Al's Omniflick: Furious 7

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Furious 7

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: James Wan/Starring: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Ludaris, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Paul Walker, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Elsa Pataky

So comes the end to another Hollywood franchise...at least I think it's the end but unlike many gaudily budgeted series that lose their gas somewhere in the middle of second installment, The Fast and Furious series never lost its preposterous but intoxicating edge. An though I'm usually more than glad to see most franchises expire, I am actually sorry to see this series say goodbye. I'm also actually surprised the Furious saga is being retired. The last few movies gained some steam--and some fun cast members--without diminished inspiration. But good things stay good by leaving before their welcome is well-worn and the series does just that.

While it is sad to see Dominic Toretto and his crew retire, the loss of Paul Walker is sadder still. His presence in the film casts a bit of melancholy on the story. So as we say goodbye to the franchise, we also bid farewell to someone who was a mainstay in the series. It is fortunate for fans and the filmmakers that Walker was around long enough to complete the film.

Furious 7 takes us out with a bang and some new faces. The last film introduced Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), brother to Owen Shaw (Luke Evans); the latter didn't fare too well when he provoked Dominic and his crew. Deckard is one of those action movie villains who is obscenely trained as a special forces this and that and is as wily as they come. Deckard was a lethal agent in Han's (Sung Kang) death, as we saw in the last film. Deckard wastes little time plotting the deaths of the rest of Dominic's crew as revenge for his brother. Before the Furious crew can fully mourn their murdered friend, Deckard blows up Dominic's home, which almost claims the life of the crew leader and Mia (Jordana Brewster) in the process.

Deckard had scuffled earlier with Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) in the FBI agent's office after accessing a computer file to locate Dominic's address. Deckard manages to escape, leaving Hobbs hospitalized and out of action.

Angry about being Deckard's prey and hungry for retaliation, Dominic gathers his crew but before they can take action, the group is visited by a government agency operative who calls himself Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell, who has a lot fun with his role). Mr. Nobody is willing to turn a blind eye to Dominic and his crew's hunt in exchange for a mission in the Caucasus mountains. An African terrorist named Jakande (Djimon Honsou; yes, EVERYONE makes an appearance in this flick), has kidnapped a computer whiz named Ramsey who has created a program that would allow the user access to any cellphone or computer in the world. Mr. Nobody wants the target captured before he or she can be tortured for the device containing the coveted information. With few alternatives, Dominic and crew accept the mission and the challenge.

The hitch in the plan is Brian O'Connor (the late Paul Walker) and Mia's new life as parents. Caught between fatherhood (family is everything to Dominic and the crew) and his craving for danger, Mia allows Paul to join the mission.

And of course the unfinished business between Letty (Michelle Rodgriguez) and Dominic is an issue in need of address in the film. Rejoining the crew while trying to restore her memory of her time with Dominic is another sub-story in the narrative.

It goes without saying that the Caucasus mission is over-the-top and deliriously entertaining; two attributes by which we identify the series. Why a para-military operation would involve souped-up hot-rods is a conundrum for the ages but this is Furious 7; the fans knows not to spoil the fun with logic. Director James Wan, known for his work in the horror genre offerings The Conjuring and the Saw and Insidious films, shows a deft, instinctive touch with action scenes as well.

The mission becomes more interesting when Deckard shows up to foil and spoil and the computer geek's identity adds a little twist to the proceedings. But Dominic and gang learn the device Mr. Nobody is after is hidden in (what else?) a beautiful, sleek Maserati (I think I got the make right) inside an Arab billionaire's suite in a luxury high-rise in Dubai. The sequence calls for more spectacular, impossible goings on, including an electrifying building to building car flight.

Everything leads to a showdown in the L.A. streets; Dominic and crew's hometurf, with Deckard and Jakande visiting all manner of Biblical destruction on city blocks and buildings.

The series goes out the way it came in; with fast, cool cars, beautiful women, exotic locales, and always a hyper-kinetic, breakneck pace.

Jason Statham takes a break from his usual hero status to play the bad guy and does it well. With Diesel, Johnson and Statham, there is more than enough testosterone to challenge a first-world army.

Everyone gets his or her share of screentime and of course all the franchise loose-ends are neatly tied up.

In spite of its now iconic cast, The Fast and Furious series owes much to Diesel's Herculean charisma. What will he do with it now?

A premise I didn't think would survive past a sequel became a seven-movie phenomenon. That doesn't happen often and if one should come along again, it won't be anything like Fast and Furious. Let that statement serve as a lofty compliment. Somehow the thought of there being no more Furious movies to look forward to makes me feel quite sad.

No comments:

Post a Comment

On DVD

Fury (1936)

Director: Fritz Lang

Though we might normally think of the films M and Metropolis when director Fritz Lang becomes the topic of conversation, less known is the legendary director's work in Hollywood. Having fled the ever-growing menace of Nazi Germany for America in the early 1930s', Lang eventually found himself under contract for MGM.

Though his work in Hollywood is very uneven, one standout is Fury, from 1936. Starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sydney, the film's condemnation of mob justice seems spectacularly daring now, considering lynching was still a reality in Depression-era America. We don't see one black person in the film entire but we know precisely for whom Lang film is sympathetic.

Spencer Tracy plays Joe Wilson, who is arrested in a small town while en route to meet his fiance, Katherine (Sylvia Sydney). Suspected of being part of a kidnapping of a little girl, Wilson is arrested on the flimsiest evidence. While he sits in cell; angry and indignant, Katherine is puzzled as to why her fiance hasn't arrived at their prearranged meeting place.

But Wilson's fortunes take a darker and more dangerous turn when a mob--already on edge--is roused to anger. Egging one another on, the mob moves on the jailhouse where Wilson is being held. As the angry gathering becomes a mass, drawing citizens of the town into their swelling numbers, a lynch-mob begins to form. The sheriff, determined to see due process take its course, refuses their forceful demands. Becoming angrier and angrier and bolder and bolder, the crowd storms the jail, overwhelming the sheriff and his deputies. Unable to unlock the cell doors to reach Wilson, the mob sets the jailhouse ablaze as an alternate method of lynching.

Katherine, having arrived on the scene, faints when she sees flames engulf the cell where her fiance is held.

In spite of the mob acting as a faceless entity, its principle members are brought to trial though the town and the defendants maintain a conspiracy of silence, hoping to escape convictions and censure.

A sure acquittal seems imminent until damning evidence assures their guilt. When the majority of the members receive death sentences, Wilson turns up at his brothers, having survived the fire. Knowing the public is unaware of his survival, he vows to stay in hiding to ensure the mob conspirators are executed.

The scene where Katherine, nearly insane from grief, comes face to face with Joe is a powerful moment in the film. As she slowly recovers from her state, she realizes Joe's vindictive determination to see the mob hang is in itself a great injustice.

The story climaxes during a stirring courtroom scene that brings the fascinating story to a close.

I would have never expected Hollywood to make a statement as powerful as Fury made in 1936. Given the fact that lynchings in America at the time went unpunished, the movie railed bravely, in spite of the main character being white rather than black, against what was then the status quo. The Oxbow Incident would make a similar and commensurately powerful statement seven years later.

The film's willingness to peer into the darker side of American life could be partly attributed to Lang, who co-wrote the story and who was no stranger to exploring the darker side of humanity. Having seen evil flower in his home country, it makes sense Lang would choose to tell this story.

Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sydney give wonderful, emotionally layered performances. Katherine's near descent into madness is depicted touchingly by Sydney. To see Tracy's mild-mannered Wilson become angry and vengeful is heartbreaking.

Even watching Lang's film on a small screen does little to diminish its power. Weeks after the viewing, I still can't shake its indelible images or its angry indictment of one of America's great crimes. One couldn't devise a better title than one it was given eighty years ago. Fury indeed.