Furious 7

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

Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and team are being targeted by a vengeful British super-spy, Deckhard Shaw (Statham). Deckard is the older brother of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and wants to hurt the crew that hurt his brother. He breaks into DSS to steal information about the team, puts Luke Hobbs (Johnson) in the hospital, and murders another member of the team. At the funeral, the team vows that they won't go to anymore funerals for their family. 

Covert ops leader Mr. Nobody (Russell) offers to help them find Deckhard, in exchange for rescuing hacker Ramsey (Emmanuel) from Nigerian terrorist Mose Jakande (Hounsou). Ramsey created a computer program called God's Eye, that can track any individual. They plan a tricky heist to find Ramsey, but Deckhard is a wildcard. Can they fulfill the mission and stop another member of the Shaw family?

This is the 7th film in the Fast and Furious franchise following: The Fast and the Furious (2001), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast and Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), and Fast and Furious 6 (2013). To date there are 3 subsequent films: The Fate of the Furious (2017), F9 (2021), and Fast X (2023).

The Good:

If you enjoy over-the-top stunts, this is the film for you. Somehow they managed to top the action and stunts from the previous films.

The film also leans into sentimental side, giving Paul Walker's Brian a solid happy ending, that clearly wraps up his arch in the franchise.

Jason Statham is an imposing villain, who one character calls a "legit British badass". It is fun watching him go against both Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. He was popular enough character to get a spin-off (alongside Johnson's Hobbs, in Hobbs and Shaw).

The Bad:

The script... it's not terrible, but the story is not particularly memorable. It is just something that happens in between action scenes.

Letty's amnesia is still a thing in this film. It gets old quickly - her frustration and Dom's continuous efforts to force her to remember. 

Other Comments:

-A new director joins the franchise, James Wan (after 4 films in a row directed by Justin Lin). Chris Morgan returns as the writer.

-Includes a brief cameo by Lucas Black from the third film. This ties the third film to the rest of the series and puts thr timing into context.

-This is Paul Walker's film appearance in the franchise, as he died during filming. His brothers and others were stand-ins to complete the film.

-Before the end credits, the film is dedicated to Paul Walker.

-The film also features new song "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.

Furious 7 (2015) 137 minutes

Rating: PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language.

Director: James Wan

Starring: Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto

Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner

Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs

Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz

Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce

Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker

Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto

Djimon Hounsou as Mose Jakande

Tony Jaa as Kiet

Ronda Rousey as Kara

Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey

Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody

Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw

Fast and Furious 6

"Who's got a plan B?"

"Plan B? We need a plan C, D, E. We need more alphabet!"

DSS Agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) is tracking a crew of mercenaries and professional precision drivers, led by ex-SAS officer Owen Shaw (Evans). All previous efforts to arrest Shaw have been unsuccessful, so Hobbs devises a new plan: use criminals to catch a criminal, so he asks Dominic Toretto (Diesel) for help.

Hobbs has proof that Letty Ortiz (Rodriguez), who they believed was dead, is a member of Shaw's crew. To make their family whole again they agree to a deal: they help him get Shaw and they get Letty and full pardons. The team consists of Dom, Hobbs, new father Brian (Walker), Tej (Ludacris), Roman (Gibson), Han (Kang), Gisele (Gadot), and DSS Agent Riley Hicks (Carano).

But Shaw isn't like other adversaries. He has a crew with skills that mirror theirs, he is always thinking ahead, and he isn't afraid to play dirty. With stakes higher than ever, can they stop Shaw and get their lives back?

This is the sixth film in the Fast and Furious franchise, following: The Fast and the Furious (2001), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast and Furious (2009), and Fast Five (2011). To date there are 4 subsequent films: Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), F9 (2021), and Fast X (2023).

The Good:

This is the fourth film in the franchise directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. Once again they deliver an action-packed, stunt-heavy film.

I still love Sung Kang's Han and his relationship with Gal Gadot's Gisele. They are entertaining individually and great together. 

Once again the female main characters (there are 5 this time, plus the blonde woman on Shaw's crew) are involved in the action with a role to play, other than eye candy. 

Luke Evans is a solid villain, smart and compelling, while still an obvious threat. I also enjoyed Joe Taslim as henchman Jah. It is a small but memorable role.

The Bad:

Despite having more women, in the end half are dead or off the team. I hate how they handled Dom's relationships in the end (dismissive of one and irrational about the other).

Other Comments:

-Scene during the credits goes back to the third film and Han's race. Which means that this film is chronologically right before the third film. Also sets up the antagonist for the next film.

-They opening credits include brief scenes from all of the previous films.

-Includes cameos from the 4th film: Shea Whigham as Agent Michael Stasiak and John Ortiz as Arturo Braga.

-This was the last film in the franchise released before Paul Walker's death. 

-An 11th and final film is planned for the franchise. 

The Fast and the Furious 6 (2013) 130 minutes

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action and mayhem throughout, some sexuality and language 

Director: Justin Lin 

Starring: Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto

Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner

Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs

Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz

Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto

Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce

Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker

Sung Kang as Han Lue

Gal Gadot as Gisele Yashar

Luke Evans as Owen Shaw

Gina Carano as Riley Hicks

Elsa Pataky as Elena Neves

Fast Five

"Why you gotta be so negative, man?"

"I ain't negative. I'm positive you're gonna mess it up."

Dominic Toretto (Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Walker), and Mia Toretto (Brewster) are wanted fugitives after breaking Dom out of prison. They team up with old friend Vince (Schulze) in Rio de Janeiro. They join Vince for a car heist, but end up at odds with drug lord Hernan Reyes (de Almeida).

To buy their freedom, they call in old friends to help with a new heist: Roman (Gibson), Han (Kang), Tej (Ludacris), Gisele (Gadot), Leo (Calderón), and Santos (Omar). The plan is to pull one last job to steal all of Reyes' money and then disappear, with a profit of $11 million each.

Reyes puts a bounty on their heads and puts pressure on the local police to catch them. They are also pursued by DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson), who leads an elite task force that hunts down escaped fugitives.  Can they pull off the heist, stop Reyes, and evade Hobbs?

This is the 5th film in the Fast and Furious franchise, following The Fast and the Furious (2001), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), and

Fast and Furious (2009). To date there are 5 subsequent films in the franchise: Fast and Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), F9 (2021), and Fast X (2023).

The Good:

Perhaps I have gone numb to it, but I actually didn't mind this entry in the franchise. I won't say I loved it, but I also did not hate it. The story is about the heist, with a little racing... while the previous entries were more focused on the cars and races. The heist, stunts, and action keep your attention.

They also wisely brought back popular characters from previous films. It reinforces the family theme that they continually mention in the series. It also gives the audience the chance to see how the characters interact and continues their stories, including a shot at redemption for Vince.

The Bad:

The acting remains weak.

Other Comments:

-An 11th and final film is planned for the franchise. 

-This is the third film in the franchise to be directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. 

-Dwayne Johnson is a welcome addition to the story. He was well received and appeared in subsequent films. He also got a spin-off film Hobbs and Shaw in 2019. He was brought in because fans wanted to see Diesel vs. Johnson.

-There are now 4 women in the series (Letty, Mia, Gisele, and Elena) and they actually get to be involved in the story, beyond just eye candy. They have names, personalities, and a role to play in the team (it only took 5 films to reach that point).

-Features a scene during the credits that includes a cameo by Eva Mendes reprising her role from 2 Fast 2 Furious. 

Fast and Five (2011) 130 minutes

Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, sexual content and language.

Director: Justin Lin

Starring: Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto

Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner

Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto

Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce

Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker

Matt Schulze as Vince

Sung Kang as Han Lue

Gal Gadot as Gisele Yashar

Joaquim de Almeida as Hernan Reyes

Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs

Elsa Pataky as Elena Neves

Tego Calderón as Leo

Don Omar as Santos