Universal has not had the best luck with franchises over the last decade or so, but the one series that they can take full credit for nurturing and developing from an unlikely first film into what is now a globally-hyped event as part seven prepares to hit theaters.
I would have never pegged “The Fast And The Furious” as the beginning of a massive franchise, and I'm sure no one working on the film would have guessed how big this would eventually become. It's been a one of a kind happy accident, and Universal deserves credit for understanding what was happening and managing it properly.
This particular edition is marked by sadness because of the real-life loss of Paul Walker, but it feels from the trailer like they 're aiming high once again. The stunt sequence that opens the trailer is completely bananas as a big idea, combining all sorts of things we've seen them do in the series before, but turned up even louder.
I mean, seriously… they drive their cars out of a plane and then right onto the ground.
I would ask that they stop saying “One last ride” in every film. We know they're going to keep making these films as long as they can, and when you add Kurt Russell and Jason Statham into the mix this time, it looks even bigger and crazier. It's exciting to see James Wan working in a totally different type of film, and it seems like he jumped right in comfortably.
More than anything now, I'm curious to see if they can keep making these films bigger. I thought the last one was preposterous, and this one easily looks like it's twice the scale of that one. I find that at this point, I'm amused by all the touchstones of the series. It genuinely makes me laugh every time Vin Diesel says the word “family” now. I know it's all sincere, and I'm not mocking that, but there's this straight-faced quality to all of it that just makes it hilarious. The more seriously they take things onscreen, the more hilarious I find all of it.
The summer of 2015 is going to be a box-office bloodbath. I've never seen more gigantic films in one summer line-up, and I think based on this trailer, it's safe to say that Universal has guaranteed that they're going to have a place at the table with one of the most anticipated events of the year, and getting a head-start on everyone else with that date is a very, very smart thing.
You can hang out with the family on April 3, 2015.