Furious 7 (2015) ***½/5: Good film and a fitting tribute or send off to Paul Walker but this film clearly shows that the franchise might need to take a new approach because there is a lot of excess on display now. Excess that even has video game origins.

When Vin Diesel said that Furious 7 will win best picture at the academy award ceremony  next year, unless the academy wants to remain relevant,  it piqued my interest  because it was clearly a promotional stunt. After watching it I am now more convinced that the statement was a promotional stunt just as the film was a big send off for Paul Walker who died last year. Diesel is a producer so it’s in his interest if the film does well at the academy awards ceremony.  Paul Walker, along with Diesel, was a backbone and primary character for the series that began in 2001. Paul Walker played Brian O’ Connor who originally started out as a cop before he fell for the lure of the underground street racers movement led by Dominic played  by Diesel. It is clear that Diesel is relying on the dramatic send off for Walker the actor and not the actual character he played throughout the series to qualify his claim. The send off has nothing to do with the film itself because the character played by Walker remained intact by the end. In some cases the send off had nothing to do with the movie. After watching the film it is clear that some people will confuse the real life element with the fictional element of the film. This is why there was the claim that Paul Walker’s death was more of a talking point for young people than the death of Nelson Mandela, a man who actually achieved something of substance in the real world.  It is unfortunate for Walker’s fans that he died the way he did but it does not change the fact that Furious 7 is not a great film and just another thrill fest that is highly charged. I am not a fan of the series or of Walker and so I do not have to be clouded by that emotional element. I heard the film was good and so I went to check it out.

The film is about the street racing team led by Dominic (Vin Diesel) that reunite, after finding some peace having returned to the US to settle down, to confront the threat of the shadow like figure of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) who is seeking vengeance against the team that crippled his brother Owen Shaw from the previous film in the franchise.

Positives

The primary positive of this film is the highly charged thrill fest that is loaded with many action sequences that include one on one fights, lots of bullets and explosions,  high speed chases and stunts. Obviously the car element is striking particularly two moments when, one, a  car crashes through three buildings at top speed in Abu Dhabi  and the moment when cars take a sky dive in order to access a particular location for a particular objective.  These two moments will definitely get some moviegoers excited but it is clearly over the top as the franchise must continually seek new ways to up the ante and thrill audiences particularly the many that have a commodity fetish for cars. While watching this film it made me realize how effective the capitalist system has found a way to make commodities seem so fanciful and mystical in the hands of celebrity human agents. In some cases Furious 7 seemed like a promotional outlet for cars in general particularly a particularly luxurious vehicle owned by some prince in Abu Dhabi. Just another way to glamorize this prized commodity and who better to embody than those that have mastered the car element and who can take the chance to sky dive with cars.  This team in The Fast and Furious franchise seem to be an elite car when it comes to cars and you can see how the franchise is more like a fantasy bordering on comic book material where the villains are referred, by some critics, as super villains. At one point Dom delivers a stomp on crumbling pavement to send Shaw falling through to the lower levels and it seems as if his strength is bordering on super strength, the stuff of comic book lore. The heroes survive some really devastating crashes which is clearly another implausible element to make them seem like masters of the car commodity.  You know that the film borders on video game material when Walker is featured in a sequence reminiscent of the opening train sequence in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009). Films like this are trying to make it seem like human agents can do everything a video game can with the help of a lot of CGI and an audience willing to believe without question.

 It will be interesting to see what they can do next with cars. I have an idea:  they can make cars drive on water for the next film.

Jason Statham makes a great villain once he can show case his fighting skills and they did well to make him into a shadowy type of figure.

Some pretty good fights in this film.

It is clear that this underground racing team has gained a lot of prominence in official circles which means that it has come a far way.

I liked the globetrotting element. One of the reasons I took an interest in the franchise was the 5^th film that took place in Brazil.

Obviously the final scene is a fitting tribute to Paul Walker. It is clearly the highlight of the film from a dramatic point of view. The only thing I will say is that I hope that some people do not get confused because it is a tribute to Paul walker and not to the character he played. It just goes to show you that the series could have been harder hitting if it had the balls to lay to rest prominent members like of the team like Brian or Dom. The death of fringe characters like Han does not resonate as much. If the character, Brian, played by Walker actually passed then this would have elevated the film. In this case it is Walker that has passed and so the film is just a vehicle to pay a tribute to walker who entertained so many fans of the franchise and helped to make so much money for the executives at Universal studios.

Negatives

The primary negative is the excess in terms of action that is clearly a means to make up for a thin plot. A car crashing through three high skyscrapers is clearly a means to up the ante and not a means to do anything meaningful. The franchise has set itself up to outdo its many stunts involving cars and so the excess is inevitable.  If it was not for Walker’s death there would be little or no emotional attachment to the characters. When Dom is presumed to be in a fateful crash and his woman Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), an amnesiac, is crying over him and so on I felt nothing at all. I said to myself ‘I'll be very surprised if they let him die’ and bingo he was revived with something clever to say. There is little or no feeling for the characters unless they’re fighting, talking tough,  making jokes/wise cracking,  driving or shooting. It is all superficial and it does not offer much support for Diesel’s claim that this film can win the academy award. You sympathize with Paul Walker but not his character. If he had not died you would already be looking forward to the 8^th installment.

The commodity fetish associated with the car in this film drives the excess. It’s no surprise that you have a scene where a very luxurious car is advertized and then promptly smashed. When it’s smashed some people clearly feel for that car. I am not really looking forward to the 8^th installment on the basis of the excess here. The action goes on and on and it all seems like a means to make the characters look cool. Hopefully Walker’s death will make them reconsider these ridiculous crashes where the characters come out unscathed or with a couple of cuts. The action is good but it reaches a point where it does not seem spectacular because it’s mind numbing. You come to expect this during the film and it’s just loud with no substance. They try and set up a final confrontation but it comes across as very lightweight. I was not worried for any of the characters.

The excess is not limited to the action because there are some scenes with females that goes high on the emotional index but still seem lightweight. I felt nothing for the characters when they  were crying bucket loads of tears or when they showed their love for each other. It’s clear that they have all matured and Walker’s death brings that into focus but it does not change that this maturity represents ossification or fossilization of the series. The franchise is now obese due to the excess that has taken it beyond its origins and they should start thinking about a new direction probably introducing the inheritors to the underground street racing circuit. You know that it’s excessive because there is only one street race featured in Furious 7. It might be time to go back to that circuit but with new characters with Dominic being some sort of god father. They will eventually do it after the 8^th or 12^th installment when Dom finally gets old. Walker’s death should shake up the franchise or act as some sort of catalyst to reinvent the series by going back to its roots but just not with the same characters. Has the circuit changed since Dom and Brian in 2001? Who is up and coming? In Furious 7 it’s all about settling down and that’s for ageing people. It’s the young people and their unsettled nature that might give the franchise some impetus. How about a more futuristic presentation about the underground racing circuit?

Well it’s not up to me but the franchise is clearly obese based on what I saw. Walker’s death is a clear sign that it might really be time for these characters to settle down and give young, attractive hackers like Ramsey a new starring role alongside fresh faces.