Furious 7 (2015)

[ACCA]

Did you call the Walker send off decently done?

Just decently done?

I have no idea how they could have given him a better send off. It made it easily the best fast film and brought it overall to an A for me.

 

Yes, that is indeed exactly what I said.

 

You read what I wrote right? Read it carefully again. The reason it wasn't an amazing send-off was that there was no wheelie pulled, and also a corny one-liner would have also sealed the deal for me.

[Squaremaster316]

Out of the two billion dollar grossers we're guaranteed to have this year, THIS was the one that gave us a sense of true dramatic heft.

[Gopher]

^ lol

[Ethan Hunt]

So I wrote this review with pen and paper like 3 weeks ago or something like that and I've been sitting on it for awhile, I've been sitting in a couple others as well and I hope to get them up soon

Little bit of back story here; I went into this film not a fan of the franchise andto say the least I walked out of the dfilm not a fan of the franchise.

The film opens with a black screen and a strong beat, and I started tapping my feet and I thought to myself “Yoy know what, this could be a good time." The first bit of the film was impressive to me. It reminded me of my favorite film in the franchise ,The Fast and The Furious, in fact some bits of the score were very reminiscent of that film (if not the same) I was really enjoying every thing that they were doing to set up each character for the path that they were going to go down in the film. I began to believe that the franchise may have found a new peak. We had a nice little set up for the four characters that I actually cared about (Brian, Dom, Letty and that other chick that Brian is married to) and I could live with the other guys being in the backseat. Thensomething hhappens...

Action scenes killed this movie. Let me say my favorite action scene in the entire franchise is the race for the job from the fourth movie. Yeah, it may have much less spectacle than some of the things we've seen in the most recent instalments but the wonderful thing was I was invested in what the outcome would be. The scenes here this movie, they lacked that. They were nice to look at and pretty well setup but I couldn't have cared less about the outcome. These sequences should have been super exciting and they were exciting to some degree but I just didn't feel it. I wasn't in the edge of my seat. The hand to hand combat scenes were much worse though; the characters looked as if they were performing an elaborate dance insteadoof fighting.There is one moment in this movie that absolutely kills all suspension of disbelief when Dom drives if the edge of a cliff fall like 100 feet nor something and gets out idbthe car unharmed. The worst thing about these action sequences though was not the actual sequences themselves it was how much time they take up in a whole of the movie. Once the action starts it doesn't stop for one second and the story arcs of Dom/Letty and Brian are both left underdeveloped as a result. I think they each got one scene in reference to their respective arc in the midst of the action. This prevented the final resolution of the arcs to be a little unsatisfying and not as emotional as they could have been had they taken more time develop them. These scenes could've been as or more effective than the emotional moments from The Fast and the Furious but the time needed to make me invested was not taken.

Now if this was the whole movie I would give it B or a B- and be done with it, probably never think about it again after I finished writing the reviewbut its not, this movie has kone last Ace up its sleeve.

The truth is that I did not cry when I heard Paul Walker died, yet I walked out of the movie theater with tears in my eyes. I live in a world where tons of people die each day and you get used to it unless that person is someone with a personal connection to you you don't really think about it. And I didn't have a personal connection with Paul Walker. I did though have a personal connection with Brian O'Conner. He was consistently the strongest character in this franchise. The script did not kill his character off and I appreciate that. As they give Walker his sendoff though I realize that to me Walker is O'Connor, and so even though the movie allows the character of O'Connor to live on in this factious world that the real life Brian O'Conner, Paul Walker, is dead. And I cried. Every time I listen to See You Again, I cry. I known that it may be wrong to associate Walker with O'Connor as they were most likely two very different people, but again to men that's who Paul Walker is.

B+

I've spent hours of my time attempting to justify bumping this grade up to an A- or even an A just because of the Walker tribute but in the end it's a B/B- movie with one A+ scene

My letterboxd review

Edited June 1, 2015 by Ethan Hunt

[Omario]

Good movie but i will never stop cringing at the script for this series. Its just so bad lol as was the plot. Still though the enjoyment factor pretty much makes the dialogue irrelevant. Better then the previous movie and a good ending. I was afraid they might actually kill off Walker in a true emotional send off but this was a better happy ending. 

 

Action was great all round except for 2 fights. Can Letty really take on Rhonda Rousey? I had trouble with her taking on Gina in the previous movie. But i gotta say Michelle does manage to hold her own. Rhonda though looks like she is always holding in some wind but she does look mean. Rock vs Statham was great and i wanted a round 2. Instead we got Vin and Statham that was just not believable. Vins arms look small (so he cant lift a car for shit)and he tenses his body in every scene. Like wtf is up with his back and shoulders. Relax dude. No one can fight Statham and win. Im sorry i just wont believe it. Ever. That guy is intimidating as fuck. I was rooting for him throughout. Anyways i hope he comes back with a much bigger presence. Oh and Tony Jaa was good too.

 

Good send off for Paul. Gonna miss him for any future installments. 

 

B

Edited August 23, 2015 by Omario

[Jay Beezy]

Good movie but i will never stop cringing at the script for this series. Its just so bad lol as was the plot. Still though the enjoyment factor pretty much makes the dialogue irrelevant. Better then the previous movie and a good ending. I was afraid they might actually kill off Walker in a true emotional send off but this was a better happy ending. 

 

Action was great all round except for 2 fights. Can Letty really take on Rhonda Rousey? I had trouble with her taking on Gina in the previous movie. But i gotta say Michelle does manage to hold her own. Rhonda though looks like she is always holding in some wind but she does look mean. Rock vs Statham was great and i wanted a round 2. Instead we got Vin and Statham that was just not believable. Im sorry but Vins arms look small (so he cant lift a car for shit)and he tenses his body in every scene. Like wtf is up with his back and shoulders. Relax dude. No one can fight Statham and win. Im sorry i just wont believe it. Ever. That guy is intimidating as fuck. I was rooting for him throughout. Anyways i hope he comes back with a much bigger presence. Oh and Tony Jaa was good too.

 

Good send off for Paul. Gonna miss him for any future installments. 

 

B

It's not like Statham's arms are any bigger than Vin's so the small arms complaint doesn't make sense.

[Omario]

It's not like Statham's arms are any bigger than Vin's so the small arms complaint doesn't make sense.

 

Statham wasnt picking up cars....

[TheMovieman]

Thought I had written a review but can't find it. Anyway, watched it for a second time today (on Blu-ray) and basically have the same opinion: insane all through with a fitting ending/tribute. I don't think it's as good as Fast Five or Fast and Furious 6 but still wildly entertaining and can't wait to see what they do with Mr. Nobody with the next installment.

 

***½/*****, (B, 7.2/10, 3/4)

[MrFanaticGuy34]

A very good final film for Paul Walker. One of my faves from this year.

 

A+

[department store basement]

Turn down for WHAT???

 

A-

[Goffe]

If they were in on the joke, this wouldn't be 160 minutes long. Not even the tribute at the end, the greatest tearjerker according to unanimous consensus, managed to bring me back from a total apathy state the movie had put me in.  

[Blankments]

As an action film, Furious Seven is actually disappointing. Although it has two fantastic setpieces in the middle of the film, throughout it feels a little lacking. The third act in particular doesn't work, making it feel like they ran out of budget after finishing two-thirds of the film. The film's structure too is notably sloppier than than the previous two in the franchise, and really lacks an appropriately simple hook.

 

Yet, it is impossible to really fault the movie for these issues. Infamously, two months into filming, Paul Walker tragically passed away and the film had to be completely retooled to serve as a send-off to Brian, a tribute to Walker, and a great action film to boot. To merely be a good one is not shameful, and the film achieves its other two objectives perfectly. Even ignoring Brian, the film seems more emotional, as Dom and Letty's plot actually resonates strongly for once. Statham, Hounsou, and Russell, although they don't add much emotion to the film, have great presence, and are a trio that make this memorable on its own.

 

Really though, the last five minutes of Furious Seven is all that's worth talking about. Someday, I plan on writing a full essay on why the ending works as well as it does, making me cry every single time I see this film. It's a stunningly elegant ending that should feel far cheesier, but in fact, is the most sincere moment of the franchise. Walker couldn't get a better send-off if they tried, and these final minutes make the tragedy of death sink in hard every time, despite Brian getting a happy ending.

 

Furious Seven might disappoint in the action department, but it succeeds in making the family the franchise mentions so often connect with the audience the best yet. Through its mourning of its own star's passing and paying off character arcs for Brian, Dom, and Letty, it's one of the most soulful blockbusters in the past few years, and a film that stands out thanks to its courage to attempt to - and succeed at - make the Fast and Furious franchise poignant. Beautiful. B+