R.I.P. - Paul Walker ('73-'13)

The action community has lost a significant figure today. Paul Walker, the star of action films such as Running Scared, Takers, and the Fast and Furious Franchise has died in a car accident today. I used to really dislike Paul Walker and considered him to be a terrible actor. Over the last few years, I have come to realize how overly critical and harsh I have been in my critique of all of cinema. In this time, I have come to appreciate Walker as an action actor and the franchise he is best known for, the Fast films. He does a fine job and plays his roles very seriously, whether or not the material is all that great or not.

While he is not even one of the most major players in action cinema, I think that Walker was crucial in something that I have noticed. Action fans love The Fast and the Furious movies. But more interestingly, the general movie going public loves it too. The series is both a good action franchise that die hard fans and casual film goers have all come to love and embrace. Walker, who is a really good looking guy, has attracted many of the casual film lovers as well. I believe that Walker and this series have been important in bringing more people to the cinema to see a "true" action blockbuster. While these are the same casual film goers who are helping out terrible action films like Battleship and Transformers, these people are fortunate enough to discover a franchise that embraces everything from the hits of the '80's. The Fast films are big, dumb, and lots of fun.

Therefore, I am going to miss Walker in future installments. I believe he has done a great job along side action icons Diesel and Johnson. I am really sad to see that whatever story was planned for Fast 7, 8, and 9 will probably be flushed down the toilet due to his death. I don't expect them to not use the footage that Walker shot so far, it would be disrespectful. However, this occurence will place Universal Studios in quite a pickle considering where to go next with the series.

As we await word on what will happen to the franchise, I'd like to say that Walker found a way to coax me into enjoying him despite all of my hating on him from years before. He wasn't a great actor, but he was a fine solid action guy who will be missed. I am also sad to see that he will not live to play Agent 47 in the newest Hitman film, a reboot I highly anticipated.