There is hardly anything that has some sorts of ‘ground-connect’ in James
Wan’s FAST & FURIOUS 7, neither cars nor the plot! Still, this time it ain’t
just about being fast. Following the frenzy trends of the franchise; you don’t
actually need to demand inventive ideas of thrilling action, high-octane sequences
of car chase, thumping explosions that could wreck the whole city down including
the most beautiful skyscrapers or even the glam-dolls clad in their barely-there
shorts. It’s all there by design but what gives this ride an evocative momentum
is the emotionally charged-up underlying melancholy coming from the fact that
one of the members in the gang, Paul Walker is not there with us anymore. And
James Wan brilliantly treats and tweaks it with the help of his brothers to
make it a worth ‘bid adieu’ for the star; and for the fans too.
Deckard Shaw [Jason Statham] enters as the big bad brother of Owen Shaw
[of and from the sixth installment of the franchise] seeking vengeance from the
gang responsible for putting his kid-brother on death-table. The gang is busy
getting their lives on track when the terror knocks their doors. Before they
could even smell it, Han is killed in Tokyo and Hobbs [Dwayne Johnson] is sent
to ICU. Toretto [Vin Diesel] with Brian [Paul Walker], Letty [Michelle
Rodriguez] and others has to join hands with Mr. Nobody [Kurt Russell] to take
down this almost ‘impossible to track’ baddie. Their hope lies in a hacker
named Ramsey [Nathalie Emmanuel] with a ‘track it all’ software. Now, fill this
unhygienic and regular storyline with as much earth-shattering explosions as you
could, head-on-head car collisions and hard-to-digest gravity-defying stunts
[in one, Diesel slams his car into three high-rise buildings of Abu Dhabi,
piercing one after the other and making it the most incredible stunt in the
skies].
FAST & FURIOUS 7 stays true to its genre. Luring men with the glamorous
speed-machines and sensational beauties in bikinis! The plentiful of thrillride
scarcely gives you enough time to think over the logical explanation lacking largely
in the plot. The villain here is often described as untraceable but then, he is
there in every frame without actually having any cover to his existence. The
gang can perform free fall car-stunts from any given altitude and can escape safely
without having a noticeable scar. Meanwhile, the world’s most celebrated cities
are being turned into trashbins after grave blasts and there is no sign of alarmed
populace. Anyways, who would notice and why if the adrenaline rush required and
promised is there intact?
Film surprisingly gets into emotional mode several times, breaking its successful
modus operandi for past six offerings; mostly when Paul Walker gets himself
into a death-defying stunt [The actor lost his life in a speeding car-accident
similar to the movies in this franchise]. And then, this ‘one last ride’ ends in
the highly touching sequence where Paul Walker’s character gets recreated with
computer-graphics and his two of brothers of similar inherited looks. Beautifully
conceived tribute to the star! Watch it for being exciting, exhilarating and
emotionally more involved. If not a fab watch, it is sure a fan watch! [3/5]
P.S. : Indian actor Ali Fazal of 3 IDIOTS fame can also be seen in an evident
cameo. It feels great to see him sharing screen space with Vin Diesel and Paul
Walker.
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