My, how far The Fast and the Furious franchise has come. What started as a Point Break knockoff centered on the world of illegal street racing has, somewhere over the last 14 years, developed into that rarest of beasts: a blockbuster Hollywood franchise that actually improves with age.

After a couple of cinematic detours in 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the series wisely returned to its roots with the fourth entry (simply titled Fast & Furious) in 2009, bringing back the original cast and refocusing back on the relationship between franchise leads Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker). Subsequent films have built upon that rediscovered foundation, and despite a number of challenges both onscreen and off, Fast & Furious 7 (or just Furious 7, if you’re down with that) continues the series’ evolution and nicely ties up this era of the series.

The new film delivers on the premise set up at the end of Fast & Furious 6 (Fast 6? Furious 6? Who knows what they’re calling these films anymore?). After taking out Han in Tokyo (as shown in Tokyo Drift), a revenge-minded Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) comes after Toretto and his crew of badasses. However, Shaw 2.0 proves to be such a formidable opponent that Dom and his “family” end up in a shaky alliance with a shadowy government agent (Kurt Russell), setting both Shaw and Dom on a collision course.

If Furious 7 had stuck to that relatively straightforward plotline, it would at least make some sense, but then again, these films have a tradition of tossing logic anyway. In addition to the Shaw storyline, Dom and company must contend with a number of subplots, including Brian’s struggle between his new life with Mia (Jordana Brewster) and his adrenaline-fueled ways, the strained relationship between Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) due to the latter’s lingering amnesia and an entire MacGuffin-fueled rescue mission straight out of the Mission Impossiblefranchise. Upon even cursory inspection, the entire narrative collapses faster than a certain Kevin Spacey-fronted Netflix series. Then again, if you’re at a Fast & Furious movie looking for a compelling story, you’re clearly lost.

Contrary to Diesel’s recent claims, there is nothing in Furious 7 that warrants Academy Award consideration. Around the time of Fast Five (still the best entry in the series), these movies realized that their strength lay in over-the-top action sequences and goofy one-liners, placing them as worthy successors to the best works of superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. In fact, the Fast & Furious films have regularly turned out better Expendables films than that franchise itself. Furious 7 alone unites action heavyweights Dwayne Johnson (whose role here feels sadly limited), Statham, Diesel, Thai martial arts star Tony Jaa and MMA fighter/actress Ronda Rousey (the fact that both Statham and Rousey shared the screen in The Expendables 3 only furthers this point).

As far as action, Furious 7 doesn’t disappoint on any level. Moviegoers are treated to two spectacular fight scenes with Statham, as the Transporter star faces off against both Diesel and Johnson. Moreover, again much like the Mission: Impossible franchise, the film features a handful of death-defying mid-air sequences sure to leave audiences’ mouths hanging wide open in disbelief. Anyone who has ever wanted to know if cars can fly finally has their answer.

Of course, much of the anticipation and buzz surrounding Furious 7 has centered on how the film would handle the tragic 2013 passing of Walker in a fatal car crash. Surprisingly, the film has crafted a conclusion to his arc that feels both true to the character and serves the series’ theme of family remarkably well. For a film so jam-packed with ludicrous moments (and Ludacris himself, natch), Furious 7 sneaks in a final scene so poignant and reverent that the lines between art and life are blurred beyond recognition. Bring a tissue, just in case.

While the film’s story is mediocre at best, Furious 7 succeeds in its goal of delivering an action spectacle that will have audiences cheering for more (and, don’t worry, the franchise is far too lucrative for Universal to shut down now). Despite some cringe-inducing moments (mostly involving the one-note “joker,” played by Tyrese Gibson), there’s enough frenetic fun here to please most moviegoers. Just check your brain at the door, and rev up for insanity.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Fast & Furious 7 stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Kurt Russell, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey, Nathalie Emmanuel and Jason Statham. It is directed by James Wan and is now in theaters.