Fanboys Anonymous

It's been a sad few days for many people since the untimely and tragic passing of Paul Walker. As is typical, there have been emotional grief-stricken reactions, some unbelievable overreactions on behalf of social networking attention seekers, and then some despicable vulture-like behavior on behalf of the celeb hunters (not to mention TMZ—shit-eating arse-pirates that they are—I wouldn't give them the mention but personally I don't condone their ethics, or lack thereof!)
Before we get underway, I'd like to clarify that I was never a fan of Paul Walker's work, so you can rest assured that this is not a biased article. I appreciated some of his films in the past, but I came to appreciate and respect his work outside of film even more so. I write this out of total respect for him, his family, and his friends.

To the trolls, vultures, "bad news pays big money" media people, and anybody else who posts crap like this:

A meme maker dies and the internet gets happier.

I'd like to say, please don't read my article. I don't want to give you ammunition. Since I can't stop you, however, I'd like to point out what we lost the day that Paul Walker died!

Undeniably, Walker—born in Glendale, California in 1973—lived a blessed life and one that most of us couldn't afford. Sure, that goes with the territory, doesn't it? The surfer, gearhead, and occasional actor was always criticized for his performances, for the films he starred in, and for his good looks. Guilty.

Yet when you learn that he was a keen traveler, that he devoted his life to helping provide charity to the third world, and that of all people he was a fan of marine biologist Jacques Cousteau, you start to see a side of his life for which you could not judge him. You might say that Walker lived up to his surname, as a worldly man who was lucky enough to live the life that he did.

Then you look back and see this:

All the lolz.

I'm not here to sugar coat his film career, remember? Walker started out his film and television career at a very early age, but unlike most child actors, he escaped the curse of falling out of work as soon as he was done with puberty. Instead, he rose to popularity, and despite some box office bombs, he never stopped working until the day he died.

Just bought this car from Universal.

Although you could criticize The Fast and the Furious (I fell asleep drunk in the cinema) and the rest of the franchise (if you really wanted to devote all of your energy to crying like a bitch), next to Resident Evil, which has gone on for the same duration minus one year and one movie, Fast is near perfection personified.

It was after Fast in 2001 that Walker's film career took off and subjected his acting skills to a lot of scrutiny, beginning with the stylish and suspenseful road-trip horror movie Joy Ride (aka Road Kill) in which he starred alongside Steve Zahn as two friends entered into a Spielbergian Duel situation with a demented truck driver. All good wholesome family fun (if you're related to Ed Gein).

Walker did consistently stay in work in the movie industry, making one or two movies a year, and although Danny Trejo dies in ten times more movies per year by comparison, that is simply not what it was about for Walker. This stereotyped him as a lazy actor, which was wrong to suggest, if you ever saw gangster thriller Running Scared.

"I'M BLUE BADA-BING, BADA-BOOM!"

Running Scared was such a shock to the system for critics of Walker, a violent mafia thriller that cleverly implemented elements of the German fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. If you want to get a feel for the movie, I could just tell you that the word "fuck" is said a total of 328 times. Or I could just let you watch a clip:


Walker's popularity as an actor rose from there and saw him move onto Flags of our Fathers and Takers while also reviving the Fast & Furious franchise with co-star Vin Diesel. Last year, they achieved their most successful sequel yet.
The seventh movie in the franchise was announced in the sixth film's first weekend at the box office, such was the series' success. Walker's death midway through production has now put the future of the series into question. To those still not sold on the guy's acting abilities, call it tragic timing and consider the fact that you haven't seen all that he was capable of. This year alone, two of his movies came along that will stun you:

"Life is like a jar of moonshine, you never know your ass from your elbow!"

Pawn Shop Chronicles, and…
Hours.

Nobody knows what the future might have held for Walker beyond these fine examples of his acting maturity or after Fast & Furious 7. Walker had also just completed another thriller (Brick Mansions) with Leon director Luc Besson, a true legend of Walker's genre of choice. All but his legacy and the memories that he leaves his legions of fans is now left to the wind. I got the feeling, however, that we have not just lost some bad actor who liked to drive fast cars.

So, what did we lose the day Paul Walker died?

Besides his daughter losing the coolest dad anyone could ask for? For a start, film fans lost an actor who was going from strength to strength and proving that he was more than just a pretty boy.

His charity organization Reach Out Worldwide and the people they help worldwide in times of natural catastrophes lost a valuable leader and a man committed to helping people, no matter what. Looking around at the bitterness, jealousy, envy, hatred, and complete disrespect for the loss of a man who put his fortunes and blessings to best possible use, I also say we've lost someone who led by example as a decent and good-natured human being and whom we have clearly taken for granted!

Please feel free to comment, Fanboys and Fangirls, and thanks for reading!