Ranked: every Fast & Furious movie from worst to best, ahead of F9’s release
- A street racing B-movie, Fast & Furious spawned a bestselling franchise whose films have grossed US$5.8 billion
- To mark the ninth instalment, we’ve ranked the series, from total wrecks to smashing successes
It began as a movie about illegal street racing, arriving in cinemas in June 2001 with little hype.
And, largely thanks to star Vin Diesel, who plays daredevil driver Dominic Toretto, The Fast and the Furious has become one of the most successful film franchises of all time, generating US$5.8 billion as it evolved into a sprawling crime saga with ever more elaborate stunts and star turns from the likes of Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren.
To mark the imminent arrival of F9, here – and be warned, there are spoilers – are the previous films in the series, ranked from worst to best.
9. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Easily the broken-down jalopy of the series, the late director John Singleton’s only entry has little to recommend it, except for introducing series regulars Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej Parker (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges), who bring some much-needed humour to the proceedings.
The only F&F film not to feature Vin Diesel, it concentrates on Paul Walker’s character, ex-LAPD cop Brian O’Conner, after he flees for Miami – for letting Diesel’s Toretto escape at the end of the first film – and winds up making money from street racing. Soon, he’s apprehended and forced to go undercover for the US Customs Service to bring down Cole Hauser’s drug lord. All very silly.
8. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Largely made without the main cast, this lacklustre yakuza-influenced episode grossed US$157 million worldwide, by far the lowest takings for a movie in the series.