STACK Template

28 / 112

028 MAY 2015 JB Hi-Fi
visit REVIEWS CINEMA
ALSO SCREENING
IN MAY
If this is as good as the advance trailers would
suggest, we're in for a wild ride to the max! Or
at least a better one than the uneven Beyond
Thunderdome. Not only does Tom Hardy's road
warrior have to contend with a cavalcade of freaks
in souped-up vehicles, there's also a massive
sandstorm wreaking havoc. Director George Miller
is back in the driver's seat for one of the most
anticipated action blockbusters of the year. May 14
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
We predict that Disney's secrecy-shrouded sci-fi
adventure will be this year's Guardians of the Galaxy.
Why? Because Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission:
Impossible - Ghost Protocol) is directing it. May 21
TOMORROWLAND
Competitive a capella returns in this sequel to the 2012
smash hit musical comedy. Anna Kendrick and Rebel
Wilson are back behind the mic, and Elizabeth Banks
orchestrates from the director's chair. Sing it! May 7
PITCH PERFECT 2
Melissa McCarthy reunites with Bridesmaids
director Paul Feig for this action-comedy, playing a
deskbound CIA analyst who's sent on a globetrotting
mission. Miss Congeniality meets 007? May 21
SPY
B orn of a bygone era – the fleeting
period of cultural confusion between
the grime of the nineties and the
glossy sheen of the naughties, the same
few years that saw the rise of Josh Hartnett
and Limp Bizkit – the FF franchise was never
meant to stand the test of time. And yet 14
years after the initial film (itself a thinly veiled
imitation of Point Break), Fast & Furious 7
is somehow one of the biggest blockbuster
releases of this year.
Much of the franchise's longevity has to
do with the tenacity of Justin Lin, who has
relinquished creative control to James Wan
for this film but directed the series from
Tokyo Drift through to Fast & Furious 6. Lin
pre-empted the subject fatigue and began
reshaping the narrative and characters as
far back as the fourth entry, reimagining
the Brain O’Connor/Dominic Toretto exploits
as embroidered heist adventures. Under
the creative management of Lin, the
franchise has grown to govern one of the
most bewilderingly complex and popular
mythologies in mainstream cinema.
For Fast devotees, the events of Fast &
Furious 7 follow the previous film and also
observe continuity up to the conclusion of
Tokyo Drift. The gang are mourning the loss
of Han, who was murdered at the hands of
Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the older
brother of the villain from the previous film.
Shaw is after revenge and begins hunting
down the heroes one by one, forcing Toretto
(Vin Diesel) to accept the assistance of a
shady government agent (Kurt Russell).
Unfortunately, Wan doesn’t have the same
natural capacity to polish subpar narrative and
cheap dialogue into effortless entertainment.
Fast & Furious 7 reaches for the same
surprising heights of its predecessors, but
ultimately feels like a step back for the
eccentrically enduring franchise.
John Roebuck
Sometime during its almost 15-year progression, the Fast and the
Furious series forgot what it was and became all the better for it.
FAST & FURIOUS 7 RELEASED: Out Now
DIRECTOR: James Wan
CAST: Vin Diesel, Paul
Walker, Dwayne Johnson
RATING: M15+