06 April 2015

Furious 7

//It's been a while since I posted..//

In all honesty, if my uncle did not ask me if I wanted to join to watch the 12:40pm screening of Furious 7, I probably would not have seen it this past Saturday. But I'm glad I did.

I would have just waited to redbox the film because compared to previous years, I rarely visit the movie theater.

When I use to work at the local dine-in theater near my hometown, I remember Fast & Furious 6 was released and all my coworkers would joke and say: "it's the same thing over and over again" in regards to what to expect from the franchise. 

True. But if you have seen all the films or hell, even a few, and you have grown attached to the characters, I urge you to see this Furious 7.

In a span of 13 years, audiences have "enjoyed the ride" with  Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker).

The day before I saw Furious 7, I attended a roundtable held at my university and the topic was Toy Story. The panelists discussed how my generation "grew up" with Toy Story, throughout the years. (I.e Andy went off to college around the time I was about to leave for college too)

I found the same feeling with the Fast & Furious franchise. I mean, I do not drag race or have I been involved with heists and such but this series is more than just about fast cars. Family was always a recurring theme, which I related too as many others did.

The characters had amazing chemistry especially since off-screen it was seen that the whole cast did treat each other life family. After Paul Walker's tragic death in November of 2013, Furious 7 was decided to be the end of the  franchise and will be done "for Paul."

I am not going to go in to all the cool car scenes that were prevalent in all the previous films, but I want to point out the CGI effects that was used in the film. Using CGI on Paul's brothers, who served as stand-ins for the scenes Paul was not there for, I couldn't even notice that it wasn't actually him. So kudos to you, editors and special effects team.

And just like my Facebook feed, the last scene was one of the best because it was so bittersweet. Ending the series and paying tribute to Paul Walker, by allowing his character to live forever and remembering all his smiling moments throughout the years. It was beautifully shot and montaged and the choice of song, Wiz Khalifa's See You Again ft. Charlie Puth could not be beat.

All I could say about this film is: Paul Walker is definitely smiling from heaven because of Furious 7. 

(cheesy, I know. But hey bonus points for rhyming?)
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EDIT - 18 May 2015

So Furious 7 is NOT the end of the franchise.. but the end for Paul Walker's character. Oops.

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CREDITS
Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson
Director: James Wan
Producers: Vin Diesel, Michael Fottrell
Main Cast: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jodana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris
Running Time: 137 minutes