Don’t tell Vin Diesel, but the new Fast and Furious spinoff already sounds a lot better than the last Fast and Furious movie. You’ve got The Rock, you’ve got Jason Statham, and you’ve got Idris Elba as the dang villain. Who needs fast cars when you’ve got these dudes to l...
Following his untimely death, Paul Walker’s brothers Cody and Caleb stepped in to help finish production on Furious 7, serving as stand-ins for the late actor. Thanks to their presence, along with some VFX magic, director James Wan was able to complete Walker’s scenes — and create a touching tribute to Walker for the film’s final scene. Although the series has moved beyond Walker’s absence, his brothers are hoping to step in and revive him once again for another sequel.
Each new development in the Fast and Furious feud is somehow more delightful and absurd than the last. First there was the highly-publicized beef between Dwayne Johnson and Vin “Candyass” Diesel. Then Tyrese Gibson got involved when it was announced that Johnson is headlining a spinoff. That quickly escalated when Universal pushed back the release of Furious 9 to make room for the spinoff, and now, a few irate Instagram posts later, here we are: Tyrese Gibson is threatening to quit the Fast fam if Dwayne Johnson returns for the ninth movie.
In The Fate of the Furious, the eighth installment in the car-jacking, street racing franchise, Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto does the worst thing a man of his values can do: He turns his back on family. That six letter, three syllable mantra is the sentimental thread that holds the Fast and Furious crew together, and what adds heart to an action series suffused with cars and criminals. One would assume there must be good reason to plot an entire film around something so antithetical to the spirit of the series. But that reveal winds up being the silliest and most left-field twist since the time the movies explained Letty’s (Michelle Rodriguez) return with amnesia.
More than fast cars or fistfights or crime-committing while crime-fighting, the Fast and Furious movies are about one thing: family. And family, as we all know, means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. Vin Diesel really wants to make sure we don’t forget about the late Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Connor, because apparently he wants to find some way to bring him back.
Veteran actor and beloved curmudgeon Tommy Lee Jones has occasionally raised a few eyebrows over the course of his career with roles that defy his Quite Serious persona (Batman Forever, for example) and prove that he’s no different from any other working actor (he likes paychecks, for example). As it turns out, we were robbed of seeing Jones tackle another surprising role, but what we were given in exchange is so much better.
To honor the 15th anniversary of the movie that started it all, Universal is re-releasing The Fast and the Furious in theaters nationwide. Revisiting your introduction to Dom, Letty, Brian and the magical world of NOS should help make the wait for Fast 8 a little easier, but you’ll only have a limited time to see the original film on the big screen.
Breaking news: people all over the world really like fast cars, movie stars, and constant references to family. Related: Furious 7 has just become the third highest grossing movie of all time, overtaking 2012’s The Avengers.
Furious 7 almost certainly won’t be the last Fast & Furious movie. But at times it feels like a series finale. There are numerous callbacks and homages to the franchise’s entire 15-year history. The setpieces are bigger and crazier than ever; it’s hard to imagine anyone topping them. And before the chases really get rolling, the mood is often downright mournful. Two different scenes are set in graveyards, and characters talk about taking “one last ride” together.
Helen Mirren is an Oscar winner and a multi-time Golden Globe winner. She has a few Best Actress awards from the Cannes Film Festival, and a couple Emmys as well. She’s a Dame of the British Empire. As far as actors go, she is amongst the most respected in the entire world.