Despite being the seventh installment in the immensely popular car action franchise, “Furious 7” finds new ways to be entertaining and absurdly outrageous while serving as an appropriate send off for the late Paul Walker.

Think back to 2001. 14 years ago I was seven years old and sitting in a first grade classroom. A lot of things have changed since then, and so has the “Fast and Furious” franchise.

Gone are the days of an undercover cop trying to foil the plans of a former con-man turned street race king. Instead of NOS fueled street races, the franchise now boasts muscle cars being dropped out of airplanes parachuting onto a mountain.

Maybe it has not gotten smarter, but this franchise has gotten a lot more entertaining and outrageous. I love it.

“Furious 7” takes place after the events of “Fast & Furious 6” and “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” where Dom (Vin Disel) and his crew are being hunted by Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). Shaw is looking to revenge after what Dom’s crew did to his brother, Owen (Luke Evans), who was the big bad in the last film. Add in a shady government official (Kurt Russell), a Somalian terrorist (Djimon Hounsou) and a deadly weapon called the God’s Eye and the stage is set to get fast and furious for a seventh time.

 The plot is certainly not this or any other “F&F” movie’s strong suit as it just serves as a paper thin excuse to get to the big action set pieces. Although that excuse might not work for other films, when you have the action set pieces that “Furious 7” has, I can be more forgiving of the thin plot.

With a speculated budget of $250 million, this is by far the biggest “F&F” yet. Clocking in at 137 minutes, “Furious 7” flies by because the action is so exhilarating and never dull. Other action films might make viewers bored because it feels like the same thing over and over again, but director James Wan keeps things fresh and always exciting.

Unlike Michael Bay’s “Transformers” series, which is over the top but in the worst way possible, Wan seems to have a firm grasp on what he wants to accomplish with each scene. Each action scene feels like there is a purpose and different style, unlike the cluster of CGI garbage that makes “Transformers” such a headache.

Justin Lin, who directed the previous four “F&F” films, did a great job of elevating the films to crazier and more outrageous heights. Wan is able to follow in his footsteps and since he has a solid background in horror (“Saw,” “Insidious,” “The Conjuring”), he is able to bring some of that visual flair to give it a different feel than previous installments. While “Furious 7” certainly feels more like an “F&F” film than a horror flick, Wan’s style is a welcome addition to the franchise and it leads to some of the most memorable action moments of the series.

I also have to applaud Wan and his team for the way that they handled the untimely death of Paul Walker. This was Wan’s first huge budget action film, which meant he had to already deal with a lot of things he has never dealt with before, but to be put in the situation he was in after Walker’s death is unimaginable.

That being said, the way the film handles it is absolutely perfect. Fans of the franchise will be happy with how his story ends as it could not have been done with anymore respect or class. Most of the film might be stupid and outlandish, but how they handled this was far from that.

“Furious 7” is one hell of a crazy ride. It is not an exaggeration when I say it is one of the most over the top and insane action films I have ever seen. If you’re not into over the top stunts or unwilling to suspend disbelief in order to be entertained, this film or franchise is certainly not for you.

That is what makes “F&F” such a great franchise; it now knows what the fans want and for the last three films, it has delivered on their demands and then some. It’s not high art, but I had a stupid smile on my face from beginning to end. I call shotgun for the next installment.

            GRADE: A-