Strange to think that this series began with a mid-range exploitation vehicle about underground street racing of the type Roger Corman would have knocked off in his sleep; why, it even had a “torn from today’s headlines” tag in the form of Ken Li’s inspirational Vibe magazine article “Racer X”. Those low-key origins are long forgotten now as we watch armoured vehicles sky-dive into Azerbaijan, million-dollar roadsters leap from the windows of glittering skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi, and a large section of Los Angeles gets blown up in a battle between hot-rods and helicopters. This time, Jason Statham is the new-blood wild card, acting (and fighting) Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson off the screen as the vengeful Deckard Shaw, seeking fraternal payback. A “God’s Eye” gizmo, which turns every electronic device into a global spy-network, provides the computer-age MacGuffin, but if you think that means the film is gearing up for some surveillance culture subtext, then put your brain back into neutral immediately – this is a deafening orgy of explosions, car chases, well-polished bumpers (human and automotive), explosions, fist-fights and more explosions.
The editing is frenetic, the dialogue dreadful, the stunts ludicrous, the running time extravagant, and the lack of consequences appalling – how can you care about people who can spin, crash and blow up everything they touch without harm to themselves or anyone else? All the more remarkable, then, that the closing montage farewell to Paul Walker (who died mid-shoot in an unrelated car-crash) should prove unexpectedly moving, allowing the film to end with both a bang and a whimper.
