March 12, 2015

Longevity, I mean what more can you really say. There are few rare movies out their in film history that go past trilogy while keeping their integrity. Better yet evolve into something greater along the way. If you think about it, and you won't have to think hard there aren't many sequels that keep the essence of what made them great in the first place. Most get stuck and over use that essence like a bad cologne and others completely abandon it. Movies that are lucky enough or just quirky enough that hit B-Movie cult classic level with 11 movies in the series are typically as awful as you might think. Their almost so bad you enjoy watching it because who doesn't like a good laugh.

All that being said I am extremely impressed with The Fast & Furious Series. Don't get me wrong they had their miss steps....Tokyo Drift....cough cough, but they did something not easy to do in movies. Especially when the bottom dollar matters so much. They tied in an awful movie that many probably would wish to forget, and made it relevant. Almost crucial even to the future story arc that brought it all together with a great action actor in Jason Statham, and a pretty good villain in Luke Evans who plays Statham's younger brother.

Furious 7 built upon the essence of what made the series great. Amazing action sequences that borderline on absurd with a good balance of comic relief. The movie went over the top at times but still stayed in the realm of Fast & Furious world possible. By no means is it the strongest movie out of the series, but it's still quite enjoyable. The biggest thing to take away from the movie is the way they handled Paul Walker's unfortunate passing. They handled it with such tact and class. The studio didn't exploit his death for profit like many studios would be tempted to do. The end of the movie wasn't just a fade to black screen stating the words "In Memory of ---Fill In Name here--- you will be missed", which is quite common. Just know the ending will make you a little watery to say the least.

Film Grade: B+