Furious 7 (D+) Movie review
Furious 7 stars Vin Diesel as he leads his group of racers against the brother of a man they had previously killed, this brother played by Jason Statham. Car chases ensue.
The plot of this film is a bit of a mess, but do audiences really go see films like Furious 7 for their plot? The answer is more often than not, no. Now, you have to judge a film like this based on how fun it is. Furious 7 does make a few attempts at pulling on your heartstrings but they don't really work. The only thing that feels emotionally genuine in the film is its respectful and tasteful tribute to Paul Walker.
Now how fun is Furious 7? This seems to be the unpopular opinion but I didn't find it much fun. It has a couple memorable and fun action sequences. There's one that involves a car chase on a mountain road that's entertaining and even intense in some moments. The other sequence that I had a good time with was one in which the gang infiltrates a big party in order to find a hidden device that they need to take down Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham. These sequences are elaborate, stylish, and well choreographed.
The rest of the film, however, is a bit hard to break into if you've never seen a Fast and Furious film before. I haven't and I feel like this one definitely assumes you have. Something is happening with Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez's relationship which I had to piece together. Vin Diesel has some relation to Jordana Brewster's character maybe? My point is, if you're walking into this with no previous Fast and Furious experience, you may be a bit lost.
And I found most of the movie headache-inducing, honestly. The constantly whirring camera, the overall loudness of the film, and the half logical plot actually gave me a headache. Final battle sequences should be thrilling right? This one was contrived, boring, and overlong. In fact, I found the whole film to be pretty overlong. It's two hours and seventeen minutes and couldn't easily been cut down.
The performances are probably as good as they should be. They're all a little wooden but that's no big deal. They're here to perform stunts and they do it well. Ludacris is the funny man and he has his moments. He can verge on obnoxious but it's okay. Michelle Rodriguez has a charismatic quality about her that makes her watchable, even when she's just delivering lines with a mean face on. Vin Diesel is Vin Diesel.
I can see how some will enjoy Furious 7. Its frenetic energy and pace is kind of admirable. It's brainless and occasionally fun. But ultimately, I found it to be an over-hyped slog of a film that's never fun enough and I was eagerly awaiting its end.
FINAL GRADE: D+
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language
The plot of this film is a bit of a mess, but do audiences really go see films like Furious 7 for their plot? The answer is more often than not, no. Now, you have to judge a film like this based on how fun it is. Furious 7 does make a few attempts at pulling on your heartstrings but they don't really work. The only thing that feels emotionally genuine in the film is its respectful and tasteful tribute to Paul Walker.
Now how fun is Furious 7? This seems to be the unpopular opinion but I didn't find it much fun. It has a couple memorable and fun action sequences. There's one that involves a car chase on a mountain road that's entertaining and even intense in some moments. The other sequence that I had a good time with was one in which the gang infiltrates a big party in order to find a hidden device that they need to take down Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham. These sequences are elaborate, stylish, and well choreographed.
The rest of the film, however, is a bit hard to break into if you've never seen a Fast and Furious film before. I haven't and I feel like this one definitely assumes you have. Something is happening with Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez's relationship which I had to piece together. Vin Diesel has some relation to Jordana Brewster's character maybe? My point is, if you're walking into this with no previous Fast and Furious experience, you may be a bit lost.
And I found most of the movie headache-inducing, honestly. The constantly whirring camera, the overall loudness of the film, and the half logical plot actually gave me a headache. Final battle sequences should be thrilling right? This one was contrived, boring, and overlong. In fact, I found the whole film to be pretty overlong. It's two hours and seventeen minutes and couldn't easily been cut down.
The performances are probably as good as they should be. They're all a little wooden but that's no big deal. They're here to perform stunts and they do it well. Ludacris is the funny man and he has his moments. He can verge on obnoxious but it's okay. Michelle Rodriguez has a charismatic quality about her that makes her watchable, even when she's just delivering lines with a mean face on. Vin Diesel is Vin Diesel.
I can see how some will enjoy Furious 7. Its frenetic energy and pace is kind of admirable. It's brainless and occasionally fun. But ultimately, I found it to be an over-hyped slog of a film that's never fun enough and I was eagerly awaiting its end.
FINAL GRADE: D+
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language