Fast & Furious 7: Rollercoaster of crazy, fun and poignancy

KUALA LUMPUR: A franchise built on speed, since 2001, Fast & Furious has never failed to entice its viewers with its signature tacky bravado and charm.

The difference is this time, Furious 7 recognizes the cultural alcove the franchise has shaped for itself – an eclectic of strangely stereotypical yet adrenaline-pumping action scenes and the caviar dreams lifestyle depiction of other countries; hence, Malaysian Chinese descent director, James Wan, who has also directed Conjuring and Insidious (to name a few) really milked on their signature out-of-this-world action sequences, over-the-top silly lines, and globe-trotting bling-bling wheels and heels.

Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson lead the cast of this hugely anticipated film, which welcomes back Los Angeles headgear gang – Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black.

This time. each cast member’s character is highly-amplified.

PHOTO GALLERY: Furious 7 in cinemas on April 2

Dom Toretto (Diesel) has a fresh list of one-liners like "I don't have friends, I have family"; Agent Hobbs played by Johnson flexes his muscle every 10-minutes of the scene; Letty Ortiz played by Rodriguez is consistently having PMS, always on an emotional bumper car; and of course you can always count on the two clowns - Roman Pearce (Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) for making cliché, cheap shot jokes.

Furious 7 opens with the relentless introduction of the villain, Deckard Shaw (played by Jason Statham) who discreetly runs amok and seeks revenge for his brother who stumbled in a clash with the crew in an earlier installation.

Dom who always puts family first, leads Furious 7 to a globetrotting journey with major cliff hangers, literally.

From the States to Aizerbaijan to Abu Dhabi, audiences will witness cars, vans, buses – all jumping or hanging by a cliff (at one point).

At the same time, in the mission to bring down the villain, a sultry hacker got involved along the way due to some sort of dangerous surveillance technology that requires the crew to get their hands on and concurrently evading gritty terrorist - Djimon Houson and bad-ass acrobatic Asian villain - Kiey, played by Ong-Bak's Tony Jaa.

What is more exhilarating than seeing two muscled bald-men trying to kill each other? Seeing two muscle-toned girls in designer gowns having a go at each other.

However, the crew is not alone this time. Furious 7 welcomes another new member of the franchise who plays the crew's little yet suave helper, secret-agent man, Chris Morgan played by Kurt Russell.

Amidst the usual chaos of screeching and the burning of low-profile tyres and the roaring rev of four-wheeled monster or ‘beast’ (like the crew call it) such as the Lykan Hypersport (the most expensive car in the world), there were a few, quiet golden and warm moments.

These moments bring strange sorrow to this film unlike the ones before, because it highlights the poignant portrait of the late Paul Walker. I am pretty sure it is not just me who feels this way.

Watching Walker play Brian O'Conner, the character that has paved his way to stardom, one final time is simply difficult. Especially when Dom keeps saying "one last ride."

It is very apparent, despite the highly amplified personality of each cast member, cheesy scripts and surreal automobile stunts, Furious 7 is custom specifically as a farewell to a dear friend.

Despite it's superficial glorification of luxe and mad machines, it carries the heavy notion of 'family first' which people often forget.

So, don’t come expecting a good plot if you plan to watch Furious 7. Come for the fun. Crazy fun.

Directed by: James Wan

Written by: Chris Morgan and Gary Scott Thompson

Cast: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Elsa Pataky, Lucas Black, Djimon Houson, Tony Jaa and Kurt Russell.

Release date: Thursday (April 2, 2015)

Watch the Furious 7 trailer here: