Starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. Rated 14A. Now playing

Now seven movies and 15 years into their nitro-fueled saga, the bro-tastic pair of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Connor (the late Paul Walker) have gone from underground car races to massive heists to saving the world.

Their supporting crew has grown with them, both in size and emotional entanglement. I can’t think of another action franchise in which the heroes are primarily motivated by fondness. These are not tortured, conflicted characters, driven to extremes by self-doubt, greed, or trauma. Their psychological weaknesses were exposed and dealt with about four movies ago. Their financial worries were put to rest two movies ago. At this point, the Furious Friends are an idealized chosen family, a multicultural band rich with comradeship, loyalty, dependents, and soap-like arcs of a considerable shared history.

In this edition, the gang is under attack from Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), a rogue assassin seeking vengeance for his brother Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), the villain from the previous movie. Statham gets a terrific introduction as the camera pulls back from his pissed-off face through a literal path of destruction. Having established the threat, James Wan, taking over directorial duties from Justin Lin (soon to shoot the next Star Trek), generates enough tension to carry a bit of actual drama through some goofy, giddy action beats.

The crew hooks up with a mysterious G-man (Kurt Russell) who will help them with their Shaw problem if they can return his stolen world-threatening gadget. This leads to numerous fistfights (Tony Jaa and Ronda Rousey are deadly) and, of course, cars spinning, leaping, flying and hurtling down mountains, as required.

Actual people really do die in cars, and the fate of Paul Walker hangs over this, the last of his Furious rides. While the O’Connor story was completed with doubles and expert digital wizardry, you still know what happened to the real guy. Though it’s tough to enjoy the mayhem as much as usual, the sentimental kindness of the series seems like an apt vehicle, as it were, for a loving farewell.