If last year's "Transformers 4" hit a blockbuster of the level that surpassed the box office in the United States, the industry was shocked, then the phenomenal box-office performance of "Fast and Furious 7" was completely It has proved to the whole world the madness of the Chinese film market. Whether it is the 400 million premiere box office, breaking the long-standing global Monday box office record, or the astonishing speed of hitting 1 billion in five days, the traditional box office off-season in April has been messed up, and behind this series of numbers , is a 41% increase in the total box office in the first quarter compared with the same period last year.
The Chinese film market is really crazy.
But why, this time it was "Furious 7" that broke the record?
Although "Fast 7" still hasn't escaped the stereotype of American popcorn movies, it still has its value compared to the brainless blockbusters that show off their skills. According to the author's understanding, its core selling points and characteristics can be summarized as "three external" and "three internal". The entire collection is adorned with cars, beauties, and sharp and addictive action, embedded with American values of love, friendship and family supremacy. There are both direct sensory stimulation and moving emotional elements.
For Chinese audiences, the Fast and the Furious series has fewer cultural differences than superhero movies based on American comics, and it is more inclined to the values of teamism and brotherhood than the extreme individualism. Superheroes are more in line with the tastes of a generation of fans who grew up watching "Young and Dangerous".
Chinese blockbusters, whether it is magic, spy war, or urban, are a bit feminine, and the "Fast and Furious" series is purely male, showing the taste of muscles, adrenal glands and hormones everywhere, this kind of scarcity and rareness will also detonate very much. A large part of the hungry audience, which led to another round of rise at the box office.
In addition, although a bit cruel, the sudden death of Paul Walker has at least brought marketing elements that can be used as hype capital for the film.
As bigger stars, the deaths of two Oscar winners, Philip Hoffman and Robin Williams, didn't have a significant marketing effect on their posthumous films, which in "Fast and Furious 7" The effect is undoubtedly artificially amplified and used cleverly. After Paul's death, director Wen Ziren used eight months of downtime to modify the script on a large scale, and embedded the themes of "family" and "farewell" into the plot, which made the audience feel moved by sighing, let alone using CG A huge gimmick for resurrecting characters and a tearjerker at the end. And these factors have undoubtedly added the most prosperous firewood to the high box office.
2. Can't say goodbye I
have never had such a strong hope that a certain series of films would end there, even though I know that according to Hollywood's piss, the film with the same name as a famous express hotel in its abbreviated form will still appear in nine out of ten cases.
Of course, this is not to think that the film will not look good. On the contrary, in the first seven films, a sub-type-like routine element that has been explored to the audience's G point and gradually formed determines that in the next film, as long as the writers and directors add a little Innovation must also trigger a surge of audience hormones. However, without Paul Walker, the bald heads led by Vin Diesel would be too lonely.
Universal's original plan was to make "Fast 7" the opening work of a new trilogy, and the first six works can also be divided into two trilogy.
The first three works of the series are basically B-level films. Not only have they changed three directors, but even in the third episode, even the background of the story and all the actors have undergone a major change, which led to the "Han Han" contribution to the sequel. "In addition to this role, the third part is completely separated from the main plot of the series, and it has also become the most insipid one in the entire series.
Here I have to say that Wen Ziren is smart. In "Fast 7", he directly used a scene from the "Fast 3" easter egg, not only pulled "Fast 3" back to the entire time line and narrative line In the series, the long-lost characters also evoke the audience's aftertaste. This little Chinese man who created "The Chainsaw" has a genius that cannot be ignored in movies.
In the first trilogy, the racing car is still the most important protagonist. Although some elements of crime and gangsters are inevitably added, the sensory stimulation is reflected in the pursuit, collision and dazzling driving skills of vehicles, although it is also intense and beautiful. , but the pattern is not Hongdae.
From "Fast 4", the little Chinese director Justin Lin brought new vitality to the series. The gradual complication of the narrative and the upgrade of the action scenes made "Fast and the Furious" gradually become a team-like 007 or "The Bourne Bourne", the level of excitement has doubled like a geometric progression, plus the double return of the two leading actors Vin Diesel and Paul Walker and the upgrade of the big scene, the opening work of the second trilogy of the series detonated as expected The screen has also made the "Fast and Furious" series one of the real cash cow series in the world.
The fifth and sixth films after that have ushered in a situation where word of mouth and box office have both soared, especially the fifth film, which is still praised by many fans. Among them, the "team" mode also laid the tone for the future development of the series.
The setting of the team is the most successful and commendable part of "Fast and Furious". A group of masters with different abilities, different races, but each with their own charm, sometimes secretly abducted like the "Eleven Arhats", and sometimes like the Avengers to join hands to destroy the enemy for justice, the audience in front of the silver screen is full of emotions, and they are not there. It's over.
The idea of forming a group seems simple, but in fact, to build such a team, the screenwriter and director must be painstaking. They need complementary skills, there are gags, IQs, muscular men, and glamorous women; they also need complementary types, not only black, white, brown (Latino), yellow, but also From muscular and funny to handsome men. What is rare is that everyone has created a full character image in a limited role, and very few characters have become dispensable. That alone deserves a good review.
It is estimated that "Fast 8" and "Fast 9", which had already been put on the agenda but temporarily shelved due to Paul's death, will continue this model, and even retain the protagonists and villains including Jason Stein. However, in the anticipation of the two sequels, it is inevitable that there is an unbearable feeling, I can't bear to see the bald Tang fighting alone, and I can't bear to see O'Connor really retire from the arena.
It's not the movies that can't say goodbye, but people.
3. Paul - Born of Passion, Died of Speed
When Paul Walker's performance in the first six films was edited into the most tear-jerking easter egg in history, many people in the theater had already left, but there were also many people in tears.
I think it will be sad for this, must have been fans of the "Fast and Furious" series from a very early time.
Compared to Vin Diesel, who didn't even drive a manual car before filming the first film, Paul was a true racing ace. In the movie, many of his driving stunts can be completed independently without the help of a stand-in. Outside the movie, he also participates in racing competitions as a semi-professional, and even has his own racing service company.
And there is no doubt that Paul is also one of the most handsome male stars in the "Fast and Furious" series. From a handsome man who was still in his youth in his youth, to a tough man with vicissitudes of charm before his death, he used the company of the screen for 14 years to stage for us his life born of passion and died of speed.
Ironically, Paul, who is famous for the "Speed and Passion" series, finally died in a car explosion after a traffic accident. Everything is so similar to what happened in his movie. The difference is that he can often be seen in the movie. He saved the danger, but in reality, he could not escape the call of the god of death.
But in any case, we can still see him for the last time in "Fast 7". Although many of them are no longer his real person, please cherish them. From now on, this man will only exist in our memory and will never be forgotten.
In the end, there is a scene that is often indispensable in the "Fast and Furious" series of movies - the drag racing race between Don and O'Connor. Only this time, the two no longer have to distinguish between high and low, because this is no longer a game, but a farewell.
Can't say goodbye, but have to say goodbye forever. What Paul Walker left us is a dashing figure who rides away from the dust, and it is also the end of an era in the hearts of fans.
Just like even if there is Guangling San, Ji Kang's Guangling San has become a masterpiece. From now on, even if there are more "Fast and Furious", Paul Walker's "Fast and Furious" has become a swan song.
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