popcorn buckets out of five.
