Yes, 'Furious 7' Does Deserve An Oscar

ICYMI, Vin Diesel has been telling people that Furious 7, the seventh installment in The Fast and the Furious franchise, deserves an Oscar for best picture — and honestly, after seeing the film upon its release on April 3, he's kind of not wrong. Though this certainly seems like a stretch, since action movies and huge franchises are not exactly Oscar bait, Deadline makes a strong case for why Furious 7 deserves an Oscar... not for best picture, though, but for best stunts.

The argument is convincing, really. The Emmys and SAG awards already have categories for stunts, and adding one to the Oscars would give credit to a tricky and often dangerous profession. Additionally, I think that people are inherently interested in stunts and the people behind them (plus, showing action clips at the Oscars would be a welcome respite from all those musical numbers). Pete Hammond, who wrote the Deadline article, spoke to stunt man Mike Smith about the lack of recognition, who had this to say:

Here’s how ridiculous this is: They give an Oscar for Makeup and Hair, but when there is advertising to get the movies sold they are not showing the makeup and hair, they are showing the action shots. They are trying to get people to come in and sit in your theatre.

Furious 7 does have a lot of excellent stunt work, and is absolutely deserving of recognition — plus, it would be wonderful for Paul Walker's last film to receive some sort of nod at the Academy Awards.

Outside of the Fast and Furious franchise, however, there are tons of other movies that prove a best stunts category at the Oscars is absolutely necessary. Here are 7 other movies that deserve an Oscar for stunt coordination:

Speed (1994)

The famous bus jump scene was even an episode of MythBusters.

Ben-Hur (1959)

In a time before CGI, the producers of Ben-Hur were able to pull off a vast chariot race with many horses, lots of extras, and lots of potential for accidents — and they did it well.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)

This is of those movies that would have received its only Oscar recognition for stunts. According to WhatCulture, Tom Cruise does a lot of his own.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

This is one of the best known action scenes of all time. No, Harrison Ford was not dragged behind the truck — but, as the LA Times points out, stuntman Terry Leonard was.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

For a comedy, this movie sure sacrificed a lot of vehicles.

Rumble In The Bronx (1995)

Basically, Jackie Chan needs an Oscar for his stunts alone.

Live And Let Die (1973)

All of the James Bond films have only received four collective Academy Awards, but this wouldn't be the case if there was a stunt category — as evidenced by this crocodile scene.

Image: Universal