The Fast and Furious series started out as a low-budget action flick about street racers stealing DVD players and has evolved into one of the biggest movie franchises of all time that competes with Star Wars in terms of box office revenue. It launched Vin Diesel and Paul Walker’s careers and is now home to high-profile acting talent like Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, Jason Momoa, and others, who take part in elaborate globe-trotting missions.

The franchise’s success can be attributed to a simple winning formula implemented throughout the series. Every installment features hot characters performing increasingly preposterous vehicular stunts with the perfect blend of action and comedy. It’s made them the perfect movies if you want to switch off and enjoy high-octane action movies with no thinking required. Here’s how to watch all the Fast and Furious in order to satisfy your action cravings.

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

The original street-racing epic

Credit: IMDB

The Fast and the Furious dropped in 2001 with a measly budget of $38 million and went on to gross $207 million dollars. The simple plot involved undercover LAPD officer, Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) infiltrating Dominic Toretto’s street racing gang, suspected of carrying out a string of truck heists using souped-up Honda Civics. Things get complicated when O’Conner falls for Toretto’s sister and gets sucked deeper into their world.

The movie delivered stunning race sequences and vehicular heist scenes. It also had a massive cultural impact thanks to giving viewers a glimpse into street racing culture and the car modding world. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel’s chemistry holds the movie together and their tail of loyalty and betrayal keeps the audience guessing until the end.

Release Date

June 22, 2001

Runtime

106 minutes

Director

Rob Cohen

• 

  Paul Walker

  Brian O’Conner

• 

  Vin Diesel

  Dominic Toretto

• 

  Michelle Rodriguez

  Letty Ortiz

• 

  Jordana Brewster

  Mia Toretto

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

A bigger sequel with new characters

Credit: IMDB

Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen left the franchise, and it was up to Paul Walker and new addition, Tyrese Gibson to continue the story. It picks up a year after the original, with fugitive, Brian O’Conner, getting arrested and being offered a chance to redeem himself by taking down drug dealer Carter Verone (a pre-Yellowstone Cole Hauser.)

2 Fast 2 Furious had bigger action scenes and marked the debut of fan favorite characters Tej Parker and Roman Pearce. It was a box office hit despite its mediocre ratings. These days, it’s considered one of the weaker entries in the series. I still think it’s a fun no-brainer movie that’s more grounded in reality compared to later installments.

Release Date

June 6, 2003

Runtime

107 minutes

Director

John Singleton

• 

  Paul Walker

  Brian O’Conner

• 

  Tyrese Gibson

  Roman Pearce

• 

  Eva Mendes

  Monica Fuentes

• 

  Cole Hauser

  Carter Verone

Fast and Furious (2009)

The crew get back together

Credit: IMDB

2009’s Fast and Furious is the fourth film in the franchise and marks the return of original characters, like Vin Diesel’s Dominnic Toretto, Michelle Rodriquez’s Letty, and Jordana Brewster’s Mia Torretto. It kicks off with Dom and Letty still on the run from the US authorities and pulling off daring heists in the Dominican Republic. Things get hot and Dom leaves Letty behind for her own safety.

He later discovers that Letty’s been murdered and must join forces with reinstated FBI agent, Brian O’Conner to investigate the main suspect, Mexican drug dealer, Arturo Braga. Together, they infiltrate Braga’s cross-border drug-smuggling crew and uncover the truth about Letty’s death. Fast and Furious was a surprise hit and the franchise’s top-grossing installment. It proved that audiences were still hungry for more fast adventures with the original crew.

Run Time

107 minutes

Director

Justin Lin

Starring

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster

Writers

Justin Lin

Rating

PG-13

Fast Five (2011)

An action-packed heist movie

Credit: IMDB

Fast Five took the series in a new direction as an over-the-top heist flick. It also brought back more cast members from the older movies and introduced Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs as a foil for Dominic Toretto. This time, the crew unites in Brazil to rob a drug lord while trying to stay ahead of Hobbs’ team that’s trying to capture them and extradite them back to the US.

The movie took the franchise to new heights financially and raised the bar for stunt work and depth. The rivalry between Toretto and Hobbs creates tension throughout and the Rio heist scene is one of the high-points of the series. Fast Five probably has the best balance of action scenes and emotional moments, and it’s easy to see why many rate it as the franchise’s finest moment.

Release Date

April 29, 2011

Runtime

131 minutes

Director

Justin Lin

• 

  Vin Diesel

  Dominic Toretto

• 

  Paul Walker

  Brian O’Conner

• 

  Jordana Brewster

  Mia Toretto

• 

  Tyrese Gibson

  Roman Pearce

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

The crew meets its match

Credit: IMDB

Expectations were high for Fast & Furious 6, which needed to pull off something special after the success of Fast Five. It was no problem for returning director, Justin Lin, who brought back fan favorite character, Letty, and created a rival vehicular warfare crew, led by Luke Evans’ Owen Shaw. The fast crew are recruited by Luke Hobbs and must use their skills against a team with similar skills.who’re pulling off daring heists.

Fast & Furious 6 took the action to another level with spectacular stunts involving custom formula cars with ramps and a physics-defying chase sequence with a tank on the freeway. Realism went out the window, but it raked in more cash than Fast Five and set the template for things to come.

Release Date

May 24, 2013

Runtime

130 minutes

Director

Justin Lin

• 

  Vin Diesel

  Dominic Toretto

• 

  Paul Walker

  Brian O’Conner

• 

  Dwayne Johnson

  Luke Hobbs

• 

  Jordana Brewster

  Mia Toretto

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

A new location and racing style

Credit: IMDB

The Fast and Furious:Tokyo Drift was the third movie in the series, but the events take place between Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7. It’s a standalone movie starring Lucas Black as teenager Sean Boswell who moves to Japan and lives with his dad after getting into trouble in the US. He gets sucked into the world of drift racing and must learn new driving skills to beat the reigning champion, Takashi.

Tokyo Drift is one of the smaller scale movies in the franchise but also one of the purest because it focuses on drift racing with no elaborate heists or undercover missions. The Japanese setting gives it a unique and authentic flavor and a glimpse into a different type of racing culture.

Release Date

June 16, 2006

Runtime

104 minutes

Director

Justin Lin

Furious 7 (2015)

A farewell to Paul Walker

Credit: IMDB

Things get personal in Furious 7 with new villain Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) out for revenge against Dom and the crew after they put his brother in a coma in the last movie. Government agent, Mr Nobody (Kurt Russel), steps in to help the crew stop him in return for retrieving the God’s Eye, a computer program that can track anyone, from a terrorist organization.

It becomes a game of cat-and-mouse as the crew must steal the God’s eye while battling terrorists and being hunted by Shaw. Jason Statham brings his A-Game to Fast 7 and oozes charisma while he causes chaos. This movie is famous for Dom driving a Lykan Hypersport through multiple skyscrapers and his iconic game of chicken with Deckard Shaw. Fast 7 is the highest grossing installment in the franchise and one of its most emotional as it bids farewell to Paul Walker, who tragically passed away before its release.

Release Date

April 3, 2015

Runtime

139 minutes

Director

James Wan

• 

  Vin Diesel

  Dominic Toretto

• 

  Paul Walker

  Brian O’Conner

• 

  Jason Statham

  Deckard Shaw

• 

  Michelle Rodriguez

  Letty Ortiz

The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Dom turns against his team

Credit: IMDB

The Fate of the Furious switched things up by putting Dom up against his team who believe he’s double-crossed them. The new villain, cyberterrorist, Cipher (Charlize Theron), coerces Dom into working for her after showing him some secret information.

He betrays his team after a mission and gives the device they’ve retrieved to her. Meanwhile, Mr Nobody breaks Deckard Shaw and Luke Hobbs out of prison to help Dom’s crew track him down and stop Cipher.

The Fate of the Furious keeps things fresh with a new team dynamic and the amazing chemistry between Shaw and Hobbs. There’s also mystery and intrigue as we wonder how Dom could turn rogue and attack his friends. In true Furious fashion, it’s packed with incredible set pieces like remotely controlled cars attacking people in the street and a nuclear submarine chasing cars on ice.

Release Date

April 14, 2017

Runtime

136 minutes

Director

F. Gary Gray

• 

  Vin Diesel

  Dominic Toretto

• 

  Jason Statham

  Deckard Shaw

• 

  Dwayne Johnson

  Luke Hobbs

• 

  Michelle Rodriguez

  Letty Ortiz

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

A fun spin-off espionage movie

Credit: IMDB

Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw earned their own spin-off after Fast 7’s success. Deckard’s sister, Hattie (Vanessa Kirby) is an MI6 agent who injects herself with a new super virus to prevent it from getting into the wrong hands. Hobbs and Shaw must work together in a race against time to retrieve the virus and stop cybernetically enhanced terrorist, Brixton Lore (Idris Elba) from getting his hands on it.

Hobbs and Shaw is an espionage thriller that retains the flavor of the main installments with witty banter and over-the-top action. Idris Elba steals the show as the scenery-chewing villain with superhuman powers who’s impossible to defeat without the help of Hobbs’ Samoan family.

Release Date

August 2, 2019

Runtime

137 minutes

Director

David Leitch

• 

  Dwayne Johnson

  Luke Hobbs

• 

  Jason Statham

  Deckard Shaw

• 

• 

  Vanessa Kirby

  Hattie Shaw

F9: The Fast Saga (2021)

Out of this world action

Credit: IMDB

F9: The Fast Saga pits the crew against a new enemy, Jakob Torreto (John Cena), Dom’s estranged brother, who also happens to be the leader of a private terrorist army. This time they’re in a race against time to retrieve a new device called Project Aries that can hack into any computer weapons system.

The globe-trotting adventure is full of twists and turns as they try to stop Jacob’s plans. F9 is where the franchise goes off the rails and features a breathtaking chase scene with a truck containing a powerful magnet as well as members traveling into space in a rocket car to destroy a satellite.

Release Date

May 19, 2021

Runtime

143 minutes

Director

Justin Lin

• 

  Vin Diesel

  Dominic Toretto

• 

  Michelle Rodriguez

  Letty Ortiz

• 

  Tyrese Gibson

  Roman Pearce

•