WASHINGTON — It was tragic irony that Paul Walker died in a car accident in November 2013 after heading a “Fast and Furious” franchise that lived by the motto “ride or die.”
Now, he goes for one last ride in the seventh installment, “Furious 7.”
The film opens with Brian O’Conner (Walker) trying to be a family man with wife Mia (Jordana Brewster) and their young son, Jack. Meanwhile, Dominic Torreto (Vin Diesel) tries to restore the romantic memories of his brain-damaged lover, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).
These “white picket fence” lifestyles suddenly explode when former Special Forces assassin Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) arrives seeking revenge for the death of his brother, who died in the last installment. The only way to stop Shaw is to bring the old band back together, including Roman (Tyrese Gibbons), Tej (Ludacris) and Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), as well as new faces such as Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel).
Director James Wan (“Saw,” “The Conjuring”) effectively employs a mix of body doubles and CGI to complete Walker’s unfinished scenes, but you’d never know the difference. Your eyes will be too distracted by the glorious over-the-top action sequences that have come to define the series.
At one point, a flashy red car drives through three — count ’em — three Abu Dhabi skyscrapers to escape Statham’s gunfire. At another point, the crew parachutes their cars out of an airplane, pulling the ripcords to land on top-secret terrain. Before anyone gets on a high horse about the “unrealistic” nature of these scenes, let’s remember Indiana Jones once used a white-water raft to parachute out of an airplane in “The Temple of Doom.” Action is an over-the-top genre. Expect the ridiculous.
Combined with hilarious banter between Tyrese and Ludacris — which has become a rite of passage for the franchise — “Furious 7” is a ton of fun in IMAX for all its flashy, engine-revving glory.
Such spectacle helps distract us from the more fundamental flaws in the script.
Statham’s villain is way too omnipresent. He shows up everywhere, knowing exactly where the Furious crew is going to appear, like a Nintendo gamer who’s memorized where his “Goldeneye” opponents will show up in the multiplayer map. This habit undercuts the film’s premise of the “God’s Eye,” a super surveillance system that can locate anyone at any time. It is Ramsey who holds the God’s Eye, not Deckard Shaw, so it would be logically impossible for Shaw to know their every move.
While the movie features too much Statham, it features too little of The Rock. While his Rock Bottom slam draws WWE cheers in the opening battle of baldheaded badasses, we miss him too much during the rest of the movie. There’s a reason “Fast Five” (2011) remains the best in the series: it featured a bigger piece of The Rock.
Which brings us to the film’s most glaring flaw: its pacing. Act One is effective, as we contrast the heroes’ new domestic lives and their former thrill-seeking lives (including a hilarious bit of slow disclosure involving Walker’s minivan). It’s Act Two that starts to get bogged down, with an overstuffed middle section that has too many action sequences. Two too many.
This drawn-out middle section may have you checking your watch — a cardinal sin for a fast-paced action movie. Maybe that’s why the title is just “Furious”? Because it certainly isn’t fast.
Thankfully, Act III proves to be a redemptive savior for “Furious 7,” offering a pitch-perfect final 10 minutes filled with symbolic driving imagery, a nostalgic montage and touching music by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth (“See You Again”) that gives Walker a beautiful send-off.
Without Walker’s death, “Furious 7” would be a forgettable 2 1/2-star flick. It’s far from a 4-star action sequel like “The Dark Knight” (2008), which shined regardless of Heath Ledger’s death. This one succeeds solely on its real-life “ride or die” heartstrings. But morbid “what-ifs” aside, it’s as fine a tribute as this franchise can offer. If you’re a fan, expect a lump in your throat by the end credits.
★ ★ ★
The above rating is based on a 4-star scale. See where this film ranks in Jason’s Fraley Film Guide. Follow WTOP Film Critic Jason Fraley on Twitter @JFrayWTOP.
