As Vin Diesel, Tyrese, Ludacris and the rest of the Fast Family return to theaters in their latest outing, Fast X, we have to discuss which of the blockbuster franchise’s movies are the best and which ones do you skip during the marathon. Are you a traditionalist who loves the street racing and car culture? Or are you all in on the ridiculous stunts and feel like the crazier things get the better? Get your popcorn ready, and enjoy our ranking of all the Fast & Furious films.
The fourth movie is the bridge between the original street racing band of thieves story and the criminals turned secret agents spectacle. Unfortunately, it needlessly killed off Letty, then dissolved into an endless string of action sequences with minimal plot.
On paper, John Cena joining the franchise as Dom and Mia’s long-lost brother sounds fascinating. In reality, the movie leaned too heavily into the films’ well-known craziness. I love the ridiculous nature of the movies as much as the next person, but when Roman and Tej went to space, that was too far.
Tokyo Drift gets a bad rap. It’s not a great movie, but it’s just as fun as the others. I think the disconnect comes from the fact that it took so long to really join the main arc.
Though the second film introduces us to Ludacris’ Tej, it also debuts Tyrese’s Roman, and he can be a lot. Where this film falters is in the weird chemistry between Brian and Eva Longoria’s Monica Fuentes. The opening race and closing chase are the two best parts of this movie. You can probably skip the rest.
The one that started it all. It was such a fun, fresh story when it came out. It took a culture most people weren’t familiar with and made everything about it feel cool. Though the franchise is unrecognizable to this movie, it’s still interesting to go back and look at the franchise’s origins now.
Dom turns on the family! Say it ain’t so! That’s the premise of this eighth movie. Charlize Theron’s Cypher is one of the franchise’s most credible villains. She feels like someone they should be legitimately scared of. And in one of the film series’ most spectacular and wild sequences, The Rock catches a missile with his feet, then redirects it to the bad guys. That moment is everything we love about these movies.
It didn’t take long for producers to figure out they messed up when they killed Letty, so she returned in the sixth movie. Yes, she had amnesia, but she just needed to remember who she really was. Luke Evans’ Owen Shaw is a formidable threat, but it never felt like he had a chance of defeating the family. This is also where Tokyo Drift enters the universe, as the heartbreaking loss of Gisele is what finally sends Han to Japan.
If we were ranking the franchise’s best villains, Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes would be near the top of the list. He steals the show with his unapologetically, over-the-top performance. It’s also fascinating to see the actual consequences to the destruction the crew causes during their adventures.
This spinoff gave us the unforgettable team-up of Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw. Their hilarious chemistry made this movie such a good time. As they travel the world searching for a way to defeat Idris Elba’s Brixton Lore, their banter and rivalry is a fun complement to wild action scenes. It has all the usual Fast & Furious bells and whistles, but it also sets its own unique tone. I’m still waiting for that sequel we were promised, so we can find out who the mysterious voice behind the speaker is.
For day one Fast fans, the seventh film will always hold a special place in our hearts. Series star Paul Walker died during filming, which makes this his last appearance in the franchise. As emotional and heartbreaking as the movie is to watch, it’s also got all the landmarks of a great Fast & Furious outing. In addition to introducing Kurt Russell’s fascinating Mr. Nobody, it also features the classic scene where Dom and Brian jump a car between skyscrapers—because of course, they do.
This is the one where everything changed. For most fans, Fast Five is the unquestioned best of the series. This is where we go from street racers stealing DVD players, to let’s drag a vault through the streets of Rio and pull off the biggest heist ever. Let’s be honest: without Fast Five, we would not be talking about getting a twelfth movie. This one saved the franchise—and probably Vin Diesel’s career.