Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Film Studies. You may be noticing that this show is more text based than usual. That’s because there were a number of technical issues which led to the podcast we recorded being virtually un-listen-to-able. But, seeing as how this is really the first big blockbuster of 2015, we felt it necessary to still bring you a review. So, the Crew along with our special guest Ella have graciously written down their thoughts. My apologies to Billy Mac as he was with us during the recording but was out of town and wasn’t able to send in his review. We’ll be sure to make sure he makes it back with us in the future.
Oh and of course, BE WARNED THAT THE FOLLOWING REVIEWS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR FURIOUS 7!
ELLA
I really liked it! I would recommend it to everyone. It has action, hot guys, hot cars, and a lot of things get blown up.
I also liked liked all the tie ins from previous movies. Besides the cast, there was the corona, the cars, the sense of family being so important.
That horrible line “one last ride” and all the other cheesy and corny lines that only the fast and furious franchise can pull off. Everything was so far fetched and over the top, but its what we’ve come to expect over the last 15 years. No other franchise could pull off what they do, the car chases, the unbelievable stunts, the explosions and still have movie goers wanting more
For people who liked the Rock in his wrestling days, the fight scene with Statham was a nice tie in.
And of course the dedication to Paul Walker was touching.
Rating: 10 Indestructible Dodge Chargers out of 10
MEAN MARK
Actors: They aren’t all amazing, but they all are comfortable in these rolls. Gibson once again, as in 6 has to work overtime to get some screen time and a moment or two. Jason Statham as a bad guy was quite the twist. Instead of a brooding intimidating hero, we get a brooding intimidating villain. It works though! I wanted more of his character in this story. And I have to give a shout out to Rhonda Rousey, the women’s UFC champ. Not the greatest actress (yet?), but they showcase what she is best known for. Same could be said of a no line part by Ong Bak’s Tony Jaa. Kurt Russell brought some of his light hearted fun to his role and was able still bring it when he needed to.
Story: Two things I wasn’t crazy about. First was how they put the Rock in the hospital and sidelined him for most of the movie. The second was that they were chasing after the God’s Eye so they could find Jason Statham, but he kept showing up. So, they didn’t need to find the God’s Eye thing, they could just go grab a beer and he would find them! However, this isn’t Shakespeare. The action keeps things moving at a good pace and the stunts are unbelievable, and mostly practical. Amazing. I had a great time watching this. Just when you thought the movie was over, they find a way to ramp up the action. That being said, I wish they should have just stuck with the revenge plot instead of jamming two movies in one.
Advertising: While writing this, I saw a TV ad for the movie. Gone were the thumping, bassy tunes we have come to expect from not only this series but also from the car culture it sprung from. In came a sweet, serene, almost dirge like song with loving shots of Paul Walker. While I certainly agree with the tag line “This one sticks with you.” I am not sure that selling the movie this way sits well with me.
Cars: Freaking awesome! While they didn’t have every single amazing car from of history in one movie, they held true to the series and have another great line up. Without listing all of them here I will say that their off road counterparts are a great spin on it also.
Over all: Despite the criticism, I still had a great time with the action, the character interplay, and even some of the light hearted moments. Aaaand of course, the cars. In the end, they lived up to what the word is going around. A loving send off to Paul Walker. Not only a staple of this series, but as I understand it, a kind hearted humanitarian. Rumor has it that there will be more. I would like to see more Statham vs Rock personally. If that is true, what they say at the end of this movie will be true. It won’t be the same.
Rating: 8 Cylinders out of 10
TEX
To be honest I’ve never been really that big on the Fast and the Furious franchise. They all seem relatively similar to me no matter what the plot was. Now, having said that I have to say that I think this is probably the best one out of the franchise.
I enjoyed Fast 5 because of the addition of Dwayne Johnson initially since I particularly enjoy the presence he brings to the screen. Fast 5 was a pleasant surprise, Fast 6 was to me much of the same of the previous movies, but as I said, I enjoyed this one the most.
It might have been the poignancy of some of the scenes with Paul Walker, or it might have been the fact that the movie had a bittersweet quality to it knowing that nothing will ever be the same. I’d put the action on the same level as most of series, and I’d say the acting was about on par with the others as well. However, what really made the movie the most memorable to me was the final scene. Vin Diesel’s heartfelt sendoff was beautifully done and very moving. I’d heard people had left the theater crying and once I saw the ending I can completely understand why. It was very touching and genuine.
Rating: 7 Running Leaps From Falling Buses out of 10
SEAN TAYLOR
I’ve never seen any of the Fast and Furious movies until recently when I marathoned the series prior to watching Furious 7. Not being any level of a car guy, I wasn’t interested in watching of them. However, I found that there was much more to them than just car races.
The Fast and The Furious had actual heart that I wasn’t expecting. 2 Fast 2 Furious was your basic sequel with the studio’s obvious attempt to cash in with a lesser plot but was enjoyable. Fast and 4ious (makes as much sense as 2 Fast 2 Furious) was just the first movie done over again but with enough added to make it fun. Fast Five was the best of the series and a great mash-up of Italian Job mixed with Christopher Walken’s character from The Rundown. Fast 6 was fun but I thought it was a bit of a step back kind of making Vin Diesel and Paul Walker’s characters less manly/badass but was still a fun watch. Yeah, I skipped Tokyo Drift.
Which brings me to Furious 7. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. There was a lot of action, great fighting scenes and some cheesy one-liners we’ve come to expect from an action movie. This was the first of the 2015 “popcorn” movies and it plays that role well. It’s almost like the Fast and Furious movies adapted qualities from the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego video games from the 1990s with the world travelling to attain one goal or item before moving on to another country. Some of the action was over-the-top but this series not only allows for that but also kind of demands it.
Pros: First, the fight scene between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham early on in the movie was completely satisfying yet also left me wanting more. You have two legitimate badasses well trained in the art of movie fighting going head-to-head and it sets the tone for the rest of the fighting scenes to come.
Second, the addition of Kurt Russell as a kind of government agent worked surprisingly well. Even though who he was and why he was there really wasn’t defined very well, I thought he served the purpose he was set out for.
The cheesiness of this movie was over-the-top but it was over-the-top in a fun way kind of like Ghostbusters. There were a lot of eye-rolling lines and action bits like Rock shooting a bag of grenades with a hand gun from 400 feet away, Michelle Rodriguez literally talking Vin Diesel back to life, and Diesel’s Thunder Stomp power that causes a parking garage to collapse. Then there was the entire crew walking in a line, towards the camera, in proper formal attire, in SLOW MOTION. I’ll be honest, I nearly peed myself laughing. In any other movie, this would be completely ridiculous but for some reason that I just can’t explain, it works coming from this franchise.
Finally, the Paul Walker send off at the end was beautifully done. It is wonderfully shot and not hand-fisted at all which is a sometimes hard to do. Also, knowing that Walker never finished his filming parts of this movie, I rarely knew exactly when I was looking at the real Paul Walker or if I was looking at one of his brothers filling in for him.
Oh, and I was impressed by Ludacris in this series. He was the perfect Yang to the Ying of Tyrese Gibson’s hyper-persona.
Cons: I took major issue with the moving camera throughout this movie. The camera is constantly in motion and often hinders the action going on. For example, the fight between Michelle Rodriguez and Rhonda Rousey and the final fight between Vin Diesel and Jason Statham were nearly unwatchable because of the camera movements and the dreaded shaky-cam. Director James Waan used great camera moves in the original Saw movie but it seems to have developed into a fetish that has overtaken his better judgment.
The other issue I had was the lack of The Rock in this movie. He’s all over the beginning of this movie, then he’s plot-sidelined for the majority of it only to Han Solo himself back in again near the end. Just a shame here, as I really enjoy The Rock in the movies and I really wanted more.
The only other negative I can think of would be the trailer giving away too much. The entire super-car leaping from building to building was nearly completely given away in the trailer. It’s still fun to watch but I feel it would have been better seeing it the first time on the big screen.
In the end, the positives far outweigh the negatives here. Just don’t take it too seriously and you’ll have a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to Fast 8/Furious 8/Fast and Furious 8/FF8 or whatever, and I’m actually hoping that movie focuses more on Jason Statham busting out of prison as they teased at the end and The Rock having to hunt him down.
Rating: 8 Street Fights Always Won By The Streets out of 10
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Thank you for joining us on this abnormal version of Film Studies. My apologies to Bill who was unable to send in his review but we will get you back on soon. Coming up, we will be taking a look at Ex Machina and possibly the horror movie Unfriended. So, for special guests Billy Mac and Ella, and of course, Mean Mark and Tex, I’m Sean Taylor. We’ll see you on the next Film Studies coming soon.
