One of the best action films in years and a love letter to fans of the franchise all rolled into one.

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2015)

This is embarrassing to admit, but I spent more time deciding what star rating to give Furious 7 than I did actually critiquing it. Because for the first time ever, the part of me that pretentiously seeks perfection, the adolescent part of me that revels in heart- stopping action, and the car-loving part of me that is woven into the very fabric of my being all nodded in agreement at the same movie. I didn't know what to make of what I had seen. I quickly cycled through my previous reviews for a frame of reference. 6 stars? Easily better than that. 7? Yes better than Grave of the Fireflies and Heat. 8 stars? Up there with Judgment at Nuremberg and There Will Be Blood? There we go. Any higher and we'd be talking about Come and See and Social Network, and I can't do that. 8 Stars. Not bad for an entry into a series that couldn't give less of a you- know-what about how it compares with anything.
So to the film at hand; The longest entry into the Fast and Furious franchise, 7 passes the reigns to Saw director James Wan who lends his quick-cut, zoom-in-then-zoom-out, rotating camera work to a script from veteran Furious writer Chris Morgan. Morgan takes a step back here, in the beginning focusing on how our heroes have settled and moved after #6, before introducing us to Jason Statham and delving into the gravity-defying, physics-bending, time-warping absurdity we've come to know and love from this series. Although this time it's on a whole other level to the point I was expecting the Looney Tunes music to cue the next scene.
Cars attached to parachutes jumping out of a plane? 'Cudas with 10 forward gears? S65 AMGs and Rubicons that can appear out of nowhere? Chargers that can survive unscathed after a head-on collision? Apache helicopters and drones that can fly around undetected in the most populated city in the country? But that's what you're here for. Deliriously exciting chase sequences, fights, stunts, crashes, high- octane humor and hilarious gaps in logic. And Furious 7 delivers better than any other film in the franchise. It's an off-the-wall adventure like no other, obscenely, eye-wideningly, face-deformingly awesome. Three words come to mind; F**k. Ing. Hell.
By now you're probably rolling you eyes and accusing me of the kind of melodramatics I slam many a film for, but hear me out; I grew up with this franchise. Starting out as a naive 9 year old gearhead who was swept away by the coolness of the first installment, and maturing into a more technically informed teenager who began to enjoy the films ironically, and concluding as a full grown 20- something who went to the films seeking my relentlessly action- packed nostalgia fix. I have vivid memories of where I was and who I was with when I watched each movie. There are people I don't talk to anymore and haven't seen in years who are a part of memories that I will cherish forever. When the credits rolled, I felt a chapter in my life close, and as I stepped out of the theatre and into the sunset, I looked around a familiar world with a different perspective. And with the perfect send off of Paul Walker at the end, I found myself more swept away with emotion than any brilliantly written character-driven drama could possibly muster. I can't believe I'm saying this in a review of a Fast and Furious movie, but these are the kinds of experiences cinema was born for.