3.5 stars. Rated PG-13, for intense action violence
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 4.3.15
Somewhere along the way, a
modest, inner-city street-racing flick morphed into a turbo-charged, gleefully
preposterous Mission: Impossible wannabe.
But with results this
entertaining, it’s hard to complain. Even when things get silly.
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| A shadowy U.S. government agent (Kurt Russell, right) makes Brian (Paul Walker, left) and Dominic (Vin Diesel) an offer they can't refuse: Retrieve a kidnapped computer hacker, and in return gain access to information that will allow them to target the vengeful maniac who keeps trying to kill them. |
And rest assured: Things get
very, very silly. This is a movie for folks who found the action sequences in
2010’s big-screen version of The A-Team too restrained. (Steering and
“flying” a parachuting tank by shooting the big gun, anyone?)
Rarely have I seen so many laws
of physics ignored, circumvented and utterly ruptured.
Rarely have so many human bodies
demonstrated Superman-level invulnerability.
Rarely has a bad guy taken such a
lickin’, only to keep on tickin’.
Rarely have I been less bothered.
But let’s establish our
parameters. Furious 7 — newest, biggest and baddest in the surprise franchise
built from 2001’s The Fast and the Furious — is by no means classic
filmmaking. It’s a live-action Warner Bros. cartoon, with heroes and villains
alike remaining as unscathed as the Road Runner’s Coyote, after one of his
plunges to a canyon floor, miles below.
We’re talking Guilty Pleasure
here, with heavy emphasis on the guilty. But it’s also a pleasure, because
there’s no denying director James Wan’s ability to deliver one helluva great
ride.
Wan’s predecessor, Justin Lin,
reinvigorated the franchise with 2009’s fourth entry, then blasted things into
action-flick immortality with his next two chapters. But Wan deserves equal
credit for maintaining the momentum and giving us exactly what is expected:
audaciously giddy action sequences, ferocious mano a mano fight scenes, and
plenty of time with the characters we’ve grown to know and love.
Because yes: This series’ cast is
its primo selling point. The brotherly bond between Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin
Diesel) and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) remains paramount, their mutual respect
oddly poignant even during circumstances as absurd as these. Dom’s puppy-dog
devotion to tough-as-nails Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is equally touching,
despite the soap-opera contrivance of the amnesia that has stricken her memory
of their shared love.
Comparative newcomer Dwayne
Johnson’s Hobbs — who entered the franchise with installment five — grants the
team a thin veneer of respectability, with his DDS credentials. On top of
which, the oh-so-perfect pairing of Diesel and Johnson is irresistible; they
must spend all their time, between scenes, comparing pecs and biceps.
Nor should we overlook the comedy
tag-team pairing of Tej (Ludacris) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson), both adept at the
verbal comedy relief ... while also reminding us (as if that were necessary)
that none of these events are to be taken too seriously.
