No matter what, gotta keep 'em chuggin'

Rating: Null/10 (4 April 2015)

Well, this doesn't need a review, or any more time describing it - people are gonna watch it anyway.
I have had a nice time watching a couple of FF movies. This one, for instance, but more so the 5th instalment, the one that introduced Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson to this series. Fat lotta good that did in this one for him though. You'll know it, when you watch it.
This one introduces Kurt Russell and Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones' Missandei), and continues to stay with Jason Statham, introduced towards the end of the previous instalment. However, even though we know this, heralding the inevitable sequel seemed extremely cheap to me, almost undoing the dignified send-off that the makers and the actors seemed to have planned for Paul Walker. Maudlin activities were completely cheapened, IMO. Ali Fazal's introduced as well, but mostly as comic relief, along with Tyrese Gibson, whose treatment, and response/s, do raise a few tired guffaws (simply not fresh anymore). Speaking of which, for most of the cast, other than few of the main leads, seems like this is the only avenue they have to be viewed in the mainstream milieu, and that's kinda sad, in a way.
Casting-wise, Jordana Brewster has been getting a raw deal since 2, perhaps (though her role in 5 was substantial enough), and she's given company in that department by Elsa Pataky, who was utilized much better in 5. Djimon Hounsou, who's capable of much better things than being Universal's thug-for-hire, both here and in 'Guardians of the Galaxy', fares the poorest, not getting his moment at all, even though both he, and his character, merit many such mainstream 'moments'.
Happily enough, a badly-marketed/credited Tony Jaa finds 2 fantastic moments to shine, and boy, does he craft some fantastically choreographed action-sequences. Why was he not there more, and why was he not at the helm of all the action-choreography. Statham could have been utilized more effectively, in his hands, for sure. And we might have got the kick-ass action movie this had promised to be. However, and here's where the makers know they are firmly in their niche, and won't indulge fanboy whims such as mine - this is all about the cars, and nothing else (sure, bikini-clad women too, but who's peeking?). In that department, this stays true-to-form, with multiple models making an appearance, and seemingly causing motogeeks to salivate at their sight, and reach the throes of you- know-what.
Based on this instalment, and the last one as well, the so-called well-oiled engine behind the series seems to be running smoothly, and though Justin Lin upped the ante with 4 and 5 (though he also has the middling 2 and the passable 3 to his credit, in addition to one of his best works, 'A better tomorrow' making for perhaps the best entry in his directing filmography, rather than this repetitive flicks), but James Wan directs unrealistic-action as competently as his mainstream counterparts, and I'm sure they can hire cheaper directors to work on the next instalments. Oh, don'tcha worry - they're sure waltzing our way, sure as a hurricane, sure as taxes.
Luke Evans' presence is teased for this one, but not fulfilled, since his big bad bro is at the helm of exacting his own form of revenge, which means being at the beck-and-call of the director among our heroes, as/when he's needed to remind us what this one's actually about (not God's eye). Strangely enough, I ended up missing Gal Gadot and Sung Kang too.
And the Mcguffin. God's eye indeed. Did not belong in this movie. This one could have been so .... mission impossible, maybe even much better than the 'Rabbit's foot'. So much could've been done with that. Still might, since most of Hollywood seems to think nothing of cannibalizing what their peers make, even recently (Run all night / Road to Perdition etc.).
The movie is extremely noisy, and I picked a 2D screening, so perhaps I was spared the additional effort of squinting at the screen using fogged-up/unclean 3D glasses. I'd love to do without 3D if this is the way almost all of my local cinemas choose to handle the glasses that they charge unduly for. I love 3D, if done the 'Avatar' and the 'Dredd' way, but given the option with the local cinemas ruining the viewing experience, I'd rather view movies in 2D.
Now, I know this review is not gonna affect mass-viewings, and that's sad since the makers know this, and this has become a huge juggernaut, and fanboys and girls are already looking forward to hearing sound-bytes about the next instalment. I do wish they had maintained a respectful distance to that in this one, due to the untimely and unfortunate demise of Paul Walker during filming (the CGI is clearly evidenced where it was applied, and I don't know if I was one of the few people who had an outta-movie experience whenever that was done).