Review: Furious 7

Writing a review for the seventh film in a franchise feel a little bit silly. At this point, anyone interested in the Fast and Furious franchise is already invested in seeing this capper to the whole series. The added somber nature surrounding the production that led to the death of star Paul Walker only adds to the desire to see the film. Taking that all into consideration, Furious 7 is still a damn fine place to start if you haven't yet treated yourself to this brand of dumb fun.

Kicking off from the events of Furious 6,  this film finds the brother, Jason Statham, of the villain from the last film seeking revenge. That at least is the central plot. Due to the sudden death of Walker, it is clear screenwriters had to shift storylines. There is a side plot involving Djimon Hounsou as another villain trying to get some sort of hacker "God key" that feels like the film's original plot.

However plot has never been this series strength. The last three films have tried hard to top each other in over-the-top chase sequences and action set pieces. This film may top them all with a central action scene that involves cars parachuting out of a plane onto a mountain side. There is also an impressive scene involving a trio of skyscrapers and one very fast car.

James Wan takes over after his string of incredible successful horror films, Insidious and The Conjuring. Wan is a capable director who throws in many clever and stylistic camera techniques to help keep the film moving. This is important because if I have one major complaint it is that the film is overly long. The remnants from the originally planned story should have been removed entirely and the battle against Statham should have taken center stage. By the end of this film, too many things are happening for the climax to really satisfy. By the final action scene, the movie has spent its best stuff and is just running through the motions. Still this is a small complaint given how much fun the movie is. Furious 7 delivers the kind of brainless popcorn entertainment you would hope it would.

4/5