When the 2015 film Furious 7 , the fastest and most furious of the enduring action series, was released in China, it broke just about every record going. Grossing one billion yuan in five days, it eventually racked up 2.4 billion yuan at the Chinese box office, to become, at that point, the most successful foreign release of all time. While investment from the state-owned distributor China Film Group Corporation can’t have hurt its chances, unlike most Sino-Hollywood co-productions Furious 7 makes no effort to flatter its paymasters. There are no Chinese actors in the main cast, no Chinese cars among the 340 or so featured on screen, and though the film flits from London to Atlanta to the United Arab Emirates, it never once touches down on Chinese shores. Indeed, the only notable Asian presence is its Malaysian-Australian director, James Wan, the Japanese character Han (Sung Kang), who is killed off in a cameo, and Thai martial arts star Tony Jaa, who makes a brief appearance. So why was it so successful? The short answer – and the take-home for future co-productions – is that, rather than trying to precision-engineer Western films for the Chinese market, sometimes it’s best to just bankroll a sure-fire blockbuster and keep out of the way. Although quality hasn’t always been top of its agenda, the Fast & Furious ( F&F ) film series is remarkably consistent, with a large returning cast and a well-worn formula – essentially thrills, spills and petrol fumes with a side order of casual sexism. And Furious 7 might just be the best of the bunch. How The Last Emperor pioneered film collaboration in China The plot sees street racers Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) and team face off against British assassin Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) with the help of DSS agent Luke Hobs (Dwayne Johnson) and covert ops expert Mr Nobody (Kurt Russell). This time, though, instead of merely racing cars, Furious 7 has Dom and co driving out of planes and off skyscrapers. It may be an attempt to steal the thunder of a certain spy franchise – call it Transmission Impossible – but if Chinese cinema-goers really wanted to watch Tom Cruise and co save the world, they could watch any of the six Mission Impossible films instead. So what gives? Since the first F&F film was released in 2001, car ownership in China has changed beyond all recognition, quintupling between 2009 and 2019. As of 2021, China had more private cars on the road than any other country in the world, a staggering 302 million, so it’s no wonder audiences want to see that reflected on the big screen. Who makes up those audiences? The average age in China is 38, so anyone who caught the original F&F in their teens will have grown up with the franchise, which now numbers nine films and a spin-off (2019’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw ). But perhaps it’s a sadder figure that explains Furious 7 ’s phenomenal success. On November 30, 2013, in the middle of filming, Paul Walker died in a high-speed car crash along with his friend Roger Rodas, who was driving Walker’s Porsche. Instead of calling it quits, which might have been the classier option, the filmmakers made Furious 7 a tribute to Walker, recreating his image with the help of his brothers Caleb and Cody, some deleted scenes and much digital trickery. A moving coda sees Brian driving off into the sunset towards domestic harmony with his wife, Mia (Jordana Brewster), while Dom takes the other fork towards adventure – and Fast & Furious 8 (2017), also known as The Fate of the Furious . It was seamlessly done and surprisingly poignant, even if the message is a little muddled. For most of the film, the idea of domesticity is approached with the abject terror of a teenage boy. Every Fast & Furious movie ranked ahead of F9’s release “He doesn’t miss the girls, he doesn’t miss the cars, he misses the bullets,” says Mia. Unfortunately, the bullets didn’t miss him. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook