Furious 7 (2015) movie review

I never thought I would ever say that any Fast and Furious movie made me cry. But this one did. I haven’t cried this hard since The Battle of the Five Armies. This is the movie to see this entire month. So, get ready for Furious 7. Get ready for One Last Ride.

I’m still crying- I mean, I’m still amazed at how far this series has come. From punks doing street racing, to… whatever the hell Tokyo Drift was…. to these large scale team heist movies. This is Paul Walker’s last ever film, and that being the case, everyone who was involved with this put all their heart and effort into it to make sure his last movie is as good as it could possibly be. I think everyone can agree that Paul would be proud of it. It is without a doubt the best in the series. It is better than Fast 5 and 6 combined.

There’s just so much to like about this movie. I’m not loving it just because of the Paul Walker case (although that is a big part of it). I’m loving it because it’s a genuinely great film.

The story is a direct continuation from the last one. Luke Evans’ character from #6 has an older brother played by Jason Statham, and he’s not too happy that his little brother is nearly dead. I thought Luke Evans played a cool villain, but then here comes Statham, being more awesome than any other villain ever could in the Fast and Furious franchise! He’s so awesome he puts the hurt, the extreme hurt, on Dwayne Johnson! Statham is sinister, he’s near invincible, and he does NOT give up! He’s the perfect villain that this franchise needed.

Obviously, the team that we’ve all come to love is back once again. Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, and Paul Walker come back for one last ride together. The team is as fun as they’ve always been. Tyrese Gibson steals the show more than Statham does. He’s the funniest character of the film. This film, like all the others, have always made room to make a few laughs. Furious 7 has to have the best comedic scenes of the whole Franchise.

As much as this movie loves to make the audience laugh, it loves giving the audience outrageous and intense action sequences even more. Whoever was writing those scenes is a genius, I tell you. It takes a really fun and creative mind to come up with action like the highway chase, or the car theft in Abu Dhabi, or even the big finale in Los Angeles. I didn’t think they’d ever be able to top Fast 5’s climax, but I was proven to be horribly wrong. The filmmakers just unleash all the craziness they have to make that finale work, and they succeed perfectly.

Although, that does bring up something that I know other people have commented on that seemed to be a topic of criticism. Some people think that a couple parts of the action scenes were too crazy and unrealistic. I can understand that. It does get crazy, but to me, I think it’s crazy in all the good ways. I don’t go to a movie for the realism. Especially if it’s something like Fast and Furious.

Of course, we all know that Paul Walker died during production. They had to halt production for a while to rewrite some things in the script for the final product work out. A majority of Paul’s scenes were already done, and they used both his brothers, Cody and Caleb Walker, to fill in for scenes they hadn’t shot yet. I think they pulled that off flawlessly. They both already look nearly identical to Paul, especially Caleb, and they used a combination of camera shots, makeup, and CGI to make it look even more like Paul. They even modded their voices, too. You can hardly tell it’s not Paul in those scenes. The filmmakers knew they couldn’t screw that up, and I do not believe they did. They deserve medals, or something.

Furious 7 not only makes us laugh, not only gives us expertly crafted action, and not only gives us a great villain… but the thing that it does better than all the other Fast and Furious movies is tug at your heartstrings harder than you would ever expect a movie like this to do. The final scene of the movie is the most touching part of the entire franchise. It made me feel indescribably sentimental. The film itself reflects on how far its come since its humble beginnings in 2001. If that part doesn’t make you cry, then the final ride with Paul and Vin together will. Vin Diesel’s narration accompanied by a tear-jerking song (by Wiz Khalifa, of all people), simply tore me to pieces. I started bawling right then and there. In the theater. With everyone else crying with me.

I couldn’t believe how emotional it was getting. I could not believe how absolutely great that last tribute to Paul Walker was. That very last shot of Paul driving off into the sunset… all I can tell you is to bring a box of tissues. I’m still crying as I write this review.

One final thing I’m glad they did (slight spoiler warning) was that they didn’t kill off Paul Walker’s character, Brian O’Connor. That would have been a little… no. Instead, they had him do one thing that characters in movies like this never do: retire. Brian O’Connor retired from all the bullets and cars for one thing- his family. Furious 7, while being a kick-ass action movie, is ultimately about family. Family has always been a big focus of this series, and this installment emphasizes it more than anything else. And it’s not annoying. It’s great. Because this movie is great. It was fun and emotional at the same time. I’m seriously putting Furious 7 in my extreme consideration box for my potential Top 5 Favorite Films of 2015. In fact, don’t be surprised if you see it there.

FINAL RATING: 48 / 50

STORY: 4 / 5

ACTING: 4 / 5

CHARACTERS: 5 / 5

EFFECTS/STUNTS: 5 / 5

ACTION: 5 / 5

SOUNDTRACK: 5 / 5

TONE: 5 / 5

ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5

REWATCH VALUE: 5 / 5

OWNING VALUE: 5 / 5

Make time this month to go see Furious 7. While you’re at it, make time to spend with your family, and hold on to that. This franchise has quickly become one of my favorites. I love it, and I hope you love it, too.

In loving memory of Paul Walker.