The latest Furious 7 teaser indicates that Abu Dhabi was the setting for what looks to be one of the film's most spectacular fight scenes.
The Fast and Furious franchise is known for its tough women – and when you put Olympic bronze medal-winning Judo champion Ronda Rousey on the payroll, you expect her to demonstrate her fighting prowess. But what we didn’t know, until the latest teaser, was that the heart-racing showdown between Rousey’s character and Michelle Rodriguez would take place in Abu Dhabi.
This is what we deduce from the high-end Arabic decor of the “penthouse”, where the scene is shot. Watching the trailer leaves the local viewer with a frustrating sense that the luxurious interior is familiar, although glamourous ladies battling each other in high heels isn’t normally seen in Abu Dhabi’s palatial hotels.
“It’s a super oestrogen-fuelled fight scene and I can’t wait to see the shock factor,” says Rousey in the clip.
It's been well-documented that Furious 7 filmed at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace beach, the marina and front steps.
But a source also reveals that the crew filmed in the boardroom, auditorium and, intriguingly, in the “Palace Suite”, which prompts speculation about whether that was the location of the Rousey-Rodriguez battle.
The trailer also features bad guy Jason Statham and director James Wan in a room featuring an Arabic-style high-ceiling, with white window frames that appear to look out over a sea view.
artslife@thenational.ae