FURIOUS SEVEN

(2015) 137 Minutes, Rated PG-13

Mike's Review: After seeing this installment of the the Furious Franchise I am curious to see what direction they go in with number 8.  They did a very nice job with the way they handled the whole Paul Walker side of the story and I am sure you have heard about all of that so I don't feel the need to go into any more detail, other then to say, when they did the little flashback scene of all the stuff from the other six movies, I felt myself thinking like I was part of the family, because I had watched all those movies and remembered the ride as well, and going down that memory road (no pun intended) was a nice touch.

Now the whole car jumping from building to building was way to much. I'm all for over the top but that whole scene didn't even need to be in the movie. I mean if the car started off in a vault...wouldn't crashing a car through a vault wall pretty much end the car right then and there?

I also liked the little scene Lucas Black had with Vin Diesel in Tokyo, but there should have been more. 

Overall I would say this one was not to bad.  They introduced some new elements to the story and wrapped some other ones up.  The soundtrack was awesome and the fight scenes were pretty good. The story seemed a little choppy but the ending was better than I thought it was going to be.  
  

Best scene:  I thought the bus fight scene with Tony Jaa was pretty good as well as the cars getting to the bus via airplane.

Mike’s rating:  Worth the price of the ticket and DVD worthy

Bean's Review:  Yet, another sequel.  The special effects and action scenes were both quite good and just over-the-top unbelievable.  The storyline was muddled.  Although, a huge money-maker, disappointing in that how much more can one do with a car??  

The fight scenes with Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson were just ridiculous as was the one with Jason Stratham and Vin Diesel.  These characters are not “super heros” and thus, could not in ones wildest imagination withstand the types of beatings portrayed.  And, although, I really like Jason Stratham and his roles, there is no way he could have beaten Dwayne Johnson.
 

Glad to see that Letty’s memory returned, as that storyline was getting old.  The introduction of Kurt Russell was unexpected and he does not seem to be aging well.  At least his character stayed a “good guy”.

The only “real acting” I saw was with Tyrese Gibson and Chris Bridges, plus it provided some comic relief.

  

And, unfortunately, there was a total aura of sadness about the movie, due to Paul Walker’s death.  The cast and writers did a nice job of saying their goodbyes, but was a sequel that included Paul Walker needed?

Best scene:  the car jumping from building to building was quite good

Bean’s rating:  matinee-due to special effects that need to be seen on a big screen

A.C.'s Review: Cruising into theater’s this spring is the much delayed seventh installment of the street racing franchise. Originally due out last year the film was delayed by the tragic and senseless death of star Paul Walker. After much reworking of the film and using  Walker’s brothers and some clever CGI the studio was able to finally deliver this film to its fans. As of this writing it sits atop the box office with over a billion dollars in the bank worldwide.

The movie was of course fun entertainment but the real life tragedy hanging over every scene with Walker in it kind of put a pall over the proceedings at least for me. Also the truth of the matter is the script just wasn’t as strong as films four, five and six in the series. Also it wasn’t helped by the introduction of a character played by Kurt Russell. “Mr. Nobody” as he was called, was pretty annoying, but to the films credit, at the moment I expected him to betray the team he didn’t.

There were some awesome sequences that would have been even more awesome if they hadn’t given them away in the trailers. Why do studios do this all the time!?

Where the series goes from here remains to be seen. The least liked entries were the ones that had no Vin Diesel or no Paul Walker so it’s anybody’s guess. There is a rumor Eva Mendes is coming back from part 2 in the next movie and that would be very welcome. She is easily one of the most gorgeous women in Hollywood.

Best Scene: The closing scene where gang pretty much says goodbye to Brian and his family and Brian and Dom drive their separate ways in a tribute to Paul Walker.

A.C.'s Rating:  Matinee