(Photo Credit: Universal Pictures)

 

For Paul 

 

 1/2

 

How others remember a person can sum up the type of life they lived.

 

Many say great things at funerals, but the raw emotion in the faces of one’s family and friends tells the real story of what type of person the deceased was.

 

In “Furious 7,” Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) brags that he does not have friends.  He has family.

 

For many in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, Paul Walker (Brian O’Conner) was family.

 

The tears flowing uncontrollably from the face of “Furious 7” co-star Tyrese Gibson were authentic after the death of his good friend.  Gibson is an adequate actor, but not great enough to fake that type of emotion.

 

Diesel naming his daughter Pauline is not a public relations stunt.  Naming one’s begotten daughter after another man is the ultimate form of respect and admiration.

 

Likewise, “Furious 7,” was a display of respect and homage to their fallen brother.

 

Despite falling short of the mark of many of its predecessors (except for “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”) because of some cheesy dialogue and corny special effects, “Furious 7” will satisfy moviegoers because of the way they sent Walker “home” in style.

 

Throughout the “Fast and Furious” franchise, Dom and his crew have been some of the toughest dudes on the planet.

 

However, in “Furious 7,” the crew, along with Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), runs into a dude tougher than them.

 

After toppling Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), Dom’s crew thought they were through with their mercenary lifestyle only to discover that his brother Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is trying to kill the entire crew one by one for revenge.

 

Although Dom prefers to let his enemies come to him, new technology called God’s Eye will allow him to pinpoint Deckard’s location anywhere on the planet.

 

The only problem is that a Somali terrorist Jakande (Djimon Hounsou) is attempting to steal God’s Eye so that he can turn any technological device into a weapon.

 

To make matters worse is that another shady character, Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell), wants God’s Eye too.  He wants God’s Eye as bad as Dom wants revenge on Deckard.

 

In order to achieve both of their goals, the two form a dangerous and deadly alliance that allows them to pull off so many technological feats that it is surprising that filmmakers are talented enough to even create it.

 

As expected, the scenes in “Furious 7” are fascinating and beautifully shot.

 

The car drop scene from the airplane is remarkable and hilarious at the same time, thanks to Roman (Gibson).

 

Chase scenes and shooting scenes are remarkable as to be expected and the fact that everyone from the past came back like Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) and Twinkie (Shad “Bow Wow” Moss) is a testament to how special this movie franchise is.

 

“Furious 7” does a great job of blending the old school vibe with the race tracks and the new school vibe with technology that is probably a hundred years away from seeing the light of day.

 

Filmmakers also do a fabulous job finishing Brian’s scenes after the untimely demise of Walker.  On only one scene is it fairly obvious that a double (Walker’s brothers) is used.

 

The only criticism of the film is the dialogue and a scene where Hobbs breaks out of his own cast with just his brute strength.

 

Regardless, the film is a winner because it is a memorial for Walker.

 

Audiences cheer when his character appears on screen for the first time in “Furious 7,” even if he is driving a minivan instead of a racecar.

 

The closing montage of Walker scenes from previous “Fast and Furious” movies and Diesel’s closing remarks to his “brother” are tearjerkers.

 

And filmmakers leave moviegoers with the perfect closing message, “For Paul.”


REGAL RATINGS

FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT

THREE CROWNS=GOOD

TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE

ONE CROWN=POOR

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