The newest film in The Fast and the Furious franchise, “Furious 7,” was released to much fanfare on April 3, and immediately became the highest grossing movie so far in 2015, according to deadline.com.

The film combines real life stunts and computer-generated imagery to create an action-packed yet poignant thriller that is also a respectful tribute to one of its main actors throughout the series, star Paul Walker, who died Nov. 30, 2013 in a fatal car accident.

Taking place chronologically after “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” released in 2006, the plot picks up with Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) seeking revenge against Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) crew for the death of Deckard’s brother. Meanwhile, a Somalian terrorist named Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou) allies with Shaw to capture God’s Eye, a computer program that can track down a person almost instantly. The Toretto crew battles Shaw and Jakande in places all around the world, such as the Caucasus Mountains, Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles. The final scene of the movie includes a poignant tribute to Paul Walker, as Dom and Brian (Paul Walker) drive off in separate directions.

Technically speaking, the film is extremely well made, with excellent dialog and a believable story interlaced with numerous fast-paced, exciting realistic action schemes. It is also more than just a thriller – it is perhaps the most dramatically weighty movie of the series, with more depth of emotion than its predecessors. Overall, it compares well to all of the prior Furious movies, including the seminal and now legendary original 2001 “The Fast and the Furious.”

However, to Fast and Furious fanatics such as myself, this movie was more than just another movie in the Furious franchise. In response to Paul Walker’s sudden and shocking death, director James Wan said that “it became very apparent to all of us that we needed to finish this movie to honor Paul’s legacy and to basically honor his memories… it was about making this movie for Paul.” They succeeded in reaching this goal. The movie is fitting farewell and tribute to Walker, his life and his legacy.