Photo: Universal Pictures
The Fast & Furious franchise has gone through a lot. Somewhere over the course of eight films and 16 years, it crossed genres from a slow-paced melodrama to high-adrenaline action, it tragically lost one of its stars and earned more than $1.5 billion at the box office.
With the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham spin-off Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw fast approaching, as well as at least two more sequels headed down the pike, now is the time to rank the franchise so far.
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Fast and Furious ranked
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8. 'Fast & Furious' (2009)
There were inevitably going to be growing pains as the Fast & Furious franchise tried to change as the world did. The film—fourth in terms of release—would be the first time reuniting of the characters we now think of as the main stars of the franchise since the original. The resulting product is a comparative drag, lacking much of what we fans enjoy about many of the franchise’s entries.
Photo: Universal Pictures
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7. '2 Fast 2 Furious' (2003)
2 Fast 2 Furious may very well be one of the most forgettable chapters of the Fast & Furious franchise. Without Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto to balance out Paul Walker’s Brian O’Connor, it is somewhat weak. However, along with its beautiful Miami setting, it introduced fans to some of the most memorable supporting characters the franchise has to offer: Ludacris’s Tej Parker and Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce.
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6. 'The Fast and the Furious' (2001)
The Rob Cohen-directed film that started it all is a far cry from much of what would follow. It is a crime film like its many offspring, but it is also a melodrama. The buddy-cop subtext between the two leads won’t be seen for another few films. Here is only an arms-distance grudging respect, at best. Indeed, it is a modest opening film for the gigantic franchise.
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5. 'The Fate of the Furious' (2017)
Paul Walker’s sudden passing left a significant hole in the franchise, and the first film since was an interesting run. To quickly and quietly replace him with Clint Eastwood’s son Scott was not an elegant choice and certainly one of the worst parts of the film. On the other hand, it features a number of exciting, imaginative set pieces and the now-classic trope of a former antagonist joining Dom’s “family.”
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4. 'Furious 7' (2015)
Though its final scene now lives in infamy, much of this film—and the many re-shoots that had to take place as a result of Walker’s passing—works quite well. It functions as a worthy sendoff to Walker’s O’Connor—as well as an exhilarating ride with Jason Statham as the campy villain. Saw and Aquaman’s James Wan is a master behind the camera and as a result, Furious 7 became one of the more memorable entries.
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3. 'Fast Five' (2011)
Fast Five is best known—probably rightfully so—for being the film which introduced Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Luke Hobbs. With a true showman in Johnson as an antagonist, the series had more momentum than it ever has. His presence launched the films into a bona-fide action franchise with jaw-dropping stunts and special effects.
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2. 'Fast & Furious 6' (2013)
The only thing better than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as your film’s antagonist is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as one of your film’s heroes. Lin’s final film for the franchise pulls Dom and his “family” out of retirement to save a long-absent person from their past and bring down an international terrorist (Luke Evans). It has some of the highest-adrenaline set pieces of Fast & Furious yet.
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1. 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift' (2006)
It may be controversial to say that The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Lin’s first crack at the franchise, is quite possibly the best of it to date. The separate, self-contained story of a teenager with the need for speed (Lucas Black) sent to live with his father in Japan, where he gets sucked into the dangerous underground world of Tokyo street racing is both straightforward and extremely satisfying. It is a by-the-books coming-of-age adventure with one of the best original songs of recent memory.
Photo: Universal Pictures
