"Furious 7" (2015) Movie Review

Movie Info: "Godzilla" (2014) - IMDb

Ratings: "Godzilla" (2014) - Rotten Tomatoes



Walker's Action-Packed Swan Song

Okay, the main thing here is seeing Paul Walker in action one more time. And, I am glad that they were able to make that happen, especially given that he had only shot half of his scenes before his untimely demise. And, it's nice that he gets a proper, emotional send off.

Otherwise, it's the usual two-plus hours of impossible-to-survive-even-for-Superman action sequences! The vehicular mayhem is well shot and choreographed. But, it's tough to not laugh at how the characters magically survive the endless insanity! And, the conceit that these street racers have become super-secret agents, whose fighting skills make James Bond look like a wussie, strains credulity to the nth degree.

(BEGIN SPOILERS)
Naturally, there is a classic MacGuffin, the plot device that means nothing in reality, but drives the plot. Here, it's some super-secret surveillance device, or whatever! And, the movie ends up being an endless series of confrontations with baddie Jason Statham, where he gets to escape time after time, when they'll just end up killing him before the credits anyway!
(END SPOILERS)

There is some fun character interaction, and good dialogue here and there, which are the best parts. Brian Tyler's generic action-movie score is just that. The cinematography is very good. The movie famously had to take a number of different elements to construct the scenes that Walker hadn't shot. This included, using CGI to put pre-existing footage of Paul's face and mate it to the bodies of his brothers, standing in for him. The same went for getting his dialogue constructed. It gets the job done, but the seams sometimes show. The result is a mix of scenes that work really well, while others are more obvious.

All in all, a better-than-average "Fast & Furious" installment, obviously not to be missed for getting to see Paul one more time.

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (3 1/2 Stars Out of 5)

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