Flawed yet entertaining, as well as the best and the last of Paul Walker

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2015)

So guys, 'Furious 7' may/may not be the last of this movie series, but it is surely the last of Paul Walker, one of the leading guys who rose to fame due to this illegal street-racing movie franchise, which slowly turned into a high-octane action-thriller ride. All thanks to not just the stellar star cast of names like Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, to name a few, but even to directors like Justin Lin, who had re-invented the series from a campy illegal street- racing action movie, to a action-thriller series. Moreover, director James Wan ('Saw' and 'Insidious' fame) has pushed the envelope, drastically, with this latest entry in this over-the-top car-tossing franchise. Let's analyse.
After finding out that Owen Shaw is into a comatose stage in the previous installment, his brother (Jason Statham) threatens Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his 'family', for extracting revenge against him. A clandestine government operative (Kurt Russel) offers to help Dom track down Shaw in exchange for recovering a coveted surveillance device that has fallen into the hands of terrorists. It's a plot that sends our heroes shuttling between Los Angeles, Tokyo, the Dominican Republic, the Caucasus mountains, and Abu Dhabi, with the wall-to- wall action pausing only long enough for Tyrese Gibson to crack a sexist joke, or for Dom to continue to woo Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) who's still suffering from amnesia. There's a terrific, jaw-dropping set piece in the Middle East where Diesel and Paul Walker's characters drive a sports car off a skyscraper into another one ... and another one! It's preposterous, but that's exactly what makes it so much fun.
The same can't be said for the film's overlong climax on the mean streets of LA, packed with helicopters, drone strikes, car chases and some good ol' fashioned one-on-one combat. My head was throbbing through this frantically edited 20-minute showdown, which felt excessive and mind-numbing, and only worsened by the pointless 3D. Of the cast, Dwayne Johnson returns as the rough-and-ready Agent Hobbs, although he spends much of the film wisecracking in a hospital bed, after a duel with Shaw leaves him battered. Jason Statham is nicely menacing as the chief villain, proving a worthy adversary to our beefed up heroes. Bollywood up-and-comer Ali Fazal gets a two-scene cameo as a Middle Eastern fixer, and he does a good job with the comic accent. But it's Vin Diesel in the central role that the spotlight remains firmly fixed on. He's typically stone- faced yet charismatic, and you still want to chuckle each time he bandies on about the importance of family.
What really separates the new film from its predecessors is its emotional depth; the knowledge that this is Paul Walker's last turn as Brian O'Conner. Despite his tragic death midway through production, Walker remains a key figure in the film, thanks to the clever use of body doubles and nifty CGI effects. It's hard not to get at least a little misty-eyed during the touching finale in which his character is given a fitting sendoff. Who'd have thought we'd leave a Fast & Furious film surrounded by mournful silence?
Even though it's all preposterous and over-the-top, you still relish it, like trusted comfort food, you're happy to tuck into it knowing full well it has no nutritional value. I give this an 8/10. Without the pointless 3D, the car sequences were enthralling and Paul Walker looked gorgeous, even though for the last time. But anyway, R. I. P. Paul, we'll miss ya.