Movie review: Fast & Furious 7

No one's going to claim that Fast & Furious 7 deserves an Oscar. After all, this is a film that has one character say to another, "Don't use linguistics to make it sound like you know what's going on," halfway through its over-the-top climax.

It's a nice in-joke to the film's many plot strands that sees the reassembled Fast crew veering between Abu Dhabi, mountainous desert ranges and the mean streets of Los Angeles as they track a hacker called 'Ramsay' (rising Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel) in a bid to defeat ultra-baddie Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham).

Likewise, no one's going to claim any of its many action stars - Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, The Rock, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson and the late Paul Walker - deserve any acting awards. Lets just say they've come a long way since their wooden efforts in the 2001 original - and there's still some way to go.

But what F&F7 lacks in mystique, it makes up for by bludgeoning you over the head to deliver the greatest full throttle action-adventure film you'll see on screen this year.

Of course, this is a film most will be watching for its stunt sequences and set pieces, many of which involve the cast doing big, stupid things with an expensive array of flash muscle cars - often walking away from mangled metal wreckages needing nothing more than a simple neck stretch to return to 100 per cent.

Those that stand out include Walker's cliffhanger bus jump, Diesel finding an inventive way to destroy a fighter jet with his car, and a superior high-speed road raid on a black ops bus. Another, involving Diesel and Walker flying a rare $3.5 million Lykan Hypersport between skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi is so good director James Wan uses it twice.

The plot those action sequences hang off might be a bit of a smouldering wreck - something about Statham's scene-stealing Shaw wanting to avenge the death of his brother, but not if the Fast crew can find hacker Ramsay to utilise an all-seeing 'God's Eye' computer program to find Shaw first. That Shaw turns up wherever they go doesn't seem to deter them from their mission.

But what saves F&F7 from being a one-note action film are the gutpunch emotional touches involving Walker, whose death from a high-speed car crash mid-filming meant many re-writes, CGI touches and stunt stand-ins - including his brothers - being used to film his scenes as the semi-retired Brian O'Conner.

Some of those - a funeral, O'Conner telling his wife Mia to "move on", anything involving Walker in or near a fast car - certainly tug at the heart strings. And with a weighty closing tribute, be warned: the way this Fast film wraps up might leave you - like many at Wednesday night's Auckland premiere - wiping tears from your cheeks.

Yes, Fast 7 delivers exactly what fans want: a high-octane thrillride that's a fitting tribute to its late star. Just remember to buckle up and drive home slowly afterwards. It's what Paul Walker would have wanted.

Fast & Furious 7
Director: James Wan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Kurt Russell, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Djimon Hounsou and Lucas Black.
Rating: M (Violence)
Time: 137 minutes
Verdict: Fast crew's full throttle seventh outing comes with emotional heft.