Every Fast and Furious Movie, Ranked

The tenth feature in the Fast Saga, Fast X, officially premieres in theaters May 19. The Fast and Furious franchise began over two decades ago, and has only grown in scope and popularity since 2001. The blockbuster action flicks attract fans around the globe, whether they’re drawn in by high-speed cars or just memes about family.

Now, with the blockbuster franchise speeding towards the end of the road, let’s take a cruise down memory lane by revisiting the previous films. Here’s every Fast and Furious movie, ranked.

10. Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

While I personally argue that many F&F films are bad in a good way, Hobbs & Shaw is bad in a bad way. (What is going on with the weird sci-fi supersoldier/virus plot?) Watching this movie now, you’d never believe it premiered in 2019; all the “comedy” here feels like it’s from decades ago. I liked the Samoan fight sequence, but that’s about all I can say for this one. If the Fast and Furious films are themselves a family, Hobbes & Shaw is that cousin you conveniently forget to invite to the cookout.

9. Fast & Furious (2009)

Fast & Furious ushered in the franchise’s “rebirth,” bringing back both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker as leads. This movie wraps up with a memorable sequence of Dom and Brian racing through a series of underground tunnels – which I’ll admit, is very cool. But everything else about this movie feels pretty meh. There’s a heavy focus on the subpar cartel plot, which tries so hard to be taken seriously even though it’s riddled with melodrama from killing off Letty (Michelle Rodriguez). Besides the final moments behind the wheel, Fast & Furious is a forgettable installment. I’m glad it exists because it ushered in the opportunity for the rest of the franchise, but I never feel like rewatching this one.

8. The Fate of the Furious (2017)

It’s hard to say exactly why The Fate of the Furious just doesn’t seem to hit for me. Is it the lack of Paul Walker? Charlize Theron’s hair? The sudden Dad Dom Drama? All possibilities, though I think it’s the final action sequence that really keeps this installment from ranking higher in this list. The whole “driving on frozen water” bit just seems like something we’ve seen in so many other action movies before. By comparison, the mid-movie moment when Cipher hacks a bunch of cars and makes them rain down from high-rise garages is much cooler. Fate of the Furious ends up feeling a bit anticlimactic overall.

7. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Ranking 2 Fast 2 Furious this low might be my hottest F&F take. Does this movie have the greatest sequel name of all time? Undeniably. Is it crucial for the future of the franchise, introducing both Tej (Ludacris) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson)? For sure. But 2 Fast also brings an entirely different vibe than the rest of the Fast Saga. It’s a buddy cop movie, not an over-the-top ensemble action flick. The crime boss plot works better than the one in Fast & Furious, but it’s still not my favorite. Shoutout to Suki and the big car warehouse shell game scene though.

6. Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

Fast & Furious 6 is when the franchise really embraces not just the importance of family, but the importance of a good melodrama. We’re talking “believed deceased ex returns, but as an enemy because she has amnesia” type melodrama. During this installment, the Fast Saga truly becomes not just an action flick, but an action soap opera – which is instrumental in helping F&F lean into its own exaggerated reality and need to make every movie bigger than the last. You’re not supposed to take these films seriously. You’re just supposed to go along for one crazy ride after another. And you know what? I’ll watch Dom defy gravity and all the laws of physics to take a flying leap towards Letty any day of the week.

5. The Fast and the Furious: Toyko Drift (2006)

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift has too long been brushed off by the fandom. And look, I get it. Lucas Black just doesn’t have the same leading man charisma as Diesel or Walker. But before the F&F franchise became about globe-trotting adventures with world-ending stakes, it was about cars. And this movie really is about the love for cars and racing, in a way that no other movie in the franchise that follows really captures. Tokyo Drift also introduces Sung Kang as Han – a character fans liked so much, his death in this movie gets retconned… twice. And of course, you can’t understate the cultural impact of bringing “drifting” into the mainstream lexicon. Tokyo Drift, you will always be famous (at least to me).

4. Furious 7 (2015)

“I don’t have friends. I got family.” Furious 7 was the first F&F film I ever watched. I remember tearing up in the theater as Brian’s path splits from Dom’s as “See You Again” swells in the background – and I hadn’t even watched the rest of the franchise yet! That’s how strong the film’s tribute to the late Paul Walker was. 

On top of the powerful emotional ending, Furious 7 goes all-out on the action and drama. There’s plenty of inventive (if wholly unnecessary) car action, including driving a car through multiple skyscrapers in midair. This movie also features a parking garage fight between Dom and Shaw (Jason Statham), which concludes with Dom saying, “The thing about street fights? The street always wins.” I will never not laugh at that. I’ll take my action melodrama with a side of cheese, please.

3. Fast Five (2011)

Fast Five gets pretty consistently mentioned as a franchise favorite by fans, and it’s easy to see why. I mean, who doesn’t love a good heist story? From the opening scene with the train robbery, to the rooftop chases, to the final safe-snatching-switcheroo at the end, there’s energy behind every action sequence. (Just maybe don’t think about all the collateral damage from dragging that safe through Rio. The Fast Family killed SO many people here guys. It’s insane.) The cars + heist combo makes for a compelling twist on the hallmark F&F high-speed chase. And unlike many of the future films in the franchise, using cars in the big action sequences for this plot actually makes sense. Plus, Fast Five ushers in the “extended family ensemble” that becomes a staple of all the future films. Salud, mi familia.

2. The Fast and the Furious (2001)

One day, Dominic Toretto and the Fast Family will save the world. But in the original The Fast and the Furious, they’re just a ragtag group of low-level criminals, hanging out, drag racing, and stealing DVD players. (Stealing DVD players in an unnecessarily dramatic fashion, to be sure – but still.) 

Looking at how the Fast Saga ultimately becomes a series of huge action blockbusters, this first movie feels sort of like a gritty, charming little indie in comparison. But the essence of Fast and Furious is all here, from the love for cars to the (found) family ties that bind. Diesel and Walker make such dynamic co-leads it’s shocking to think they didn’t come together for another F&F film for eight years after this. This movie makes you want to grab a tuna sandwich (no crust), bet a pink slip in a drag race, and live your life a quarter mile at a time.

1. F9 (2021)

How can I even begin to describe F9? I guess if I had to choose just one word, I’d say “unhinged.” Every Fast and Furious movie tries to go a little bigger than the one before, and by the time we get up to movie nine, every moment is an action spectacle unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Any attempt at realism has gone completely out the window. They’re slingshotting cars off cliffs and driving “too fast for landmines to explode” and using giant magnets to pull trucks through buildings and sending a car into space. 

And that’s not to mention all the soapy drama packed into this one. (John Cena as a Toretto brother we’ve never heard of before! Han is alive – again! Dom almost drowns, but Letty saves him!) F9 redefines spectacle cinema. Can I accurately describe the central plot of this movie after watching it at least four times? No, I cannot. But I sure as hell have a good time while I’m watching.

Where will Fast X rank?

So, will Fast X crack the upper tier of Fast and Furious flicks like F9? Or will it suffer the same low-ranking fate as Fate of the Furious? We’ll all have to hit the theaters soon to find out!

Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they’ve ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who’s fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything—and everyone—that Dom loves, forever.  

Fast X premieres in theaters May 19.