Furious 7 (8/10): The over-blown action scenes continue to improve the beloved franchise

"This time it ain't just about being fast.”

James Wan, who is well known for directing horror films (The Conjuring and Saw), took over the seventh film in this franchise replacing Justin Lin who had been sitting on the director’s chair since the third installment. What I found most interesting about this franchise is that it didn’t seem like it was going anywhere after its solid debut in 2001 since the first couple of sequels focused on different characters and storylines. Even when they got the entire cast back together in 2009 for the fourth film I didn’t feel like it was anything special. I’d always mildly enjoyed the films, but it wasn’t until Fast Five that I was really engaged with the series. Justin Lin may have not impressed me before, but when that film came out he decided to have fun with the overblown action scenes and audiences embraced it completely. We had the team reuniting together being chased by tanks and planes and pulling off nearly mission impossible tasks. My greatest concern for this film was that Wan wouldn’t follow that basic formula that had elevated the franchise in the first place. But in an early scene in the film those fears were soon gone when Wan practically gives the audience a wink by having Brian (Walker) telling his son that “cars don’t fly” when he playfully throws a small toy car through the window. We were about to find out that that claim wasn’t necessarily true because throughout this film we actually see several cars fly during the spectacular action scenes. 

By the end of Furious Six the franchise was tied perfectly together by uniting the events that took place in Tokyo during the third film with the present. In the fifth and sixth installments Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker), Tej (Ludacirs), and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) had finally found financial stability and cleaned their names to return home. The character of Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) had helped reinvigorate the franchise and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) was brought back from the dead (well actually she never really died, but fans of the franchise know what I mean). Mia (Jordan Brewster) and Brian were enjoying their newfound family life, but as we found out in the end of the sixth film, Owen’s brother Deckard (Jason Statham) was set on avenging him. Their seemingly peaceful life  is interrupted as the team begins to be hunted down by this dangerous British criminal. Loretto is offered the opportunity to flip the papers on Deckard from being hunted to becoming the hunters when a secret government official known as Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) offers him a deal. A Somalian mercenary (Djimon Hounsou) has kidnapped a hacker known as Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) who has developed a computer program known as God’s Eye that basically allows you to find anyone across the globe in a matter of seconds. If Toretto’s team can rescue Ramsey and retrieve God’s Eye he will let them use it to track down Deckard and catch him off guard. And so the adventure across the globe begins with flying cars, helicopters and droids exploding across the mountains of the Middle East, the elegant buildings in Abu Dhabi, and the city of Los Angeles. 

Gisele and Han were part of the reason why I enjoyed the previous films so much so I was worried that their absence in this film would hurt the movie, but the addition of Jason Statham as the main villain of the film elevated this to a higher level. There are great fight scenes between him and Dwayne Johnson and then with Vin Diesel that were incredibly entertaining. These are probably the best action stars of our generation and when the fighting choreography is filmed correctly you can’t go wrong with these guys.  There are also some fantastic action scenes involving fast car chases across a gorgeous mountain that ends in a Jurassic Park like cliffhanger. The action scenes are overblown, but that is what makes them so entertaining once you learn to accept the absurdity of it all and simply enjoy the ride. Over-the-top action scenes is what elevated this franchise in the first place and Furious 7 continues to play with that same premise taking advantage of Wan’s knowledgable work behind the camera and his use of different camera angles which makes the film look all the more entertaining. 

The greatest success of Furious 7 is being able to blend the incredibly fun action scenes with the dramatic elements involving the chemistry between the characters. We’ve grown to love these characters and each new addition always seems to work. Furious 7 takes some common themes from films like Mission Impossible or Ocean’s Eleven and applies them really well here. Tyrese Gibson plays a similar character to the one Matt Damon played in Ocean’s where he wants to prove his leadership qualities to the rest of the crew. There are elements recycled from other action films, but thanks to the cast it works extremely well in this franchise. And then you have the emotional aspect of this film surrounding Paul Walker’s untimely death. You can’t help but feel emotionally engaged towards his character knowing that the actor has recently passed away. There are several scenes of his face where the CGI seems evident, but the voice work was perfectly executed. The CGI never distracted me however, and I’m glad they decided to continue with the production of the film. The last five minutes are emotionally engaging and without spoiling the film all I can say is that the crew did him justice with a beautiful tribute. Furious 7 continues to build on an already engrossing franchise and it might just be my second favorite after Fast Five. 

My Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (9/10)

"So here we are: a thief, two thugs, an assassin and a maniac. But we're not going to stand by as evil wipes out the galaxy."

Before I actually get into the review of this film I want to get my emotions out of the way first. All the wait and the hype for Guardians of the Galaxy was finally over and I was not disappointed for one second. This was exactly what I was looking forward to and what all Summer blockbusters should feel like. It was a fantastic experience with great action sequences, interesting characters, and hilarious dialogues with plenty of pop cultural references. I actually enjoyed the comedy more than the fantastic action scenes and found this to be the funniest film of the year. It kind of builds on what Whedon did with The Avengers, but I think James Gunn took it to another level and delivered a rare superhero film that I actually wouldn't mind revisiting over and over again. Although more than a superhero film this seemed like it belonged to the Star Wars franchise, and I felt like a geek all over again. I was blown away by this despite some minor issues and I would rank this as the best Marvel film to date. It was fresh, witty, cool, and despite having many characters they all get sufficient screen time and a distinct personality of their own. Seven months into 2014 I can say this is my favorite film of the year so far just ahead of X-Men Days of Future Past. This was purely entertaining and had some wonderful performances as well.

Before this film I had no prior knowledge of this comic so you can imagine how pleased I was with the way each character was introduced and how easy the story was to follow. The film has a lot of heart as well and each one of the characters have flaws which give them a more humane aspect. Chris Pratt has always been an actor that stands out in his secondary roles, but here he is given a lead role which he absolutely nails. Just like Robert Downey Jr. personified Tony Stark with incredible charisma, Pratt does the same with Peter Quill (aka Star Lord). He is irreverent and full of energy. The supporting cast is also strong. Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper do fantastic voice work with their CGI created characters, Rocket and Groot. Vin Diesel really didn't have to say much, but the way he delivers the same line over and over again made for some funny moments. Dave Bautista really impressed me as Drax because I thought he would basically be the muscle of the film and focus on the action scenes, but his character is funny mostly because he takes things literally all the time. He was great. Zoe Saldana as Gamora was also a stand out as she had some great action scenes and wasn't just in the film to be the girl that needs saving all the time. The way these characters came together was part of the unique experience this film provided. The villains may have been weak, but I didn't really care much because my attention was on the interaction between the heros and seeing them come together. I also want to give a shut out to John C. Reilly and Michael Rooker who provided for even more funny scenes.   

I wasn't really a fan of director, James Gunn's previous superhero film, Super, but I did appreciate his unique sense of humor and how different that film felt from other superhero films. Guardians of the Galaxy is a huge step forward and he really delivered the entertainment here. The soundtrack was amazing and I enjoyed how he combined that music from the 70's with this modern action film because it's not something you usually see in a movie like this. It was just such a fun experience all together and can't wait to revisit it again. It had the type of humor I enjoy and each one of the characters delivered perfect notes. The two hours fly by thanks to an excellent paced film and a well written script. It was charming and if you haven't seen it than please do!

My Review: Fast and Furious 6 (8/10)

¨You don’t turn your back on family, even when they do.¨

Fast and Furious 6 and The Hangover Part 3 were both released today in what looks to be a tight box office race for the Memorial Day weekend. If you would have asked me a couple of years ago which film I would prefer to see, I would have definitely chosen to go see The Hangover Part 3 because I loved the first movie and thought it was a great comedy; I also enjoyed The Fast and The Furious film but wasn’t too pleased with the following three sequels. Then in 2011 when both Fast Five and The Hangover Part 2 came out, things completely changed for me. I was hooked with The Fast and Furious franchise while part two of The Hangover was a major letdown. That is why this weekend I decided to go for Fast and Furious 6 without a doubt, and I wasn’t disappointed. This might not be as good as the last film (which I think is the best in the franchise), but it lived up to expectations and was highly entertaining. This is Justin Lin´s fourth time in the director´s chair in this franchise and he seems to have had a great effect on these movies converting them into entertaining thrillers with some great action scenes. Screenwriter, Chris Morgan, is also back for the fourth time and he has managed to actually put some brains to these fast car races and create better characters. He´s developed these characters very well and made them interesting, and has also done a decent job at creating some memorable villains. The film is fast paced, has several thrills, great car chases, and some decent character development. Of course there are several flaws as well: unbelievable and laughable scenes involving guys jumping off moving vehicles and landing safely all the time, and some very predictable moments and foreseeable twists. I still had a fun time with this film and laughed more than I thought I would.  

If you thought that Toretto (Vin Diesel) and O´Conner (Paul Walker) were retired after their latest heist in Rio, then you were wrong because Detective Hobbs (Dwayne ¨The Rock¨ Johnson) has an interesting proposition for them. He is pursuing some dangerous criminal mercenary drivers led by Shaw (Luke Evans) who have been creating chaos all over Europe. In order to stop them, Hobbs knows that he will need the help of Toretto. Hobbs discovers that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Toretto´s former love interest, is alive and working for Shaw, and therefore convinces Toretto to help him. The rest of his crew decides to come out of retirement as well and try to bring Letty back home with them. In exchange, Hobbs promises these men full pardon, and they accept without hesitation because they are tired of running and not being able to return home. Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris ¨Ludacris¨ Bridges), Han (Sung Kang), and Gisele (Gal Gadot) are all back in order to help Toretto and O´Conner to stop the ruthless criminals pursuing them from London to Spain, but Shaw and his men seem to be always a step ahead of them.

This sixth film in the franchise seems to tie some loose ends from the third and fourth installment in a very thrilling and entertaining way. The franchise has really picked up and it seems to have a lot of life left in it. It even ends with a cliffhanger, so it is certain that the seventh film will be coming out soon as well. Most everyone in the franchise is back again (only missing Tego Calderon and Don Omar) and the interaction between these characters is very entertaining. Ludacris and Tyrese pretty much steal all the laughs in the scenes they are together in, while Gadot and Kang bring in the romantic touch. Toretto and O´Conner have put aside their differences from the first films and their bond is pretty strong now as they are family. Despite some of the insane and absurd action scenes, this film stands above most other action films thanks to a strong performance from the cast. This film is really a lot of fun as long as you don’t think too hard of all the physical impossibilities of what they are achieving. The franchise just continues to grow faster and faster, and it works really well for a summer blockbuster movie. Fans won´t be disappointed, it is a very satisfying film.   

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

My Review: Fast Five (7/10)

¨I suggest you make peace with whatever demons you have left cause come tomorrow, I will find you.¨

The Fast and the Furious franchise is back with its fifth installment, Fast Five, and I must say this is probably the best one of the series. Almost all the characters from the previous films are back and director Justin Lin has managed to bring the franchise back to life. I thought Tokyo Drift would definitely bury the series without Vin Diesel or Paul Walker, but then they managed to bring all the main characters back, mix them together, and now it seems we will have plenty more fast cars coming our way. The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan, who also wrote the third and fourth ones, and the story works really well although that isn`t the reason why we go see these movies. There are probably better actors, better scripts, and more believable heist thrillers than this one, but we still go see these movies for the cars and the great action sequences. The situations these guys go through is unbelievable, we know that the way these characters drive they should all have died in the first Fast and Furious, but we know this is just a fun and entertaining franchise and we try to make peace with the screenplay as best we can because it is just fun to see these guys go at it. It`s fun to see them drive cars off a running train, or speed by busy streets without crashing into each other while at the same time avoiding all sorts of bullets and explosions. Fast Five might be the most unbelievable and improbable film of the franchise, but it is still the best one.

The film picks up right where the fourth one left us, Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) are breaking Dominic (Vin Diesel) out of custody while he is being transported to jail. They successfully manage to free him, and all three of them become fugitives. They are forced to continually be on the run and end up in Rio de Janeiro with very little money left on them. In Rio they stay with Dom`s longtime friend from the first film, Vince (Matt Schulze), who is now living in the favelas with his girlfriend and baby boy Nico. Vince tells Brian he has a job for them and since they are short on cash they have to accept. Unfortunately something goes wrong in the job and the guys make a new enemy: Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), a corrupt businessman who owns the entire police force and gangsters in Rio. Now Dom and Brian have all the gangsters, the Brazilian police, and special Federal Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne ¨The Rock¨ Johnson) along with his elite team after them in beautiful Rio. Dom and Brian decide to pull off one last job in order to teach Hernan a lesson, but in order to do so they will need to assemble an elite team. That is where the rest of the crew from previous films come in. First we have Tej (Ludacris) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) from the first sequel, then there`s Han Lue (Sung Jang) from the Tokyo Drift film, and finally Gisele (Gal Gadot), Tego (Tego Calderon), and Rico Santos (Don Omar) are back from the latest installment. Together they hope to pull off one of the biggest heists of their lives worth 100 million dollars, but being able to pull it off doesn`t seem that easy.  

Fast Five delivers what it promises and even more. There are a lot of action sequences and they are shot extremely well. The cars move really fast, but that isn`t all Fast Five has going for it. The addition of The Rock to the story sets up an interesting fight scene between him and Dominic. The Rock helped boost the series even more and brought something fresh to the franchise. There is also the plus that the film took place in Rio de Janeiro and the scenery there is just so beautiful. There is a great chase scene that takes place over the roofs of the favelas, reminiscent of the Bourne Ultimatum scene in Morocco. Yes, the story is improbable, but we still are allowed to have fun with it. I didn`t get into the movie that much until the second half of the film, but let me say that the second part really delivers. This movie also has the best ending and it really leaves you expecting the sixth part, which I really didn’t feel that excited about in the other films. Fans of the franchise will surely be satisfied and Fast Five might even add a few new converts along the way because it is the best one so far. The soundtrack is also great and Don Omar really is hilarious in this movie. He delivered most of the funny scenes in the film. Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson also did their part in sharing the workload. It was just good seeing all these characters together and the cameo in the ending is just the cherry on the pie. I was surprisingly entertained with Fast Five.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/