"Fast
& Furious 7"Directed by: James Wan.
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Kurt Russell and Jason Statham.
Rated: '12A' for containing moderate violence and moderate bad language.
Running time: 137 minutes.
Released in UK cinemas from the 3rd of April, 2015.
15 years ago, production began on conceivably, one of Universal's most lucrative franchises in the history of their company: "Fast & Furious". Reportedly based upon an article featured in “Vibe” magazine, the films began small, featuring heavily upon the underground racing scene of L.A., then built its way up into one of the most ludicrously entertaining and unbelievably profitable set of heist films in cinema history. “Fast Five” itself benefitted from two things: the introduction of an insanely pumped out Dwayne Johnson, and a new wave of completely over-the-top thrills, like nothing we’d seen before. Heck, our band of rag-tag heroes even ripped a vault free from the inside of a police station using their cars, and dragged it through the streets of Rio de Janeiro. And if you thought that was absurd, “Fast & Furious 7” takes its action sequences to a whole new level.
Having defeated the fearsome Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) during
“F&F 6”, this latest instalment finds our rambunctious crew settling into
suburban life, having been fully pardoned by the United States and now living
in the sanctity of their original home. But whilst attempting to put aside
their criminal lifestyle and set their sights on family, trouble occurs in
paradise. Dom (Diesel) and Letty (Rodriguez) are struggling to continue their tumultuous
relationship, and Brian (Walker) himself admittedly misses the thrill of
whizzing bullets and death-defying stunts, despite the calling of parenthood. But
it isn’t long before the team are forced to once again, team up with DSS agent
Hobbs (Johnson) and a shadowy government spook, named Frank Petty (Russell), in
order to track down a minacious black ops assassin, (brother of Owen Shaw) Deckard Shaw (Statham), who is hell-bent on revenge...
The final minutes of “F&F 7” are admittedly, elegiac. Yes
I, the least likely of “F&F” fans felt a sense of bereavement in its closing
minutes. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. A fitting tribute to Paul
Walker doesn’t disguise the fact that “F&F 7” is yet another needless,
frenetic and dreadfully written piece of popcorn fare. Fellow critic Mark
Kermode once said that these sequels only exist, because of the money generated
from audiences who pay to see them. And of course, he is most certainly correct. But why do we subject ourselves to overlong
bouts of nauseating torture every two years?
Well, perhaps it's due to the fact that “Fast Five” itself proved to audiences that “F&F” wasn’t
only about the cars, but humour, inventive action sequences and above all, the
ability to continue to astonish audiences well into their fifth instalment,
something which many other franchises fail to do. But now, it seems as if each
film since, features the exact same plot: criminal with connections to Dom’s
family appears, government seeks aid in arresting said criminal and turns to
America’s least trustworthy family for help, who oblige, due to the fact that
one of their own has been hurt. Why can’t the government sort it out themselves?
And for a family so rooted in religion, revenge seems to be a constant feature
in their lives. Whatever happened to the idea of turning the other cheek? But perhaps what holds the film’s characters together is the concept
of family, one that has been a major factor all throughout the seven feature
films and ultimately, something which delivers a sense of humanity amongst the
film’s high-jinks; something which is well-needed when comic relief fails.
Along with the film’s regurgitated plot, “F&F 7’s”
script, once again written by franchise scribe Chris Morgan (“47 Ronin”),
features clunky dialogue, which is clichéd and completely over-the-top. The
comic relief once found in Gibson’s character Roman has become cringe-worthy,
with the film’s superior and frankly bad-ass one liner’s left to franchise-saver,
The Rock. The action sequences themselves are generally, poorly conceived and seem awfully
similar to previous instalments. Even the scene in which Diesel and his
co-stars skydive (whilst in cars) seems preposterous and highly aggravating,
developing no sense of danger whatsoever. Even when certain characters are
shot, beaten and placed in ‘that should have killed you’ crashes, nobody comes
away with the slightest scratch. Courageous moves such as actually killing off
multiple characters would surely add a devastating effect to the proceedings,
only increasing the need for revenge and sequels, surely?
The cast itself is talented, but with material as clichéd as
this to work with, it’s obvious that they won’t reach their full potential.
However, Rodriguez receives perhaps the largest amount of screen-time since her
introduction to the series, developing an intimate relationship with Dom that
seems sincere and completely fleshed out. But Walker, Statham and Brewster are the actors with the least amount of
material to work with, all three resigned to supporting characters with little development.
Statham himself is supposed to resemble the film’s antagonist, yet arrives on
screen perhaps three times in the film for terrible scenes, especially the eventual stand-off with Diesel. Perhaps the worst offence here is the underuse of
“Game Of Thrones’s” Nathalie Emmanuel, as Ramsey. After
superb work as Missandei, it’s disappointing to see such a talented actress
receive little or no attention, with a character as flimsy as the car’s
suspensions.
However clichéd the material becomes, James Wan’s welcome
direction (he took over from long-time director Justin Lin) is put to terrific
use in the frankly bombastic action sequences, particularly a scene in which a
car flies through three tall buildings in Abu Dhabi. Ridiculous, but at the
same time, the eleven-year-old in me wanted to cheer.
Verdict
In its seventh, tiresome and
mind-numbing instalment, there are very few surprises here for fans of the
series and newcomers, despite the delicate (if overstuffed) handling of Paul
Walker’s departure. Clocking in at 137 minutes, “F&F 7” is tiring, clichéd
and honestly, not an example of ‘leave your brain at the door’ entertainment at all.
4.5 Stars out of 10
Written by Scott Gentry.
Written by Scott Gentry.
Film/TV Rating Key
1-2 stars out of ten = Awful.
3-4 stars out of ten = Average.
5-6 stars out of ten = Good.
7-8 stars out of ten = Excellent.
9-10 stars out of ten = Amazing.
Trailer
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