The Fifth Element Is Coming and It's Still the Most Fun Sci-Fi Ever Made
Luc Besson's gloriously unhinged sci-fi epic is one of the most visually alive films of the 90s, and it's almost here.
The one that changed everything about what this franchise could be is almost here.
Remind MeThere are blockbusters, and then there are films that stop a global audience in its tracks. Furious 7 is the latter. When it landed in 2015, it became one of the highest-grossing films in history, not because it had the biggest budget or the loudest marketing, but because it had something most action franchises never figure out: genuine heart underneath all the chaos.
The setup is classic Fast and Furious. A lethal assassin with a personal vendetta comes after Dom's crew, and the team has to go bigger, faster, and further than ever before to survive. That means cars falling out of planes, a heist across three continents, and Jason Statham making every scene he walks into feel like a threat. The action is relentless in the best possible way.
But Furious 7 carries weight that goes beyond the set pieces. This was Paul Walker's final film, and the way the cast and crew chose to honor that is something people are still talking about a decade later. It's arriving on Tubi soon, and if you've never seen it, now is the time to understand why this one matters.
Diesel's Dominic Toretto has always been the emotional core of this franchise, and Furious 7 asks more of him than any previous entry. He carries the film's grief and its loyalty in equal measure, and the final act would not land without him.
Walker's Brian O'Conner is given a send-off that the entire film quietly builds toward. His presence here is warm and easy in the way it always was, which makes the final sequence hit as hard as it does. This is a performance worth experiencing.
Johnson's Hobbs doesn't get as much screen time here as in previous entries, but when he shows up, the film shifts gear entirely. He brings a specific kind of crowd-pleasing energy that the movie knows exactly how to use.
“I don't have friends. I got family.”
Furious 7 is the rare action film that earns its emotional payoff completely. It spends two hours delivering exactly what fans of the franchise want, and then it uses all of that goodwill to do something genuinely moving in its final minutes. The action sequences are spectacular on their own terms, but the reason this film has stayed in the cultural conversation for a decade is that it made people feel something they didn't expect to feel at a Fast and Furious movie.
James Wan brings a director's eye to the chaos in a way that makes even the most outrageous moments feel grounded in stakes. The set pieces are ambitious and the film knows how to pace them so nothing overstays its welcome. This is two hours and seventeen minutes that move.
If you grew up with this franchise, Furious 7 is the entry that will remind you why you cared. If you're coming to it fresh, it works as a standalone film about loyalty and loss wrapped inside one of the most entertaining action spectacles of the last decade. It's coming to Tubi soon, and it belongs on your list.
James Wan
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Nathalie Emmanuel, Djimon Hounsou, Kurt Russell, Tony Jaa, Jason Statham
You can watch this on tubi.tv on July 1.
Luc Besson's gloriously unhinged sci-fi epic is one of the most visually alive films of the 90s, and it's almost here.
Robert Eggers' debut film redefined what horror could feel like, and it's almost yours to watch.
Emma Stone's breakout performance in one of the sharpest high school comedies ever made is almost on your screen.