Film: "Fast & Furious 7"; Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne
Johnson, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana
Brewster, Djimon Honsou and Lucas Black; Director: James Wan; Rating: **
The
best part of the seventh edition of the "Fast & Furious" franchise
is its last 10 minutes. Apart from the action, the film encapsulates the
mood and sentiments of a team and pays a glowing tribute to Paul
Walker, who was killed in a car accident, albeit unrelated to the film,
in November 2013.
But to reach to this final 10 minutes of the
film, one has to endure a barrage of outlandish ear-deafening action
sequences, sprinkled with a few comical as well as emotional moments
that take place across continents.
Nevertheless, "Furious 7" is a
high octane, over-the-top, adventure caper, that is frivolous in
nature. It definitely caters to its fans' expectations.
The story takes off from where it left in the previous edition and from the very onset stresses on "family ties and friends".
The
narration begins with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and the team.
Haunted about their past, they are now trying to settle down to a sober
lifestyle. But Deckard Shaw (Statham), who had lost his brother, is hell
bent on avenging his brother's death.
After numerous attempts to
curb Shaw, Dominic and his team approach FBI Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne
Johnson). He is unfortunately holed up in a hospital with a bandaged arm
and his daughter to monitor him.
Hobbs advises Dominic to seek
the help of a secret CIA operative (Kurt Russell), who introduces
himself as "Mr. Nobody". The CIA agent agrees to oblige them, only if
Dominic's team would secure a sharp tracking device for the US
government.
On the other hand, a group of mercenaries led by
Jakande (Djimon Honsou), are also attempting to lay their hands on the
tracking device.
Director James Wan, who had earlier given us a
few horror movies like the "Saw" and "The Conjuring" series, has very
resolutely delivered this action-packed film, keeping in tune with its
pedigree.
Unfortunately, what makes the narration tedious, is the
talk-heavy exposition and continuous loud action scenes, from start to
finish. They numb your senses forcing you to even snatch forty winks.
But when you are wide awake, you can relish some preposterous action
sequences shot at post-card locales along with unusual stunts which
include fisticuffs and street-style fighting. Some of these are
nail-bitingly edgy.
The dialogues are crisp and tempered with the
characteristic one-liners that have been often seen in the series.
These are especially evident, during moments of one-upmanship, when the
cast keeps ribbing their opponents, "too slow". These serve as a
reminder of what the film is about.
On the performance front,
there is nothing exceptional to talk about. Emoting has never been a
strong point of these action heroes. They deliver strong lines stoically
and the ladies too are no better.
Visually too, alternating
between shots of foot on the accelerator and the speedometer, the
adrenaline rush of the speed thrills, is effectively created by the
sound design and quick edits.
The songs with the lyrics, "Oh oh
my, I couldn't believe in my eyea" and the one at the very end, "We have
come a long way about you, my friends" as background score is touching.
Overall, this film will only appeal to fans of the series.
