by Cameron Tejeda | staff writer
With the eighth movie in the franchise, Fate of the Furious, in theaters, it’s a great time to rank every movie in the Fast and the Furious series.
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Vin Diesel didn’t play a part in this film, and it certainly didn’t help. Instead, “2 Fast 2 Furious” focuses on Paul Walker’s character after the events of the first movie. The plot was pretty lackluster and uninteresting. It introduces a couple of good characters, but it isn’t worth the watch.
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
With the original cast left out, we get a forgettable lead character played by Lucas Black. Top it off with a bland story and action, there isn’t much to see in “Tokyo Drift”. The only positive is the introduction of Han (Sung Kang).
- Fast & Furious (2009)
This movie brought Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and the original crew back into the franchise. For that, we can be thankful. The fourth film also gave us Gal Gadot’s character. Although the action isn’t as great as some of the other movies, it is still entertaining enough.
- The Fast and the Furious (2001)
The franchise started out with less at stake than the newer movies. It introduced us to the original cast of characters including the king of street racing, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) as an undercover cop. Although the action isn’t up to par with the latest releases, it feels raw. The movie is much more grounded, and I really enjoyed that.
- Fast Five (2011)
This fifth installment reinvigorated the franchise. It gets a boost from the addition of Dwayne Johnson’s character, a federal agent on the hunt for the team. His presence instantly adds his charisma to the movie, and his chemistry with Vin Diesel is great. The action is fun, and there is some comedic moments sprinkled throughout.
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
This movie continues off the success of the fifth, being a humor-filled, action-packed ride. The movie also features the return of Michelle Rodriguez in her roll. She lost her memory after the events of the fourth film, which brings some more drama into play. This time, Vin Diesel and the rest of the crew team up with Dwayne Johnson’s character to take down the bad guy, although he’s very forgettable.
- Furious 7 (2015)
The brother of the villain in the last movie hunts the team to get revenge. Jason Statham plays the main antagonist, and I felt he was a good threat. He was certainly better than past villains in the series. Also, the action scenes are some of the best, including cars flying through buildings and dropping from planes. Kurt Russell is a new addition which I enjoyed, and Dwayne Johnson is also great although in a smaller role than in the previous films. The actors who shined the most were Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. Their chemistry has always been good, and the movie fittingly ended Paul’s involvement in the franchise.
