Faster and furious to the seventh degree

Paul Walker's character Brian O'Conner still features strongly in the film.

Paul Walker's legendary action alter-ego Brian O'Conner takes a final bow as the highly anticipated Fast & Furious 7 hits theatres this week.

The actor died in a fiery high-speed car crash in November 2013, halfway through filming that installment of the blockbuster franchise.

The tragedy - which occurred off-set and was unrelated to filming - left the movie's tight-knit cast reeling. Co-star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has spoken of the heart-wrenching task of returning to work after a months-long hiatus.

"I think audiences are going to appreciate Fast & Furious 7 and the job we've done considering the tragedy that happened to all of us. [We lost] a loved one and a family member," he says.

Johnson had starred alongside Walker since the fifth movie, in 2011.

"It's tough. [When it happens] you want to try to create a little bit of space and you stop shooting. But then you've got to rebuild and life goes.

"You've got to pick back up and go and respectfully do the movie as best as you can."

Walker - who left behind a daughter, Meadow, now 16 - first rose to fame in She's All That and Skulls, but it was 2001's The Fast and the Furious that cemented him as a leading Hollywood icon and continued to dominate his career.

After his death, at the age of 40, Fast & Furious 7 had to undergo script rewrites and reshoots. Walker's brothers, Cody and Caleb, stepped in as stand-ins for their brother and, coupled with digital effects, Walker maintains a strong presence throughout the movie.

Johnson, who plays Luke Hobbs, says seeing his "brother" on screen at his first viewing of the film was poignant and painful.

"The movie's great - it's big, it's fun but it's also very emotional because of Paul. When you see Paul on-screen it grabs you, but it's beautiful.

"I'm happy with the movie we made and I can't wait for people to see it."

With a new director (James Wan, who directed Saw and The Conjuring), the film sees Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) on a revenge mission against Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew following the death of his brother Owen in Fast & Furious 6.

The plot produces all the high-octane action movie-goers have come to expect from the series, including a much-talked-about sequence involving cars dropping out of planes.

Walker's role and the "retirement" of his character will no doubt remain the focus for audiences, but Johnson - who will next star in earthquake flick San Andreas and HBO series Ballers - says the movie features everything fans love about the franchise, which has grossed more than US$2 billion worldwide.

"It's a beloved franchise that people have loved and grown up with over the years.

"The fun part and what I love is that the stakes keep getting bigger in terms of the heightened reality of Fast & Furious.

"That makes it cool and fans have come to expect that.

"It's not like we were street-racing in one movie and jumping out of aeroplanes the next. It has built to that incrementally, so I think fans are going to enjoy Fast & Furious 7."

Fast & Furious 7 opens in cinemas on Thursday.