Excels in entertainments value

Rating: Null/10 (2 September 2015)

The team return to live normal lives after securing amnesty for their past crimes. Meanwhile, a rogue special forces assassin swears to avenge his comatose younger brother.
To the series credit since Fast & Furious (2009) the instalments have been very entertaining and more accommodating to the general film goer, Furious 7 is no exception. With a fairly coherent story, plenty of emotions and fantastic stunts this one excels in entertainments value department. Unnecessary gratuitous bikini and butt shots aside James Wan's offering knows what it is (like Jurassic World and Max Mad: Fury Road) and is finely tuned and stays true to its characters and previous outings (unlike the recent Terminator Genisys).
The cast are great, Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw, a rogue special forces assassin and Dwayne Johnson are on form. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez look somewhat exhausted possibly in keeping with their character plight or age catching up with them. That said, they all deliver solid performances especially Vin Diesel. Kurt Russell is a first-class addition as the leader of a covert ops team.
With Brian Tyler's underpinning score the action scenes especially the fight scenes are fantastically choreographed and the car chases are finely executed, despite a CGI drone chase which becomes a little repetitive. The on location shoot delivers plenty of visual treats notably the breath taking Abu Dhabi segment.
The closing scenes really pull at the heart strings given Paul Walker's tragic death. Those involved should be proud ensuring his last performance was complete with a combination of CGI, clever camera angles, lighting and using Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody to simulate his appearance.
Packed with fresh over-the-top thrills it's a highly recommended action film.