Furious 7

Paul Walker was making this muscle-car melodrama when he tragically died in a fiery car crash in November 2013. In the aftermath, the filmmakers scrambled to rework the concept, ultimately using CGI effects and stand-ins (including Walker's brothers Cody and Caleb), along with unused footage from previous films, to substitute for Walker. In this seventh entry in the franchise, Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Walker), and their underground street-racing crew (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, and Michelle Rodriguez) are trying to rebuild their lives when vengeance-seeking mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) arrives in Los Angeles to settle a score. A mysterious government operative (Kurt Russell) is searching for the programmer (Nathalie Emmanuel) of a computer surveillance system known as the “God's Eye.” Along with lawman Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), the agent proposes that if the team helps find the terrorist kidnapper (Djimon Hounsou), they can then use the device to track down Shaw. So off they globe-trot to London, Tokyo, Azerbaijan, the Caucasus Mountains, Abu Dhabi, and the Dominican Republic, before returning to Southern California and revving up for the predictable climax in this action extravaganza punctuated with thundering hard rock and bikini-clad babes. Director James Wan doesn't stint on the violent collisions or gravity-defying stunts, but this popular series has grown overly familiar. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Back to the Starting Line” (12 min.), “Snatch and Grab” (8 min.), and “Race Wars” (7 min.), as well as a “Making of Fast & Furious Supercharged Ride” featurette on the Universal Studios theme park ride (8 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are the behind-the-scenes segments “Talking Fast” with director James Wan (32 min.), “The Cars of Furious” (11 min.), four “Inside the Fight” featurettes (11 min.), “Tower Jump” (7 min.), and “Flying Cars” (6 min.), along with deleted scenes (6 min.), the music video for “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa, and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for this latest entry in the (too) long-running hit action franchise.] (S. Granger)