Fast & Furious 7 out now
Words by Raj Hunjan
Us Brits seem to be frequently cast as the bad guys in Hollywood Blockbusters. The latest full length feature in the car crazed franchise, Fast & Furious 7, enlists Jason Statham (star in The Transporter & Expendables) to terrorise the Fast & Furious family. The back story to the introduction of Statham’s character, Deckard Shaw, goes like this; Deckard is the older brother of the villain in Fast & Furious 6 (Owen Shaw) and feels compelled to take revenge on the crew for capturing his sibling. Unfortunately, Deckard happens to be a cold-blooded black-ops assassin and it seems that the crew’s only hope is to get behind the wheel again to secure an ingenious prototype tracking device to locate and apprehend Shaw as well as rescue the gifted hacker who created it.
The story crosses the globe in places as far away as Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, the Dominican Republic and as familiar as the Los Angeles streets they call home, the crew must come together once again as a team, and as a family, to protect their own. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black are all present in the finale along with the cars, women, action scenes, one-liners and edge-of-your-seat suspense that fans of the series have come to expect. Fast & Furious newcomers in the seventh film are Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, Gladiator), Tony Jaa (Ong-bak), Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones), Ronda Rousey (The Expendables 3) and Kurt Russell (Poseidon, Escape From New York).
The film debuted in cinemas earlier this year and set a new Guinness World Record for fastest time for a movie to gross $1 billion at the global box office. It took a mere 17 days to break the $1 billion barrier, quickly surpassing previous record holder Avatar that reached the mark in 19 days.
From September 7th, Fast 7 Furious 7 is available to purchase on DVD, Blu-ray and as a limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook. The Bluray versions feature the all-new extended edition with even more explosive thrills, along with the official music video of the chart topping “See You Again” performed by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth and over ninety minutes of exclusive bonus features, making an indispensable addition to the Fast franchise collection.
The franchise has come a long way since the first film was released in 2001. It has grown from a simple story of street racing in Los Angeles to a complex narrative spanning international locations including Tokyo, London and Abu Dhabi. The extreme adrenalin action is incessant throughout the series and even more-so in the latest film. Sure, the action scenes may be far removed from reality, but that’s not the point, Fast & Furious has been responsible for building up the extreme auto based drama to a climax. I think it does a great job of competing with the latest Bond and Mission Impossible features.
Fast & Furious 7 bids a touching farewell to Paul Walker, an integral member of the Fast family. The final scenes with Walker were shaped by Vin Diesel, who was a close friend off the screen as well as co-star throughout the series. It will be hard not to shed a tear and get a lump in your throat while watching the images. Walker was an integral part of the franchise and was involved in a horrific accident in November 2013 while travelling as a passenger in a Porsche Carrera GT.
Whether you watch the film because you’re a diehard Fast & Furious fan or just curious to find out what all the fuss is about, you will enjoy the film. Some may be put off with the fact this was Paul Walkers last movie but I can assure you that the filmmakers couldn’t have given Paul a better tribute and send-off. It’s emotional, happy and joyful, and absolutely spot on.
