Furious 7by Wilson Morales
With the exception of the James Bond films as well as Star Wars episodic films, there hasn’t been that many franchises that have gone at least seven films and still manage to keep the level of excitement and intensity high enough for audiences to crave for more. Well, you can Furious 7 to that list. Seven films in fifteen years is quite an achievement, and while it’s the last that we will see of Paul Walker, who died in a car crash back in 2013, the actor as well as his cast gave yet another thrill seeking ride that will have a lasting impressions for the fans. While the plot of these films have always been inconsequential, it’s the cars, fights, chaos and friendships that folks want to see and there plenty of it.
The last time we saw Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’ Connor (the late Paul Walker), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), and tech guy Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), they had just finished taking down Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) with the help of FBI Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). The mission was successful but at the expense of losing team member Gisele (Gal Gadot). Now, his big brother Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is in the mix and on the hunt for revenge, starting with the death of Han (Sung Kang). When he goes to Hobbs’ office to get info on the rest of the crew, he and Hobbs go hand-to-hand combat fighting Shaw gets the better of him with a bomb that leaves Hobbs in the hospital.
Meanwhile, back home in Los Angeles, Mia (Jordan Brewster) is quite settled being a mom to Jack, while noticing that Brian misses “the bullets.” As Dom tries to tell her give Brian more time to adjust, Mia lets out that she’s pregnant again. As they are talking, Deckard calls Dom to let him that he’s coming for his crew and within minutes their LA home blows up, nearly killing them.
As the crew gets back together, including Letty who still has memory lapses of her past, in comes a colleague of Hobbs, Frank Petty (Kurt Russell) who tells Dom he can help capture Shaw and if Dom and his team help him retrieve a device called God’s Eye and the hacker Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) who created it. It’s a digital device used to track a specific person. Right now, she’s being transported to another location by a mercenary named Jakande (Djimon Hounsou), which is the perfect time for Dom and the crew to do what they do best; ride fast, extract the package, and then settle the score with Deckard. All seems to go as plan, but Deckard just keeps showing up at every corner foiling their mission while still seeking his revenge.
So, from LA to the Caucasus Mountains to Abu Dahbi and then back to LA, Dom and crew do all what’s necessary to bring the fight to where they know the streets best. With Jakande and his killers looking for Ramsey and Deckard hunting them, Dom, Brian, Roman, Tej, and Letty must rely on their skills to evade death, help Ramsey and live to see another day.
There’s a lot more going on, but in a nutshell, the plot is so convoluted and silly, that it doesn’t matter. The story lines to these films was always the least important factor. What sold audiences was the chemistry between the characters, the luxury cars, and more importantly, the fight and action sequences. If there’s credit that hasn’t been given, it’s to the stunt coordinators. With each new film, they outdo the previous big screen. With cars coming out of planes, Walker escaping death again, and the fight scenes between Deckard and Hobbs, Letty and Ronda Rousey, who plays the head of security in Abu Dahbi, and other fight, there’s no shortage of highlights.
Walker’s legacy was built with this franchise and he never disappointed the fans. From the first film to his last scene, he gave his all and so did the cast. While the story ran out of steam long ago, there’s plenty of action and excitement that kept the engine going. Another fun ride and first rate entertainment.
