Reel China: Fast 7 breaks records

Action star and producer Vin Diesel promotes the film in Beijing. Jiang Dong / China Daily

The liftoff of the franchise is a testament to the dizzying speed of China's growth in the cinematic market, eerily resembling the high-testosterone racing scenes in the franchise itself.

Obviously, the late Paul Walker is a much bigger selling point in China than the film‘s director, James Wan. While a lot of Chinese viewers are scratching their heads and asking each other, "Who is James Wan?" - a Chinese name (Wen Ziren) familiar only to those devoted to the horror genre, many tears have been shed in theaters for the movie's star.

Walker was killed in a car accident unrelated to filming during the film's production. Cyberspace is flooded with spontaneous eulogies, something similar to the Chinese responses to the Michael Jackson documentary released after his death, which have supplanted online reviews to some degree.

Speaking of word of mouth, Fast & Furious 7 is getting predominantly positive reception in China, garnering 8.5 (out of 10) on mtime.com, a movie review site. Many use the word "high" to describe the excitement it generated in its audience, with one person adding, "Yes, it is visceral like a high-powered drug, yet it does not carry the poisonous effect of illegal drugs."

Some critics point to its narrative flaw and lack of adjustment with pacing, but quickly justify it by saying this is exactly what the audience wants.

The best promotional push was unplanned: two hours before the movie's premiere in China, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini speeding at 160 km/hour crashed in a Beijing tunnel.

Hence the online advice: "You can drive to a screening of the movie, but do not drive while leaving the theater as you may get into a trance."

For China's film industry, however, there is enough reason to be on cloud nine.

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