Abu Dhabi fans turn out for long-awaited Furious 7 opening night

In Abu Dhabi, where one quarter – about 30 minutes – of Furious 7 was shot, many of the country’s cinema screens were devoted to it.

People pose for pictures with a Furious 7 poster before they enter the cinema to view the first showing of the movie in Abu Dhabi, at Vox Cinema in Marina Mall. Silvia Razgova / The National
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Fans streamed into Abu Dhabi theatres to catch the first screenings of Furious 7 on the night of Wednesday, April 1.

Over at Vox Cinemas at Marina Mall, not far from Emirates Palace and Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, two of the locations involved in the week-long shoot in Abu Dhabi last year, ticket queues were long for the first showing at 11pm.

Emirati student Abdullah Hamad, 18, was one of those waiting anxiously to nab tickets.

“I’ve been waiting for the last six months to watch this film,” he said. “I kept thinking: ‘When will it come to the cinema?’ I saw the crew when they were shooting it in Abu Dhabi.”

Cinema chains are banking on young thrill-seekers, such as Hamad, flocking to movie theatres in the coming days. The film is predicted to smash box-office records around the world.

In Abu Dhabi, where one quarter – about 30 minutes – of the film was shot, many cinema screens were devoted to it.

Vox at Marina Mall, for example, is showing the film 21 times on Friday and 20 times on Saturday – roughly double the number of screenings for a regular Hollywood action movie. Over at The Dubai Mall, Reel Cinemas is showing the film 49 times per day over the opening weekend.

One of the reasons the franchise is such a hit is its appeal to people from almost every corner of the globe, with cameo roles from the Thai actor Tony Jaa, Bollywood star Ali Fazal and a role as villain for Djimon Hounsou, originally from Benin in Africa. The international cast was reflected in the first Abu Dhabi residents to purchase tickets.

Mohamed from Senegal, who watched the film with his pals from the Congo and Cameroon, said: “I loved the Etihad Towers car stunt – they did not really do that, did they? The effects were so believable, and the acting was perfect.”

Mohamed admits he almost shed a tear at the end of the movie for Paul Walker, who died whilst the film was still in production.

Russian Jelena Novakova, 35, admits she’s not usually a fan of action movies but had been persuaded to come by her friend Ahmad Harib, 29.

"I love sports cars," Harib said. "I drive a Dodge Charger – like the one Vin Diesel drives in some of the Fast and Furious movies."

Novakova enjoyed hearing the audience’s reaction when Abu Dhabi first came up on screen.

“Everyone started clapping. It gives you a great feeling because it’s not something you usually get to experience.”

She objected to one scene in particular, however, of an opulent party thrown by a Jordanian prince.

"I've been to parties here, but not ones like that," she said. "I think it did contradict the spirit of Abu Dhabi. Sex and the City 2 was filmed here, but wasn't allowed to be shown here, and it didn't contain scenes like that. This film is more explicit than you would expect."

Harib was disappointed that the film didn’t feature cars driving along Abu Dhabi’s Corniche, which was closed last year to allow filming to take place.

“I guess they wanted to show the glamour of the city,” he said.

Palestinian Ryama, who is in Grade 11 and a big fan of the franchise, asked her brother and parents to come see the movie with her. She gave it the big thumbs up: “It was an amazing film. Vin Diesel is like a superhero!

“It really hurt to watch the movie knowing that Paul Walker is dead. I was surprised at the way they ended the movie, it made me cry.”

Her father, Saleh Al Saadi, dubbed it a “great” film.

“But we were all sad about Paul Walker’s passing ... I’m trying to deliver the message to my son and daughter to live within the rules,” said Al Saadi. “We’re not built like Vin Diesel, who can crash his car and walk away with no injuries. In another world maybe, but in our world that’s not possible.”

Al Saadi was pleasantly surprised at how much of Abu Dhabi was shown in the movie.

“I’ve lived here for 30 years and I know this city building-by-building, so I really enjoyed that aspect of seeing so many places I knew. When the car flew through Etihad Towers, it was incredible!”

Emirati student Hamdan Al Mazrouef, 19, is back in Abu Dhabi on a break from studying in the US.

“I loved the whole movie,” he said. “I’ve been to places where they filmed it, like Etihad Towers, many times before, and also Mussaffah Road. I feel so proud that they made this film in our country. I really hope Hollywood directors will come back here to make more films in the future.”

artslife@thenational.ae