More of the same. Which is why I watch them.

Rating: 7/10 (3 March 2020)

I watched The Fate of the Furious and Hobbs & Shaw without seeing Fast & Furious 7, figuring that it wouldn't matter much since they're all practically the same film anyway: dumb as hell, with extremely silly action sequences, very fast cars, really hot women and indestructible heroes. I wasn't wrong: the plot for 7 is fairly forgettable: the good guys try to stop the bad guys from using a surveillance program that can locate anyone, anywhere on the planet. Meanwhile, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) seeks revenge for his brother, targeting Dominic "Dom" Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his team. It's not a particularly imaginative or compelling storyline, but it's the outrageous action that really matters, and director James Wan really goes for broke, delivering some of the craziest big-budget carnage to ever hit the silver screen, never allowing the laws of physics or the mortality of his characters to get in the way of sheer spectacle.
As the movie unfolds, numerous expensive vehicles are trashed and buildings are wrecked, but none of the good guys gets so much as a scratch, not even when involved in a high-speed head-on collision or when leaping from a speeding car onto tarmac. None of it is meant to be taken seriously, and those looking for any semblance of realism will be sorely disappointed. Die-hard fans of the series, however, will no doubt love the sight of Dom and Brian (Paul Walker) hurtling from one high-rise penthouse to another in a W Motors Lykan Hypersport (I admit it... I had to look that up) and Dwayne Johnson brandishing a mini-gun. For me, though, the highlights were Tony Jaa (as a mean Thai henchman) kicking ass, and the brawl between Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Abu Dhabi bodyguard Kara (scary yet sexy MMA fighter Ronda Rousey, who should definitely team up with Gina Carano for an action film).
7/10, which is how I rated parts 6 and 8 as well.