‘Furious 7’ Review
What can you say about the last installment in the gigantic “Fast and Furious” franchise? Returning to what they know best — fast cars — the crew battle two enemies this time round: Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), brother to the international terrorist the gang put to rest in the last adventure, who is revenging his sibling’s demise by attempting to knock off the gang; and a Somalian terrorist who has stolen a computer terrorism program called God’s Eye. Dominic Torretto (Vin Diesel), who is in fine form — almost invincible — gets help from federal agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and assists from a shady government official called “Mr. Nobody” (Kurt Russell) in tracking down the bad guys. The stunts have become more and more outrageous and cartoonish and unbelievable — but nevertheless exciting — and the helicopter vs. car denouement in downtown Los Angeles is quite a fitting closer. The films have now gotten to be a caricature of themselves but they still pack a hell-of-a punch — as the boxoffice for this attests ($351 million in the U.S. alone). “Furious 7” also bids a touching farewell to Paul Walker, an integral member of the Fast family. Vitals: Director: James Wan. Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky, Lucas Black, Jason Statham, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ronda Rousey, Kurt Russell. 2015, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 138 min., Action Thriller, Box office gross: $351.032 million, Universal. 
Extras: “Back to the Starting Line”: Producer Neal Moritz, Chris Morgan and the cast join franchise newcomer director James Wan as they look back at how far the franchise has come bring the latest installment to life; “Race Wars”: “Furious 7” brings the crew back to Race Wars, the iconic, fictional racing event from the very first film. Vin Diesel and a couple hundred friends are back for a full-throttle celebration of all things Fast with special guest-star Iggy Azalea, behind-the-scenes footage of the cars, the sweat and the girls; “Snatch and Grab”: A behind-the-scenes look at shooting one of the premier action sequences in the franchise’s history; “Making of Fast & Furious Supercharged Ride.” The Extended Edition Blu-ray adds deleted scenes; “The Cars of Furious”: The car coordinator and his team join the cast and filmmakers for a closer look at the film’s spectacular cars; “Flying Cars”: People jump out of planes all the time, but not while sitting behind the wheel of a car. This featurette shows how the team pulled off this jaw-dropping sequence; “Tower Jumps”: A look at how one of the most exciting stunt sequences of the film, the Abu Dhabi tower jumps, became a reality; “Inside the Fight”: A combination of fight training footage and interviews takes viewers inside the fierce hand-to-hand fights; “Talking Fast”: Director James Wan and the cast break down the movie’s most memorable moments and chat about how the Fast franchise has evolved over the years; “See You Again” official music video by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth. 
