In the unforgettable words of the legend himself, Dominic Toretto: “A win is a win, no matter if it’s by an inch or a mile.” And oh boy, does the Fast and Furious franchise snatch that victory with style.
Have you ever felt the need for speed? Well, fasten your seatbelts because we’re about to embark on a nitro-boosted journey through the action-packed world of The Fast and the Furious franchise, ranked all 11 movies released so far from worst to best.
As a refresher, here they all the movies in chronological order of release:
- The Fast and the Furious (2001)
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
- Fast & Furious (2009)
- Fast Five (2011)
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
- Furious 7 (2015)
- The Fate of the Furious (2017)
- Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
- F9 (2021)
- Fast X (2023)
All of these movies are good in their own way, but some are better than others. Let the journey begin!
11) Fast & Furious (2009)
We start our countdown with the fourth installment in the franchise, Fast & Furious. This film kicks into gear with the return of Vin Diesel (Dom Toretto), Paul Walker (Brian O’Conner), and Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz), as we follow our adrenaline junkie protagonists in their bid to stop a ruthless drug lord. It might have been stuck in the pit lane, still tweaking its engine, but Fast & Furious marked a pivotal turn in the franchise, laying the groundwork for future films.
The opening sequence where Dom, Letty and their cohorts try to hijack gas from moving fuel tankers is a rousing return to the risky heists in the first Fast and Furious film. But the high-speed dashes through underground tunnels beneath the U.S.-Mexican border are difficult to fully appreciate, primarily because it’s so dark down there.
10) 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
2 Fast 2 Furious is the only installment in the franchise where our muscle-bound patriarch Dom is absent. The film tries to make up for this void by teaming Brian up with the wisecracking duo of Roman and Tej, played by Tyrese and Ludacris. While they’ve since become a hilarious staple of the franchise, this film doesn’t quite give their witty banter the spotlight it deserves. Yes, Brian and Roman share a somewhat acerbic camaraderie, but it simply doesn’t hold a candle to the brotherly bond Brian and Dom share. The movie lacks an emotionally compelling relationship to root for.
That being said, 2 Fast 2 Furious revs things up in terms of action, serving up stunts where vehicles smash into boats or get obliterated under the colossal tires of a truck. There’s an endearing absurdity to these sequences that keeps the fun alive. Even though it’s the movie I tend to revisit least, it’s undeniably an F&F movie. As such, expect the usual high-speed car chases, overblown drama, and memorable dialogue.
9) The Fate of the Furious (2017)
In the aftermath of Paul Walker’s untimely death, the creators of Fate of the Furious had a monumental task at hand: carrying forward the legacy of the franchise without one of its central characters. The heartache was palpable, but franchise veteran Chris Morgan and new addition F. Gary Gray made a bold move. They decided to stir things up by making the loyal family figurehead Dom Toretto betray his crew, an audacious flip in the narrative.
The new approach pushed the franchise’s well-loved formula to the brink of collapse. The film seemed to lose sight of the “family first” ethos at the series’ heart. They controversially pardoned Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw for murdering Han, one of the franchise’s most beloved characters, a move that undercut the series’ goofy sincerity.
It’s a shame, particularly because Statham’s charismatic heroism adds an appealing dimension to the film, especially in his interactions with Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). This duo injects a dose of buddy comedy into the narrative, which was on the verge of being lost due to Walker’s absence. This dynamic was so captivating that it later spun off into an entirely new franchise.
Fate also introduced Cipher (Charlize Theron), a fearsome hacker with a notably outrageous wig. Theron takes a low-key approach to the role, threatening our characters in hushed whispers, while Helen Mirren takes delight in playing Magdalene Shaw.
There are certainly moments of spectacle throughout the film, but none of them quite compensate for the movie’s core betrayal of the franchise’s identity.
8) Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Who says spin-offs can’t be fun? Coming in eighth, Hobbs & Shaw sees Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham teaming up to save the world from a genetically enhanced terrorist. While it may miss some of the franchise’s familiar faces, this movie has its own unique flair, stripping back the excess and delivering a high-octane punch of action.
This movie is a delightful treat, perfect to watch with a tub of popcorn and an open mind when it comes to the rules of physics and narrative plausibility. Hobbs and Shaw is pure, unpretentious entertainment. This film effortlessly combines heart-stopping action, dazzling visuals, and a healthy dose of humor to create an experience that will leave you thoroughly entertained.
7) F9 (2021)
F9 has the franchise’s by-now familiar blend of earnest emotion and unabashed fun. But this ninth installment is weightier than usual, thanks mainly to Vin Diesel’s larger-than-life portrayal of Dom. Dom almost gives off superhero vibes in this one.
With neither the calming presence of Paul Walker nor the magnetic charisma of the Rock to share the screen with, Diesel’s raw star power is left unchecked. But even amid all this indulgence, the franchise’s core theme remains untouched: family. This grounds the movie even as it pushes the franchise’s boundaries with that rocket car. It’s a turbo-charged family reunion, and who doesn’t love one of those?
6) The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Buckle up, because we’re hitting the streets of Tokyo! Drifting off the beaten path of the first two movies, the franchise takes a big swerve with a new story and cast. It’s not perfect, but it’s a deliciously fun spin on the franchise.
Our protagonist is Lucas Black, a young man with a Southern twang so thick it could butter your biscuits. We’re not talking about a gentle, Matthew McConaughey-style drawl; this is a straight-out-of-the-Dust-Bowl accent that has you feeling like you’ve stepped back into an old-school newsreel.
And that could have been a fascinating choice if our lead were a bit more… well, fascinating. But alas, the role doesn’t offer actor Lucas Black much opportunity to show off his acting chops. Tokyo Drift is the odd man out in the Fast & Furious franchise, but some variety can be refreshing.
5) The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Back to where it all began: The Fast and the Furious, a little action movie that went on to spawn one of Hollywood’s most thrilling money-making machines. It gave us gritty, adrenaline-pumping chase sequences that set our pulses racing and transformed the way we looked at car flicks. This is where the rubber meets the road!
The original Fast and the Furious is less a slice of modern youth culture, more a delirious midnight street racer’s reverie, something the franchise would only build on going forward. Imagine streets alive and throbbing with a carnival of faces, a blend of races, a vibrant human quilt unfolding under the seductive glow of the neon light. And oh, the cars! Bright, sleek, polished to perfection, they’re like metallic beasts ready to conquer the night.
Director Rob Cohen’s interpretation of this wild story is as frenetic as a turbocharged V8, teetering on the edge of hysteria. It’s a fun, simple movie with heart, and still holds up all these years later.
4) Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
This movie gets a new injection of life courtesy of Sung Kang’s unique charm and the sweet spark between him and Gal Gadot’s Gisele. The cherry on top is the return of Michelle Rodriguez, who after playing hooky from the previous two films bounces back into action, delivering one of the franchise’s most thrilling face-offs with MMA superstar Gina Carano. Furious 7 brings Ronda Rousey into the ring, but she couldn’t eclipse Carano’s smoldering charisma.
Then there’s the electrifying addition of The Rock to the crew, giving Dom another foil. Throw in Tyrese’s jaw-dropping, tank-dodging stunt and Dom’s heart-stopping, gravity-defying bridge jump to save Letty mid-air, and you’ve got a string of unforgettable moments. All these thrilling scenes serve one purpose: to reunite the Family. Wrapping it all up, the film takes us back to where it all began: the Toretto backyard in L.A. for what would sadly be the last time. There’s no place like home to bring a Fast movie to a perfect close.
3) Furious 7 (2015)
Vin Diesel, the Rock, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Ronda Rousey, and the whole core cast of the Fast Family all in a single movie! Instead of turning into an over-stuffed mess, Furious 7 is an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride.
Furious 7 leaves no stone unturned when it comes to outlandish, jaw-dropping stunts. Picture Dom and Brian executing a gravity-defying leap from one skyscraper to another…in a car! Fancy Michelle Rodriguez putting up her dukes in a fancy ball gown? Furious 7 has you covered.
However, underneath all this action and bravado, the true charm of these movies lies in the emotional bonds we’ve developed with the characters. The conclusion of Furious 7 is an emotional gut-punch featuring a digitally-rendered Paul Walker basking in the golden sunlight before taking his final drive to the heavens in a pristine white car. This poignant farewell could have easily felt manipulative, but instead it resonates deeply.
2) Fast Five (2011)
Shifting the franchise into overdrive, Fast Five flawlessly blends exhilarating action with a plot as tightly packed as the vintage Dodge Charger’s engine. The introduction of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as Luke Hobbs adds extra muscle to an already strong cast. The daring heist storyline, the electrifying chase sequences, and the unforgettable vault-dragging scene through the streets of Rio make this the champion of the Fast and Furious franchise.
I also have a person reason for enjoying this movie so much.
I am originally from Brazil, having moved to the U.S. 10 years before this movie came out. I had always wanted to see my people, hear my language, and see my pátria amada in a movie, so you can only imagine my sense of pride when I saw that the Family would be going to Brazil for the movie. Even 12 years after this movie was released, the scene where Mia and Brian are shoving copious amounts of Brazilian food down their throats while at Vince’s house still sends me back to my childhood, when my vó Marli would make the most delicious homemade meals.
That leaves only one:
1) Fast X (2023)
Fast X sits in the number one spot in my list. For starters, we visit Rio de Janeiro again. The nostalgia still hits hard, and this movie was strangely comforting. I would really like to high-five Jason Momoa, Vin Diesel, and any other actor who spoke Portuguese in this movie when it’s not their first language. Something that really grinds my gears is when a movie does not have actors from or don’t speak the language of the country where the story is set. I was glad to see that the number of bad accents is kept to a minimum. Hats off to Momoa in particular; not only is his portrayal of an unhinged sociopath perfect, just like his fashion style, but so was his accent. A native-born Brazilian (especially someone from Rio) would have the kind of accent he has. It literally took all I had in me not to scream from joy. Obrigada, Momoa.
The fight choreography in this movie is gorgeous. Truly. Charlize Theron fighting was the both sexiest and scariest thing I’ve ever seen from her, both in the scene against her own men and against Letty. And don’t even get me started on the car ballet. I haven’t seen a car chase scene I enjoyed this much since The Matrix Reloaded came out 20 years ago!
But perhaps the number one reason why Fast X sits on the number one spot is because it’s the culmination of what the Fast franchise really is. You see, if you ask any random person if they like Fast and Furious, there’s a really high chance that they’ll say something along the lines of, “it’s stupid” or “it’s too over the top” or “it’s not realistic and they just keep reaching for more and more ridiculous action scenes.” While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I have one thing to say to those who share those sentiments:
You’re right. The franchise is over-the-top. It’s unrealistic. But that’s what the franchise is all about. Fast and Furious isn’t just a collection of heist movies with cars. It’s its own genre.
The Fast and Furious movies are actually superhero films; Dom and his crew are the heroes, and the vehicles are their supersuits. Dom sums it up in one sentence:
"You made one mistake. You never took my car."
The moment I heard those words escape Vin Diesel’s lips, I knew I was completely correct about this. For the love of all that’s sacred, Dom uses his car to maneuver a giant ball with a bomb in it. He literally drops out of an airplane while sitting in his car, smashing two rival cars in the process and continuing on just fine. Jacob sacrifices himself by using his car as an explosive. Jacob and Little B have cannons on their race car and blast enemies down with them.
You see my point?
Fast X is part one of a two-part finale to the Fast and Furious franchise, and Part 2 comes out in 2025. I rate this first part an A-.
The thing I love most about writing reviews and rankings is the freedom to rank them as I personally see fit. Fast X holds the number one spot on my list, but I would love to know how you feel about it. Let us know in the comments!
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