It's not just about being fast...

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2016)

'Furious 7' is the latest installment to the franchise and the last for the late Paul Walker. Nothing much has changed as far as the tone of the movie goes, but it still delivers on the things it does right.
1. The initial plot involves Deckard Shaw's (Jason Statham) quest for revenge against Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) for the crippling of his brother Ian (Luke Evans). This should have been the major following of the film, however it diverts into something irrelevant and confusing. Shaw somehow has a lock on Toretto and finds him at every turn, yet Dom decides to go in search of a device that would allow him to locate Shaw instead. The film uses this second-hand plot in order to travel to exotic locations to progress the film. Even though it's intriguing, it's completely pointless.
2. Jason Statham was perfect casting for the main antagonist, yet the inclusion of Djimon Honsou and Ronda Rousey are unnecessary and terrible (respectively). It's quite obvious that Jason Statham is known for being an expert martial-artist in real life and it mirrors his character in the film. Neither Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) nor Vin Diesel (Toretto) can match his skill even in the film, but somehow they manage to get the upper-hand in their fight scenes. This is hard to believe among the many other things that one needs to suspend his/her disbelief for.
3. The action is impressive for the most part, but the movie borders on ridiculous for the most part. I can stomach the set-pieces throughout the film, that is....until the end. This is where the 'Mission:Impossible' films will always rank higher than these, cause they never fall into the 'goofy action' territory. Only in a different world would someone walk away from a tumble down a 30- story cliff or parking garage. It seems Formula-1 racing doesn't exist in this world, cause if it did, then those drivers would undoubtedly be the best, not a bunch of criminal street-thugs with toy cars.
The movie concludes on an emotional note as it says farewell to Paul Walker, due to his untimely death during production. Basically, I'm kinda bored and exhausted by this franchise at this point, but if you love it......then by all mean......keep driving forward.