'The thing with street fights, the street always wins.' Toretto

Rating: Null/10 (2 October 2015)

I have not seen all of the "Furious" series of movies. But I was a Paul Walker fan since I saw him in 'Pleasantville'. His death in a car crash almost 2 years ago was so close to real life imitating art. Filming for this movie was not yet finished so they had to jump through a few hoops, including using Paul's two brothers as body doubles in unfinished scenes. Plus using some footage and cut footage from prior 'Furious' movies.
All in all it works very well, if we had not known of Paul's death we would never have guessed that he was not involved in the whole shoot. Now 'Furious' movies are not for all tastes but when you look at the box office numbers one must recognize the success of the franchise. I like the 'Furious' movies for the absurd action and sound they provide. Plus the actors are all good, the characters all interesting, and the story is good.
Vin Diesel, also a producer, is back as Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner. A new villain is introduced, Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw. He is a trained special ops guy who has turned to crime and in particular he is out to get those who put his brother in the hospital.
So most of the movie has the good guys chasing Shaw and the men who help support his cause. There is a very cool mountainous chase scene supposedly in Eastern Europe but actually filmed on Pike's Peak in Colorado, both the winding roadway to the summit and the crashes down the mountainside.
Michelle Rodriguez is back as Letty, needing to get her memory back. Of course Dwayne Johnson as Hobbs. The cool new character is Kurt Russell as 'Mr. Nobody', providing tactical support for the good guys.
SPOILERS: In the end, of course, Toretto gets the best of Shaw, and as the movie draws to a close Shaw is shown being put into a maximum security prison cell. I suspect he will escape and be a villain in a future 'Furious' movie. Plus there is a tribute of sorts to the deceased Paul Walker, we see his body double on the beach with his wife and child, then as he and Toretto are in separate cars, driving side-by-side, conversing with windows down, an aerial shot shows the cars parting as they come to a 'Y' in the road, Walker's car going its own way.