Yeah, I cried at the end. Even the usually cynical professional critics admit to doing the same. There was an article that collected viewers' and reviewers' reactions titled "did you cry watching Furious 7?" without the tiniest hint of irony. As everyone says, the film is a great, lasting tribute to Paul, and the ending is deeply touching without being too sentimental.
I saw it when it opened here on April 1, and people applauded at the final dedication. As for my subjective view re: the rest of the film... on the downside, some of the action sequences (most notably the LA urban warfare scenes) seemed too over-the-top and science-fiction-y, and Djimon Hounsou's evil mastermind was little more than a token big baddie, but then baddies were never this saga's strong point (may Verone fans forgive me). On the upside, Jason Statham makes for a very efficient and suitably soulless killing machine, and much more importantly, the sense of family that makes up the seven films' emotional core is very palpable here, more so than in the louder and shallower (again, IMO) Fast Six, even though I really missed Han and Gisele in this one.
It certainly feels like it was a labour of love for everyone involved who did their best to honour their friend. There was a scene where Mia was talking to Brian on the phone that was, most likely, added as part of the reworked script, and I am sure that the tears in Jordana Brewster's eyes when whe told "Brian" she loved him and worried about him were no act.
I know they left the ending open and Universal is thinking about making three more films. If the actors are on board with it, best of luck to them; I suspect I may not watch those, or at least wait until the DVD stage to do so. But given the real life tragedy, I could hardly wish for a better ending.
I saw it when it opened here on April 1, and people applauded at the final dedication.
As for my subjective view re: the rest of the film... on the downside, some of the action sequences (most notably the LA urban warfare scenes) seemed too over-the-top and science-fiction-y, and Djimon Hounsou's evil mastermind was little more than a token big baddie, but then baddies were never this saga's strong point (may Verone fans forgive me).
On the upside, Jason Statham makes for a very efficient and suitably soulless killing machine, and much more importantly, the sense of family that makes up the seven films' emotional core is very palpable here, more so than in the louder and shallower (again, IMO) Fast Six, even though I really missed Han and Gisele in this one.
It certainly feels like it was a labour of love for everyone involved who did their best to honour their friend. There was a scene where Mia was talking to Brian on the phone that was, most likely, added as part of the reworked script, and I am sure that the tears in Jordana Brewster's eyes when whe told "Brian" she loved him and worried about him were no act.
I know they left the ending open and Universal is thinking about making three more films. If the actors are on board with it, best of luck to them; I suspect I may not watch those, or at least wait until the DVD stage to do so. But given the real life tragedy, I could hardly wish for a better ending.
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