After a surprise midnight premiere for Furious 7 at SXSW on March 16, early reviews are in, and they mostly praise the film paying homage to Paul Walker.

New International Trailer For Furious 7 Unveiled  

Critics have unanimously appreciated how the movie has managed to pull off a tribute to Walker, and give his character Brian O'Connor a seamleassly written send off, without letting the glitches and massive issues the production face show at any point. But the reviews suggest that the awareness of Walker's death does charge the movie with a sadness, something which was out of the filmmaker's control.

Here's what the critics are saying:

Making Of Airborne Car Drop Scene In Furious 7 Revealed   

"Of all the impossible stunts this franchise has had to pull off over its seven-film duration, stitching together Furious 7 without the full participation of its co-lead surely entailed the highest degree of difficulty...By and large, the filmmakers pulled it off. The casual observer might not even notice anything amiss while watching Furious 7, since Walker's Brian remains a crucial character who takes part in every one of the film's significant sequences and has his own complete emotional arc besides. No one would first call the Fast & Furious films elegantly written, but the way the filmmakers have almost seamlessly integrated Walker into the final product - even incorporating an emotional sendoff for his character that feels organic - is nothing less than impressive." -- Vulture

"A new director at the helm and the sudden death of leading man Paul Walker might have spelled doom for the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, but rather like one of its own seemingly indestructible muscle cars, "Furious 7" has emerged miraculously unscathed. In taking over for longtime director Justin Lin (parts 3-6), horror auteur James Wan ("The Conjuring") ably steps up to the big-action plate, orchestrating two-plus-hours of increasingly outlandish vehicular (and aerobatic) mayhem that revs pulses and engines in roughly equal measure. Completed under what were surely challenging circumstances, but (mostly) seamless to behold, "Furious 7" provides both a satisfying chapter in the movies' preeminent gearhead soap opera and a tactful, touching memorial to Walker, whose final screen appearance will help ensure that this already $2.3 billion series is seven times lucky at the worldwide box office." -- Variety

"Bones crunched. Cars flew. Tears flowed. And at the end of the first public screening of Furious 7, two words said it all for the Fast and the Furious family: "For Paul."

When the high-octane sequel opens everywhere next month full of dazzling stunts, uber-macho one-liners, and a surplus of exotic ladies and locales, Furious 7 will also include a built-in tribute to the late Paul Walker that packs an emotional wallop harder than a Hulk smash to the face from Dwayne Johnson." -- The Daily Beast

"It's impossible to watch these moments and not think about Paul Walker, who tragically died in a car crash in November 2013 before production had wrapped. Even though Furious 7 delivers the franchise's requisite thrills, Walker's real-life fate is never too far from the surface. It's on the audience's mind when his character, Brian O'Conner, dangles off the edge of a cliff from a mangled bus, or when the camera begins to cut carefully around the actor's face in scenes that were clearly completed after his death. Even though Walker is still present, his absence is already felt. It is strange to watch a movie that is this much fun and this sad all at the same time." -- Screen Crush

Furious 7 hits theaters in April 3, 2015. 

Watch an extended scene featuring some car action here:

Tags: Fast and Furious 7 Furious 7 Movies