Fast & Furious 10 (4 Stars)

Dante Reyes is completely insane.

That's not meant as an insult to Jason Momoa's performance; it's probably the best thing about the film. Dante is the son of Hernan Reyes, the drug lord Dom and his crew brought down in Rio in "Fast Five". Dante witnessed his father's downfall and has spent twelve years planning his revenge. He doesn't simply want to kill Dom. That would be far too easy. He wants Dom to suffer, and he wants to destroy everything Dom loves along the way.

Dante's plan is so elaborate that Dom and his family are constantly several steps behind him. He manipulates the authorities, frames Dom's crew for a disaster in Rome, steals the surveillance technology known as God's Eye and eventually focuses his attention on Dom's young son, Little B. But Dante isn't interested in simply kidnapping the boy. Everything he does is part of a carefully constructed game in which Dom is forced to watch his family being destroyed one piece at a time.

And Dante enjoys every second of it.

The film eventually brings the two men back to Brazil, where Dante recreates the circumstances of his father's death. Dom manages to save Isabel, Elena's sister, but Dante escapes with God's Eye and uses it to track Little B. The chase eventually moves to Portugal, where Jakob attempts to protect his nephew. Jakob sacrifices himself, destroying a group of Dante's men and giving Dom the opportunity to rescue his son.

You'd think that would be the end of Dante's plan. It isn't even close.

Dom and Little B head towards an airfield, believing that Aimes, the head of the Agency, is going to help them escape. Instead, Dante reveals that Aimes has been working for him all along. Aimes shoots down the plane carrying Roman, Tej, Han and Ramsey, apparently killing them all. Dante then traps Dom and his son on a dam with two enormous tanker trucks racing towards them from opposite directions.

Dom does what Dom does. He drives his car off the side of the dam, races down the concrete slope and escapes the explosion. For a few seconds, it looks as though he's actually beaten Dante.

But, of course, Dante has thought of that too.

The entire dam has been rigged with explosives. Dom and Little B are now stranded at the bottom with no car and nowhere to go. Dante detonates the explosives and the film cuts to black.

That's the end of the film.

And then we wait.....

I'm perfectly happy to accept that "Fast & Furious 10" isn't meant to be a complete story. It was intended to launch the final chapters of the saga, and a cliff-hanger was always going to be part of the plan.

But there's a difference between ending a film on a cliff hanger and simply stopping halfway through the story.

When I saw "Fast & Furious 10" in the cinema, I gave it five stars. I assumed that the next film would follow fairly soon and that I'd get the answers to all those questions before too long. Three years later, I'm still waiting.

So now the ending doesn't have quite the same effect. Dom and Little B are apparently about to be blown to pieces. Roman, Tej, Han and Ramsey have apparently just been killed in a plane crash. Jakob has sacrificed himself. Dante has won. And we're expected to sit here for years wondering how everybody is going to survive.

Because we all know they're going to survive.

This is Fast & Furious. People come back from the dead in this franchise. Gisele, who was supposedly killed in "Fast & Furious 6", turns up alive in a submarine at the end of this very film.

So the cliff-hanger isn't even particularly suspenseful. It's just irritating.

I like "Fast & Furious 10". I like it a lot. Dante is a wonderfully deranged villain, the action is spectacular and the film is enormous fun. But that ending has now cost it something.

If "Fast & Furious 11" had arrived in 2024, I'd probably still be giving "Fast & Furious 10" five stars. But three years of waiting for the story to continue is a different matter.

A cliff-hanger is supposed to make you desperate to see the next film.

It isn't supposed to make you think the filmmakers have forgotten to finish the film.

Success Rate:  - 0.1

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The Mummy Returns (4½ Stars)

The Mummy Returns (2001) is bigger, louder and more self-conscious than its predecessor, which is both its chief strength and its central weakness. Stephen Sommers doubles down on scale and mythology, expanding the story into a sprawling adventure that sometimes improves on the original, but just as often loses sight of what made it work in the first place.

What is better is the confidence. The film no longer needs to introduce its world or its characters, and it barrels ahead with gusto. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are visibly more comfortable as Rick and Evelyn, now an established couple rather than tentative sparring partners. Their banter is sharper, their affection more relaxed, and the film allows them to operate as a team from the outset. Evelyn, in particular, is given more agency, becoming a reincarnated warrior scholar whose past-life connection to Imhotep adds thematic symmetry to the story. The mythology is also richer, weaving in the Scorpion King and a larger sense of ancient history, which gives the sequel a grander narrative ambition.

The action is more elaborate, with set pieces that push the pulpy serial aesthetic to its limits. There is a sense of joyful excess in the chases, battles and collapsing temples, and the film rarely pauses to catch its breath. For viewers who wanted more spectacle from the first film, The Mummy Returns delivers it in abundance.

However, this escalation comes at a cost. Where the original balanced adventure with character development and romantic tension, the sequel often feels overstuffed. The emotional core is diluted by subplots and supporting characters who compete for attention. The introduction of Alex, Rick and Evelyn's son, adds family stakes but also shifts the tone towards a broader, more juvenile adventure, occasionally undercutting the danger and romance that once grounded the story.

The film also suffers from its reliance on early 2000's CGI. While practical effects and locations helped the original age gracefully, the digital creatures here, most infamously the Scorpion King, have not stood the test of time. These effects pull the viewer out of the narrative at crucial moments, diminishing the sense of peril rather than enhancing it.

Ultimately, The Mummy Returns is a sequel that understands what audiences liked about the original, but assumes that more of everything automatically means better. It succeeds as a piece of exuberant blockbuster entertainment, and its leads remain immensely likeable, but it lacks the charm, focus and romantic spark that made The Mummy feel special. Where the first film surprised by how much it cared about its characters, the sequel sometimes forgets that spectacle alone is not enough.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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Red One (4 Stars)

Disney Wednesday #29

Red One is a glossy, overpowered Christmas blockbuster that feels less like a festive tale and more like a Marvel superhero film that happens to involve Santa Claus. Directed by Jake Kasdan, it throws Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans into a hyperactive rescue mission when Santa is kidnapped, blending action, comedy and mythological lore with the confidence of a film that assumes scale alone will generate wonder.

Johnson plays Callum Drift, the stoic head of North Pole security, while Evans is a fast talking civilian reluctantly dragged into the operation. Their chemistry is serviceable rather than sparkling; Evans leans into his sarcastic charm, Johnson leans into his granite seriousness. The result is familiar buddy movie territory, albeit wrapped in snow, elves and CGI creatures that feel imported from half a dozen other franchises. Everything is big, loud and relentlessly busy, yet rarely magical.

J K Simmons' Santa Claus is the film's most interesting element. This is not the twinkly grandfather figure of tradition but a weary, muscular administrator of Christmas, closer to a CEO than a saint. That portrayal feeds neatly into the film's underlying question: is Santa Claus real, or just a story we collectively agree to believe?

Red One answers this in a very modern way: Santa is real within the film's universe, but his power depends entirely on belief. The more people believe in him, the stronger Christmas becomes; cynicism literally weakens the world. This allows the film to have it both ways. Children can take Santa at face value, adults can read him as a metaphor for generosity, kindness and communal faith. Santa exists because people need him to exist.

That idea is arguably the most Christmassy thing about the film, yet it is never explored with much depth. The script is far more interested in lore, chase scenes and setting up a potential franchise. Moments that might have slowed down to reflect on why belief matters are quickly buried under another explosion or wisecrack.

As a Christmas film, Red One feels oddly joyless. It acknowledges the concept of wonder without ever quite delivering it. Compared to classics that let sentimentality breathe, this one keeps moving as if afraid of sincerity. The result is entertaining enough in short bursts, but emotionally thin.

Ultimately, Red Onetreats Santa Claus as real in the way blockbuster cinema treats everything; real as long as it is profitable, expandable and endlessly rebootable. Whether that makes him any less real than the Santa of stories is up to the viewer. The film suggests that belief itself is the point, even if it forgets to make us feel why that belief once mattered so much.

Success Rate:  - 1.1

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Red One (4 Stars)

If you've seen the trailer, you already know that this is a stupid film. The premise is simple: Santa Claus has been kidnapped two days before Christmas, and a computer hacker is hired to find him. Silly. But with a premise like that I had to go to the cinema to see what it's all about.

I'll start by saying that "Red One" refers to Santa's sleigh, analogous to the American president's Air Force One. He's been kidnapped by Gryla the Christmas Witch. She looks much more attractive in the film than in the legends. Gryla has good intentions, in the same way that Thanos has good intentions in "Infinity War". She wants to make the world a better place. Everyone on Earth is divided into a good list and a naughty list. Santa deals gently with those on the naughty list, hoping they'll behave better next year. Gryla wants to kill everyone on the naughty list. Thanos was content with killing half of the Earth's population. So many people are on the naughty list that Gryla will kill 99% of the population, but it's all for a good cause. The remaining 1% will live in peace and harmony.

Dwayne Johnson is Santa's head of security. He's an elf, sort of. E.L.F. is the organisation that serves Santa. Enforcements, Logistics and Fortification. Referring to himself, Dwayne calls himself Extremely Large and Formidable. A subplot is that he wants to resign after 582 years of serving Santa. He feels depressed that the naughty list has grown so large.

Is "Red One" a good film? Maybe. It took me a long time to decide on its rating. It's a silly film, but it has no aspirations to be anything else. I enjoyed it in the cinema tonight. It made me laugh out loud several times, which is a plus. I expect that the critics will tear it apart. They should have a better sense of humour. I doubt I'll watch it again, but it's a film worth seeing once.

The Mummy Returns (4½ Stars)

I didn't just buy "The Mummy" last month. I bought a box set with the three Mummy films starring Brendan Fraser, The previous release of "The Mummy Returns" also suffered from having below average picture quality, but the remastered version I watched today is perfect. See how handsome Arnold Vosloo looks in the title role. If you like that sort of thing.

I prefer Rachel Weisz, who plays Rick O'Connell's wife Evelyn. Yes, she's his wife. They met in the last film, but now they're married and live in an exquisite mansion. He probably bought it with the money from selling his treasures. He wouldn't be able to afford a house like that from his Foreign Legion pension.

And what about Patricia Velasquez as the Mummy's resurrected lover Anck-Su-Namun? Most people would say that Rachel Weisz looks cuter, but I'm biased. I like bad girls.

Overall I consider that "The Mummy Returns" is just as good as the first film, but I have to deduct half a star because of the messy CGI in the final scene. It wasn't necessary to portray Dwayne Johnson as a human-scorpion hybrid. 

This is what he should look like: a mighty warrior. He doesn't need scorpion claws to fight. All he needs is the People's Elbow.

Now I just have to watch the third film, and I'll be up to date,

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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Free Guy (5 Stars)

Disney Wednesday #19

I like this poster. Guy is Free City's superhero. The only superhero. But what does his costume look like when he rips off his shirt? Exactly the same!

I've read that a sequel is planned. That gives me a funny feeling. If you've seen "Free Guy" you'll know that it's not the sort of film that needs a sequel. I hope they don't totally ruin it.

Success Rate:  + 1.3

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Fast & Furious 10 (5 Stars)

It must sound like a cliché, but I have to say it:

"I expected Fast & Furious 10 to be good, but it was even better".

The action sequences at the beginning made my heart pound, and the excitement continued until the final minutes. The film retells the scene where the bank vault was stolen in "Fast & Furious 5". It's been falsely called a retcon in some reviews. Nothing is changed. What happened happened. We're merely given a few extra scenes, things we didn't see in F&F 5. We see that Hernan Reyes' son Dante was involved in the car chase. Dante Reyes is the main antagonist in F&F 10, seeking revenge for the death of his father. He doesn't just want to kill Dom and his friends, because that would be too merciful. He wants Dom to suffer before he finally dies.

I can't say anything about the plot without giving away spoilers. All I can say is that Jason Momoa is the perfect villain. Other reviews have compared him with DC's Joker. I can see what they mean, but I don't agree. He's more similar with the Riddler, as played by Frank Gorshin and Jim Carrey. Simply put, he's insane. Whatever he does is a game, and he enjoys it to the full.

There's just one spoiler worth telling: the film ends on a cliff-hanger. I can hardly wait for F&F 11 to see how it continues. I'll be queuing up to see it as soon as it hits the cinema.

Fast & Furious 9 (4 Stars)

This is the ninth film in the Fast & Furious series. In America it's called "F9", but "Fast & Furious 9" is the title in the UK. That's what I would have called it anyway, so that it's in the right place in my alphabetical list of posts.

I missed the film when it was shown in the cinema. I'm not sure why. I've owned it on Blu-ray since last year, but I've deliberately delayed watching it until the tenth film is in the cinema. The Blu-ray contains two versions, the theatrical cut and a Director's Cut. I watched the theatrical version today, and I'll watch the other version some time in the future.

The Fast & Furious franchise has to keep stepping up the action from one film to the next. It can't go backwards. In an early scene the cars were being attacked by an army with tanks. I sat looking at it shaking my head. "That's impossible", I told myself. I try to suspend belief, but "F&F 9" goes too far. That must have been obvious to the director/screenwriter, because Roman Pierce addresses his comrades afterwards:

"We've now been on insane missions around the world, doing what most would say is damn impossible, and I ain't got one single scar to show for it? I mean, look at my jacket. There are bullet holes from 14 dudes trying to take my head clean off its shoulders. We've taken out cars, trains, tanks. I'm not gonna even mention the submarine. And yet we're still here. We are not normal".

My thoughts entirely. It's like Roman is becoming meta? He's not a character in the film any more, he's speaking as a viewer. None of the team ever dies. Wait! Wasn't Han killed at the end of "Fast & Furious 6"? Yes, but in this film we find out that his death was faked. Gisele was also killed in "Fast & Furious 6", in a way that couldn't possibly have been faked. Or maybe she'll return in "Fast & Furious 12", telling her teammates that it was a body double. Anything is possible.

But the most outrageous stunt is saved until later in the film. A car is propelled into space, driven by Roman, accompanied by Tej. It has to be Roman. We've already established that he can't die. He rams an enemy satellite to destroy it, but he still survives.

What can "F&F 10" do to top this? Ask me again next week.

Michelle Rodriguez remains on the ground, but she's the film's heavenly body. She seems to be getting more attractive in every film. She's not normal.

Success Rate:  + 1.6

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The Scorpion King (4 Stars)

Amazon Friday #35

This is the first time I've watched "The Scorpion King" for more than 15 years. I saw it on television, which shows how long ago it was. I stopped watching television in 2006. I could hardly remember the film, except that I didn't like it enough to buy it on DVD.

"The Scorpion King" is a prequel to "The Mummy Returns". More accurately, it's a prequel to the introductory scenes which take place 5000 years in the past. In "The Mummy Returns" we see the Scorpion King as a fierce warlord who's cursed by Anubis. It's not clear how many years earlier "The Scorpion King" takes place, but we see him as a noble warrior. Power corrupts.

The film takes place in the area where Jordan is located today. Memnon, a brutal king from the east, has conquered all the kingdoms in the vicinity. It's impossible to defeat him, because he has a sorcerer who tells him how to face his enemies. The remaining kings hire an assassin to kill the sorcerer. The assassin is an Akkadian warrior called Mathayus, played by Dwayne Johnson in his first lead role.

Mathayus breaks into Memnon's camp, and he's about to shoot the sorcerer from behind, but he stops when he sees that the sorcerer is a woman. No gentleman fires an arrow at a woman! In the credits she's called Cassandra, but I don't remember her name being mentioned in the film itself. Mathayus' hesitation causes him to be captured, but the sorceress tells Memnon that he mustn't die by the hand of a man, because it would bring disaster. Mathayus is buried neck deep in the desert to be eaten by ants, but a cunning horse thief called Arpid helps him escape.

Memnon's palace is in Gomorrah. Mathayus enters the palace and kidnaps the sorceress. He still can't bring himself to kill her. She tells him that she's been kept as Memnon's slave since her childhood, and he's been using her powers of foresight to win battles. She now wants to act against him. Mathayus was paid to kill the sorcerer, but now he decides to kill Memnon himself.

Mathayus isn't yet a king in the film, but we see how he became associated with scorpions. He's shot with an arrow laced with scorpion venom. Normally this would be fatal, but the sorceress heals him. She says, however, that the scorpion venom will flow in his veins for the rest of his life.

"The Scorpion King" isn't a bad film, but I can see why I didn't want to buy it. It's an enjoyable action film with a lot of spectacular fight scenes, but it's not a film I want to watch more than once. Or twice, as it is now. Maybe if I forget the film again I'll watch it again 20 years from now. It's what I'd call a popcorn movie, if I ate popcorn. I felt a certain excitement when I watched it, but the film didn't have enough emotional depth to draw me in. It's not up to the level of the Mummy films.

In the film's credits Dwayne Johnson is listed as The Rock. It's not usual for wrestlers to use their professional names when they make a film. The exception was made because Vince McMahon was an executive producer.

Success Rate:  + 1.0

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The Mummy Returns (4½ Stars)

This is the film that launched Dwayne Johnson's acting career. It was made in 2001, at a time when I regularly watched the WWE on television. He was known as The Rock, and the wrestling commentators gave frequent updates on the progress of the filming. At the time I didn't take it seriously. I thought to myself, "Yet another wrestler making a fool of himself as an actor. Why can't he stick to wrestling?" After all, there had never been a wrestler who'd become a good actor.

"The Mummy Returns" wasn't a good film to judge his prowess as an actor. It was a non-speaking role. A year later he reprised his role in "The Scorpion King". I've honestly forgotten what I thought of his acting, because I didn't like the film much. It's been almost 20 years since I saw it on television, so maybe I should give it another chance. After that I forgot about Dwayne Johnson as an actor. He made quite a lot of films, but I didn't bother watching them. It wasn't until I saw "San Andreas" in 2015 that I realised how good he is as an actor. Since then I've gone back and watched some of his older films, and I've always been impressed, whether he's been playing serious or comedy roles.

As a sequel, "The Mummy Returns" is a highly competent film. It has a good balance between action and comedy. It's not quite as good as the first film, but almost.

Yesterday my son said that my blog is superfluous because ChatGPT can write reviews for me. So I tried it with a couple of films. The results were adequate, but you have to understand how they're generated. ChatGPT has no opinion on the films itself, it just does a summary of reviews on the web. As such, ChatGPT's film reviews are plagiarism. As an example, here's its review of "The Mummy Returns.

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"The Mummy Returns" is a fun and entertaining action-adventure movie that offers a thrilling ride for fans of the genre. The film is a sequel to the 1999 hit "The Mummy", and features the return of Brendan Fraser as adventurer Rick O'Connell and Rachel Weisz as his wife, Evelyn.

The plot of the movie revolves around the return of the mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), who seeks to resurrect his lover, Anck-Su-Namun, and take over the world. Along the way, Rick and Evelyn must navigate treacherous terrain, battle fierce enemies, and unlock ancient secrets to stop Imhotep and save their son from his clutches.

One of the strengths of "The Mummy Returns" is its blend of action, humour, and adventure. The film never takes itself too seriously, and the banter between Fraser and Weisz adds a lightness and wit to the proceedings. The action scenes are well-choreographed and exciting, with impressive visual effects that bring the ancient Egyptian setting to life.

The film also benefits from a strong supporting cast, including John Hannah as Evelyn's brother, who provides comic relief, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in his film debut as the Scorpion King, a fearsome warrior who adds an extra layer of danger to the proceedings.

Overall, "The Mummy Returns" is a fun and entertaining movie that delivers on its promise of action, adventure, and thrills. While it may not be the most original or ground-breaking film in the genre, it's a solid sequel that will satisfy fans of the first movie and leave them eager for more.

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Hobbs & Shaw (4 Stars)

Wow! Dwayne Johnson has muscles! What do they feed them in Samoa?

Or is it the pancakes that he eats in America?

This is the first film in which he performs the People's Eyebrow (TM). I'm sure he could raise his eyebrow higher in his wrestling days. I'll have to check.

Out of all the professional wrestlers who've ever tried their hand at acting, Dwayne is the most talented. Hulk Hogan was embarrassing. John Cena tries his best, but he just doesn't have what it takes. Can you recognise another WWE wrestler who appears in "Hobbs & Shaw" as a non-speaking extra? Will Roman Reigns take the plunge into real acting? He's 37, whereas Dwayne Johnson was 29 when he made his first film, "The Mummy Returns", followed by his first lead role in "The Scorpion King" a year later. I have "The Scorpion King" on DVD, but I haven't watched it since I started my blog in September 2010. I don't think I liked it very much, but after all this time I should give it another chance.

Maybe I should write a few words about the film itself. Dwayne Johnson plays the DSS agent Luke Hobbs, Jason Statham plays the ex-SAS fighter Deckard Shaw. Deckard was the main villain in "Fast & Furious 7" when he sought revenge for the near-death of his criminal brother, but he teamed up with Vin Diesel's gang as a hero in "Fast & Furious 8". I'm surprised that the two initially refuse to work together when they're assigned to the same case. Luke repeatedly says that he doesn't like Deckard, but I thought they'd already got over it in "Fast & Furious 8".

Their main antagonist is Brixton Lore, a genetically enhanced super-soldier played by Idris Elba. He calls himself the Black Superman. Okay, but I think the Samoan Superman is stronger.

There's actually another antagonist behind the scenes. Brixton works for a high-tech terrorist organisation called Eteon. The director of Eteon says that Luke and Deckard know him, but we only hear his voice and his identity is never revealed. A sequel was planned, but the latest news is that it won't be made, so we might never find out who this mysterious character is.

Success Rate:  + 1.8

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Fast & Furious 8 (4½ Stars)

This is the eighth film in the Fast & Furious series. The title is silly, whether it's spelt Fate or F8. I hope you approve of my sensible renaming.

The team has two new members in this film. The first is Ramsey, the hacker we met in the seventh film. She was rescued from a Nigerian terrorist, but I didn't expect to see her return in the next film as a team member. Maybe she had nowhere else to go.

There were enough jokes in the last film about her not looking like a hacker, so I won't repeat them here. I'll just say that I agree. She doesn't look like a hacker.

Roman and Tej are vying for her attention. Tej (on the right) says he's the most suitable partner because he's also a computer expert. Roman (on the left) says he's the most suitable partner because of his sex appeal. If he says so.....

The second new member is Deckard Shaw, and his presence in the team is even less expected. In "Fast & Furious 7" he was the team's enemy. I knew he wasn't really a bad guy. He was only taking revenge for his brother. But now his brother has recovered from his injuries, so there's no need for him to work against the team. Apart from that, the mysterious Mr. Nobody got him out of prison on condition that he did a job for him. That job involves taking down an international terrorist called Cipher.

A shocking development in this film is that Dominic Toretto (Dom) turns his back on his team to work for Cipher. It's obvious that she has something she's using against him, but I'm not going to tell you what it is. If you haven't seen the film yet, now's your time.

In the 11-minute pre-credits scene the film returns to its roots. Dom takes part in an illegal street race in the streets of Havana, Cuba.

There's a scene in which we see Luke Hobbs working as a football coach. He's good. He's really good. I wish VfB Stuttgart had a coach like him.

He turns innocent young girls into lean, mean fighting machines.

I'd be scared to play with a girl like this.

This girl scares me even more.

And a girl like this would make me run and hide behind the goalposts.

You can see where they've got it from.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock is the ex-wrestler who's the most talented actor. I feel tempted to say that he's the only ex-wrestler who's a good actor. Most wrestlers are embarrassing when they try to act, but don't tell them I said so. They're tougher than me.

I'm glad that Paul Walker's character, Brian O'Connor, hasn't been written out of the series after his death. It would have been tasteless to hear the team talking about him being killed by an enemy in between the films. He simply isn't there any more, so we can imagine that he's settled down as a happy family man, living a quiet life in a house by the beach. He's had enough of being fast and furious.

Success Rate:  + 2.9

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Fast & Furious 7 (4 Stars)

This film's correct name is "Furious 7", but I've renamed it "Fast & Furious 7". It's annoying when films in a series are given random names. Besides, by giving consistent names the films are easier to find in my alphabetic list of posts. I hope my regular readers use the list a lot. I know I do. Whenever I watch a film that I've watched before, I read my old reviews first, and I use my list to find them.

"Fast & Furious 7" begins shortly after the end of the previous film. It's more accurate to say that it overlaps. The opening scene takes place before the mid-credits scene of "Fast & Furious 6". Deckard Shaw is the brother of Owen Shaw, who was left badly injured and comatose after the last film. Deckard visits Owen in the police hospital, slaughtering everyone who gets in his way. I counted 19 bodies lying scattered in the lobby and hallways as he walked out. He only spared the medical personnel, not the guards. Judging by the mass destruction left in his wake, they need to build a new hospital.

From what I understand, Deckard isn't necessarily a bad guy. He was an elite soldier in the British SBS and SAS. Wow! It's rare that someone serves in both units. He was trained to be a ghost, entering foreign territory undetected to assassinate Britain's enemies. He's a man who can never be found unless he wants to be found. But family comes first. Anyone who harms his brother has to be dealt with.

Deckard visits the DSS offices to find out who was responsible for his brother's injuries. No, he doesn't make an appointment. He breaks into the building at night and logs into the computer of Luke Hobbs to get the information. He doesn't reckon with Hobbs doing overtime. A fight with Hobbs puts him into hospital for most of the film, but he climbs out of bed to go into action in the last half hour.

The first person he kills is Han, as we saw in the mid-credits scene of "Fast & Furious 6". Then he attempts to kill Brian O'Connor by mailing him a bomb. A big bomb. After this his primary target is Dominic Toretto (Dom).

Help comes from unexpected quarters. The leader of a black ops military team who calls himself Mr. Nobody offers Dom his assistance in finding Deckard if Dom does a job for him first. A hacker called Ramsey has written a program called God's Eye that can process data from every device on Earth with a camera or microphone, everything from mobile phones to traffic cameras. Combined with facial recognition software, anybody can be found. A Nigerian terrorist has kidnapped her in Azerbaijan. If Dom frees her and retrieves the hard drive containing God's Eye, Mr. Nobody will assist Dom in finding Deckard Shaw; using God's Eye, of course.

Dom and his team go to work, but it's even more difficult than expected. Deckard is never far away. Dom rescues Ramsey (after an exciting car chase), but Deckard tries to push Dom's car off the road.  Ramsey tells Dom that the hard drive is in Abu Dhabi, but when Dom and his team go to collect it, Deckard is waiting for them.

There's a bittersweet element to the film. The actor Paul Walker, who plays Brian O'Connor, died in a car crash before the film had been completed. The crash was nothing to do with the film itself. The filming continued with slight rewriting. The final scene is a thinly disguised tribute to Paul Walker. Dom says farewell to Brian, and there are flashbacks to the previous films, but it's obvious that he's really saying farewell to Paul. The film is dedicated to him.

Paul Walker
12 September 1973 – 30 November 2013

Success Rate:  + 6.0

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