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Director: James Wan

Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson

Runtime: 137 min

Main Cast:

• Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto
• Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner
• Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw
• Michelle Rodriguez as Letty
• Jordana Brewster as Mia
• Tyrese Gibson as Roman
• Ludacris as Tej
• Dwayne Johnson as Hobbs

Guest Review: by Erika T

I think the blockbuster season officially kicks off with this one.  It’s on my most anticipated movie list. Not surprising since I’m a long time fan of the franchise. Also, as a sense of loyalty there was no way I would miss Paul Walker’s final film.

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After taking down a formidable foe, Owen Shaw, Dominic Toretto (played by Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (played by the late Paul Walker) and their comrades strike a deal to return to the U.S. and recapture their former lives.  But they appear to have messed with the wrong guy. Owen’s older brother, Deckard Shaw (played byJason Statham), is determined to exact revenge for his brother creating a whole new set of dangers for everyone.  On the heels of Han’s death, the crew wants to find Shaw and bring him to justice for killing one of their own, not just for revenge, but also for their survival.

What I Liked:

The IMAX introduction was custom made for the film, which I thought it was pretty neat. It was the first time I’d seen that for a film actually.  And can I say I am grateful that they haven’t jumped on the 3D bandwagon!  It’s much more enjoyable in 2D.

It gives you everything you want and expect from a Fast and Furious franchise:  cars, over the top action, great cast chemistry, and beautiful locations from all over the world (Abu Dhabi was my personal fave).  At this point the franchise knows itself and knows its audience.  I love that it’s able to enjoy this much success 7 movies in. It’s very rare for that to happen. And the late films are legitimately the best ones.

Brian (Paul) gets some really awesome scenes.  He had a lot of hand-to-hand combat fighting with Tony Jaa and held his own.  He even gets his very own Nathan Drake (from the Uncharted videogame series) moment as he climbs up a bus precariously hanging off a cliff!

I love Dom and Letty. They are my Fast & Furious OTP.  And though he got her back in 6, she’s still dealing with the effects of her memory loss.  They get their fair share of angst but fans definitely don’t want to miss the resolution.

Statham was a solid bad guy. I actually think we could have gotten more of him but the cast is fairly crowded as is.

What I Didn’t Like:

I definitely wish there was more of The Rock in this one.  I understand he had commitments to film Hercules at the time, but he is one of the reasons new life was breathed into the franchise and he fits it like a glove now. I definitely hope to see him more in 8. The void will be felt more than ever there.

They finally catch up with Tokyo Drift (the third film) in the franchise timeline, so they used scenes from that film (which came out in 2006) and then spliced in scenes they filmed recently.  I have to say being nearly 10 years later it was a bit obvious that Lucas Black (who played protagonist Sean Boswell at the time) has aged.  I’m just saying in this film where CGI was all over the place, they could have given him the Benjamin Button treatment a little.

You can find more of Erika’s work here Your Urban Fantasy

Images Courtesy of IMDB