A surprise screening of the movie happened at SXSW on Sunday night to a lucky crowd who were at the festival on that day, and managed to get tickets or invites to the screening, which I heard drew a full house (not a surprise) of super excited fans. Some said it was actually an emotional experience, in large part due to the untimely death of one of the film’s stars, Paul Walker, who died in a car accident last year, before the film was completed. 

Thus far, reviews from that screening have been solid, with a 90% rating on movie review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus being that it delivers exactly what it knows its audience wants – loud, relentless, in-your-face, over-the-top action sequences, and, as one reviewer shared, a huge pay-off at the end! 

The film opens on April 3, clocking in at 2 hours and 20 minutes long. 

Ahead of its release, along with the myriad of clips from the film that many of you have probably already seen, here’s a new featurette that introduces fans to the franchise’s new cast members and the individual roles each of them plays in this 7th "Fast & Furious" film: Djimon Hounsou, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Tony Jaa, and Jason Statham.