Fast and the Furious 7 is the perfect way to pay tribute to the late Paul Walker.
If you have seen any of the other movies in the series, which began in 2001, you can predict a lot of what happens: there is a lot of action, racing, and fast cars, but the acting and the screenplay are very good, it doesn’t feel like just a tired repeat of the first six installments.
The film (137 minutes, rated PG-13) starts out where Fast and Furious 6 left off.
At the end of that film, Dominic Torretto (played by Vin Diesel) and his crew took down international terrorist Owen Shaw, and now his big brother Deckard Shaw (played by Jason Statham) is out seeking revenge.
If you love action then you are hooked right away because there is a huge fight scene in the beginning with Shaw, and Agent Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson).
This film shows more of family side of Toretto and his crew than any other in the series, and that’s evident in the beginning, when a bomb planted by Shaw destroys the house that Mia (played by Jordana Brewster) and Brian (played by the late Paul Walker) live in.
Fast 7 isn’t all about action. It does a good job with incorporating comedy into several scenes between Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) so for as much action that there is in the film, there is also comedy as well.
Walker had about half of the movie left to film when he died on Nov. 30, 2013 in a car crash in California, so producers used stunt doubles and body doubles; his brothers Caleb and Cody agreed to step in and help complete the film in his honor.
I honestly could not tell a difference. If I was going into the movie completely clueless, I would assume that Walker was in the entire movie. The only scene where you could tell that it maybe wasn’t him was at the very end, when he and Toretto take one last ride.
The final scene in the movie was very touching and heartwarming. I think it was the proper ending, and the perfect way to pay tribute to Walker. If you’re an emotional person then make sure to have tissues ready because it’s a tearjerker.