This is a fun entry into the series. I only wish it could be the final chapter because so many of the main storylines are wrapped up and the send-off for Paul Walker is done tastefully, leaving me with a feeling of conclusion. But we all know they'll be more of these films... Oh well.

I still liked Fast 5 the best. It was the first one to really figure out what the franchise is best for, fun, over-the-top stunts, with a self-aware attitude. Furious 7 is more like 5 than 6, which was boring and disappointing compared to the others. The new director, James Wan, brought in a fresh feeling to the film. I especially appreciated the locked camera shots that spun when characters were flipped, creating a fun sense of disorientation.

As with the other recent Fast films, its biggest problem is just having too many characters to pay service to. Dwayne Johnson and Jordana Brewster are essentially written out for most of the film to make way for other characters, but I missed them the entire time. The Rock definitely brings an energy to the film that it sorely needs and when he shows back up at the end things pick back up. That might be why Fast 5 is my favorite.

At the end of the day, the real star of these films are the stunts. Having so many real cars being crashed, blown up, and dropped out of the sky, and with little to no CGI, is impressive, and refreshing to see. So much these days is done with computers, so it's nice to see so many practical effects. The film truly is impressive, even though the script is so flat. Out of all the car-racing-heist-movie-spy thriller-series out there, this is still the best.

3 Stars (out of 5)