About As Good As This Wreckage Franchise Gets.

Rating: 6/10 (22 May 2015)

Furious 7 (2015): Dir: James Wan / Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell: A vast improvement over a franchise that burns more rubber than ideas. This entry is better plotted and written with more detail than what is expected. Jason Statham makes for a nasty villain Deckard Shaw who is out for revenge after the bludgeoning defeat of his brother in the previous film. He first sends Hobbs, played by Dwayne Johnson to the hospital after a brutal battle following his hacking his computer for the names of the team that took his brother down. Central plot regards Shaw stalking them and making lethal attempts at their lives. There is also an interesting subplot weaved within regarding a hacker who needs to be rescued to complete the mission. Finally, we have impossibly corny yet entertaining race action sequences where cars careen through skyscraper windows towards other skyscrapers. Vin Diesel returns as team leader Dom who engages in a street fight with Shaw, but his main concern is his team as well as his wife's amnesia. Paul Walker unfortunately met with an untimely death before film completion. As Brian, his wife, who is Dom's sister is expecting a second child. Michelle Rodriguez plays the feisty Letty, Dom's wife who struggles with memory loss. Statham is a terrific addition as Shaw, as well as Kurt Russell as an agent recruiting Dom and his team for a duel mission. Don't expect anything above mindless action and stunts that are way off the grid. Do expect a film that rises above previous films plus gives Paul Walker a nice montage sendoff before the credits. Score: 6 / 10