Movie review - Furious 7 (PG-13) - review by Daniel Kilgallon

Run Time: 137 min

Furious 7 is the latest installment in the Fast and Furious film franchise, following 2013’s Fast and Furious 6. This movie is directed by James Wan and has a star studded cast featuring returning members such as Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges as well as new recruits Jason Statham, Kurt Russell and Djimon Hounso. As a big fan of the series, I was extremely excited for yet another movie, but also curious to see how the filmmakers would handle the character played by Paul Walker, who sadly passed away in a tragic car accident back in 2013. In the end, I think that Furious 7 is one of the strongest installments in the franchise, but above all, an emotionally touching sendoff to a truly beloved Hollywood star. 

In the previous film, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and the rest of their crew of drivers managed to take down an international terrorist named Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), leaving him in a coma. Now, Owen’s older brother, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is out seeking revenge by trying to kill Toretto and his crew one by one. With the help of a government official known as “Mr. Nobody” (Kurt Russell) and his revolutionary tracking technology, the whole gang must team up yet again in order to stop this high stakes act of vengeance. 

As with all the films in this high octane series, the story for this movie is quite straightforward and full of plenty of action genre cliches. Having said that, the reason this franchise has been so successful over the years is because it is just so over the top and fun. Personally, I love that formula for a great time at the movies and Furious 7 is no different. The action scenes are completely ridiculous, yet so much fun to watch and loaded with mind blowing visual effects. It was awesome to see all of the returning stars back in their respective roles, with nice acting performances across the board. All of the new additions were great too, especially Jason Statham in his role as the villain. My only issue with the movie was limited screen time from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Putting that aside, I had an absolute blast with Furious 7 and I think it’s one of the absolute best in the series.