(Warning: Spoilers ahead for Furious 7, so proceed with care! But they won’t ruin your enjoyment of the film.)
I’m so exited to share my thoughts on Fast & Furious 7 – yep, it doesn’t matter if you call these films cheesy or boring – all I have to say is they are some of my favorite films to watch.
First off, the action in the film is very tight. The fight scenes and stunts are the best they’ve ever created. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a whole movie theater whoop and cheer during the action and FF7 delivered over and over again.
However, what made the movie really special was the love the Fast Family showed to its fallen hero, Paul Walker.
As a big fan, I was worried that the movie would suffer from ‘replacement edits’ – scenes using doubles (Paul Walker’s brothers, in this case) to fix parts of the film that he’d been unable to complete – but this whole, big, awesome movie was a smooth ride from start to finish.
In fact, it all worked so well, it’s like they had some eerie premonition that Paul would leave us. Paul’s character, Brian, is happy with his family, wife Mia (Jordana Brewster), little son Jack and a daughter on the way.
How does the movie wrap up?
Here’s my description of the last part for you: Paul and Vin pull up alongside each other as if they’re going to drag race. I love this reference to the old school Fast & Furious – bringing back the iconic Dom vs. Brian drag race.
This is intercut with flashes of Brian and Dom’s friendship, their best bro-ments and times with the Fast Family all together.
Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) says in the movie, “I don’t have friends, I’ve got family” and Fast & Furious 7 stays true to this heartfelt statement throughout.
The road forks, and the pair go their separate ways. Paul Walker – driving a symbolically white car – speeds his way to a better place.
The screen cuts to black, reading only, “For Paul.”
RIP, Paul: Ride in Paradise.