Ranking the Fast and the Furious films
Budget and box office
The “Fast and the Furious” is a curious beast of a franchise. Conceived as an updated “Point Break” (1991) homage (or rip off depending your perspective), it served mostly as a once-in-a-generation flick for the underground (and now demode) culture of street racing. Besides the original (and cult) film, audiences seemed enthusiastic to witness more cars, more babes, and more ludicrous stunts from their cinematic “family” resulting in several billions of dollar in revenue through never-ending sequels and spin-offs! It’s funny when you think about it that a film with DVD player thieves would involve 20+ years later, hackers, space missions, submarines, AI and personal vendettas in such outrageous degrees and incapable to abide by the laws of physics sequences. The series became too fast and too furious for its own good but not without a small amount of enjoyment amidst all the drifting, chasing and fighting in tales that happened all around the globe.
Critical and audience reception
Countries: US (9), Mexico (2), Japan (x3), Dominican Republic, Panama, Brazil (x2), Spain, UK (x6), Azerbaijan, United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Samoa, Georgia, Rome, Naples
Cities: Los Angeles (7), Miami, Tokyo (x3), Panama City, Rio de Janeiro (x2), Washington DC, London (x6), Abu Dhabi, Havana, Berlin, New York City, Chernobyl, Moscow, Edinburgh, Tbilisi, Italy, Portugal
Vehicles involved: Cars (obviously!) - muscle and sports, submarine, motorbikes, fuel track, tank, yacht, cargo plane, drone plane, flip car, ATV, police vehicles, buggy, research trucks, airplane, military helicopters
Villains: Johnny Tran, Carter Verone, DK Takashi, Arturo Braga, Fenix Calderon, Zizi, Luke Hobbs, Hernan Reyes, Owen Shaw, Riley Hicks, Deckard Shaw, Mose Jakante, Connor Rhodes, Cipher, Brixton Lore, Jacob Toretto, Sue, Dante Reyes, Alan Ritchson
Cameos: Tony Jaa, Rhonda Rousey, Ja Rule, Cardi B, Rita Ora, Iggy Azalea, Romeo Santos, Kevin Hart, Ryan Reynolds, T-Pain, Pete Davidson, Meadow Walker
Highest grossing entry: Furious 7 (2015)
Lowest grossing entry: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Highest RT score: Furious 7 (2015)
Lowest RT score: Fast and Furious (2009)
Highest IMDB score: Fast Five (2011)
Lowest IMDB score: F9: The Fast Saga (2021)
Most expensive: Fast X (2023)
Least expensive: The Fast and the Furious (2001)
10. F9: The Fast Saga (2021)
Director: Justin Lin
Perhaps the worst entry in the franchise by far, “F9” is trying too hard to achieve epic “saga” proportions with interconnected storylines, expanded mythology and preposterous action. The whole film is being used as a vehicle for the massive ego of executive producer, and main lead Vin Diesel. Lacking any substantial thrills or the braindead charm of its predecessors, “F9” takes itself way too seriously. With ambitious but bluntly executed action sequences that have become infested with CGI and a melodramatic plot that goes all the way back to unnecessary prequel territory, the film removes the dramatic weight of the previous entries by rectifying plots and consequences. The addition of numerous and superfluous characters detract from its paper thin story and even the once great chemistry among the cast is now long gone. And the mushroom haircut of Charlize Theron is a crime against humanity.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Stupidity:
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Best moment: Nothing to die for but a wicked stunt of a car and a magnet gets some attention.
9. The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Director: F. Gary Gray
Coming right off the surprising critical and financial success of “Furious 7”, this octoquel was the beginning for worse things to come. The adequate F. Gary Gray (e.g., “The Negotiator” (1998), “Law Abiding Citizen” (2009)) handles the action capably but cracks begin to show within our favourite cinematic “family”. Less interaction between Diesel and Johnson, more CGI and more outrageous physics defying sequences. The inclusion of Jason Statham’s bad guy as a new member of the “family” makes for an interesting dynamic with this ensemble, yet is remains unexplored and only his bickering with Johnson’s Luke Hobbs manages to entertain a bit. A truly gorgeous and dreadlocked Charlize Theron as the whispering antagonist leans heavily on James Bond caricature villain territory towards a tedious climax with a remotely controlled submarine that stretches out for far too long causing more yawns than yays.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Stupidity:
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Best moment: Jason Statham going John Wick on a plane is pretty cool.
8. Fast X (2023)
Director: Louis Leterrier
Marginally better than the last two installments, this is due to the entertaining and OTT performance of Jason Momoa as another revenge seeking (what else these days?) antagonist Dante. Progressing throughout an even more telegraphic plot than its predecessors involving an unlimited amount of goons, cars, helicopters and double crosses, “Fast X” thiks too highly of itself something along the lines of a modern Shakespearean action masterpiece. While the Rome sequence is fun, the movie eventually becomes a overblown collage of several stupid moments, and convoluted storylines with so many characters (dead or alive) that is hard to keep track who is who amidst all the exotic locations, shadowy government agencies, assassins, thieves and techno McGuffins. It is pretty bonkers but considering the franchise’s origins, it has become a parody and unfortunately, the film is not on the joke.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Stupidity:
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Best moment: Dante taking the piss every time he is on screen.
7. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2007)
Director: Justin Lin
Feeling more than a spin-off of the series than a fully fledged film, “Tokyo Drift” boasts more style for sure than “2 Fast and 2 Furious” and less emphasis on computer generated cars. Yet, its story is as blunt and generic as they come. Justin Lin as the newcomer director has relatively no plot material to work with and the fish out of water trope is stuck in banal mode. Lucas Black as the protagonist looks way too old to be in high school, his acting leaving a lot to be desired and only Sung Kang as Han is perhaps the most valuable asset here, something that future films will capitalize later on. Still, the change of setting is intriguing: the neon-drenched streets of Tokyo are a pretty inspiring environment and Lin showcases some skill in the handling of the racing, sorry drifting sequences.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Stupidity:
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Best moment: The first race is a back to basics practical shooting.
6. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Director: John Singleton
The first (and unexpected) sequel might not have Vin Diesel but still offers a better time than it has any right to do so. Introducing two future series regulars in Tyrese Gibson and Chris Bridges aka Ludacris, the film tries to separate itself from the original cult hit albeit with mixed results. Focusing more on a take-down-the-bad-guy (the first of many drug lords to come) angle and less on street racing, “2 Fast 2 Furious” has a main antagonist in the form of Cole Hauser who lights up a bit the proceedings, an interesting dynamic between Walker and Gibson, and a stunning to look at Eva Mendes. For reasons unknown though, John Singleton employed fuzzy and unconvincing CGI effects in his race sequences stripping away the beloved (and some will argue gritty) realism of the first film.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Stupidity:
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Best moment: Using a car to land on a yacht.
5. Fast and Furious (2009)
Director: Justin Lin
After two sequels, the highlight of “Fast & Furious“ was the on-screen reunion of the original cast which resulted in dramatically increased box office receipts. Justin Lin is back at the director’s chair (after helming “Tokyo Drift”) but unfortunately the resulting product is somewhat underwhelming. Despite its promise for a cinematic reunion, none of the four cast members share the screen together. Utilizing unconvincing green screen effects with bizarre physics and a banal story involving around another drug kingpin, the only reason why this one stands higher from the other entries is the presence of a solid dynamic among the cast. However, Michelle Rodriguez’s role is a cop out in one of the many return from the dead u-turns. Gal Gadot’s Gisele as the new member is a highlight though and like Han in the aforementioned “Tokyo Drift”, she will become a fan favourite too..
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Best moment: The original gang gets briefly reunited for this tetraquel even if they are not in the same shot.
4. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Director: Rob Cohen
Directed competently by Rob Cohen (“Dragonheart“ (1996), “Daylight“ (1996)) and showcasing a different badass in the form of the grave voiced and appropriately called for a film of this caliber Vin Diesel, “The Fast and the Furious” rips off nicely Kathryn Bigelow’s “Point Break” (1991) replacing extreme sports with the “underground” world of street racing. Without the use of fancy effects, a small story at its center and archetypical characters satelliting the cliched plot, “The Fast and the Furious” reached cult status and became the voice of a generation. Although certain parts have become outdated (stealing DVD players!), it contains cool stunts, plenty of eye candy and enough charisma to propel it towards the top of this list. Diesel’s Toretto is an intriguing and flawed character and its his dynamic with Paul Walker’s rookie agent that makes this film spark.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Stupidity:
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Best moment: The final face/off between Toretto and O’Conner
3. Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Director: Justin Lin
“Fast & furious 6” was perhaps the tipping point for the franchise as it pits the “family” against trained mercenaries and rogue agents who no matter what training and skills they have can be dispatched with ease. For its lack of brain power, it makes up for it with great cast chemistry and incredible spectacle that sees real cars being smashed in novel ways. Using a more cosmopolitan approach, there are plenty of silly moments throughout the running time but the sheer spectacle and the cast’s enthusiasm drives the film with momentum. There is an interesting villain (portrayed by the always likeable Luke Evans) who along with his colorful minions make the plot slightly above average. Paying tribute to classic action cinema and managing to surpass the blockbuster standards set by its predecessor, “Fast & furious 6” does not disappoint.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Stupidity:
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Best moment: A chase in London involving a flip car is spectacular.
3. Hobbs and Shaw (2019)
Director: David Leitch
The first official spin-off from the billion dollar franchise reunited two ex-villains: Hobbs from “Fast Five” and Shaw from “Furious 7”. Betting on the same comedic chemistry that made partially “The Fate of the Furious” enjoyable, the film presents them as two polar opposites who of course have to work together. A more techno-advanced version of “Tango and Cash” (1989), the first half is actually pretty good introducing Shaw’s sister as a capable action heroine and a potential love interest for Johnson’s Hobbs. More like an action comedy and less serious than the dramatic delusions that later “Fast and the Furious” installments will have, “Hobbs and Shaw” is a straightforward flick. You would expect like spin-offs always do that “Hobbs and Shaw” would suck. Yet, a joyous Idris Elba as the villainous “Black Superman” Brixton, a groovy soundtrack, and practical stuntwork makes this a winner.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Best moment: The polar opposite intros of our characters in split screen. Great storytelling device without talking.
2. Fast Five (2011)
Director: Justin Lin
“Fast Five” is mostly known as the film that turned a franchise involving a gang of street racers into a blockbuster of epic proportions with exotic locations, a catchy soundtrack and babe filled shots that would make James Bond blush. Relying heavily on breathtaking stunts, car chases and a climactic and legendary destruction derby, “Fast Five” revived a tired franchise after the last entry of 2009. The addition of Dwayne Johnson in the mix as a force to be reckoned with, tasked to bring down Diesel’s Toretto and serving as the primary antagonist gives the story real dramatic stakes. This entry also benefits from the large ensemble’s fantastic (and comedic) chemistry while the frenetic action sequences offer appropriately thrilling entertainment. It’s big and dumb and you will love it. A shame that this was retconned in the later franchise installments.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Believability:
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Stupidity:
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Best moment: The climatic vault chase where cops cars are crashed left and right is a marvel of technical logistics.
1. Furious 7 (2015)
Director: James Wan
Not only this film is a heartfelt goodbye to Brian but also a poignant send off for Paul Walker who tragically died towards the end of the production. Despite James Wan’s horror background (e.g., “Saw” (2004), “The Conjuring” (2013)), he demonstrates solid action chops in blockbuster territory with ease and directing his expansive cast into a surprising amount of fight sequences. Raising the dramatic stakes under an excellent opening shot that introduces Jason Statham’s big bag, Deckard Shaw has Toretto “family” fighting for their lives. Filled with preposterous action moments where the laws of physics do not apply and a now McGuffin chase which will become the trademark for the more outrageous sequels later on, “Furious 7” is highly entertaining balancing emotion and adrenaline just about right.
Car mayhem:
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Practical action:
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Vin's Ego:
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Convoluted story:
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Retconning:
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Fun:
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Stupidity:
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Best moment: Deckard Shaw’s introduction makes the coolest guy in town.