The Fast and Furious franchise has had quite a journey over the years. The series kicked off with a relatively small film about street racing and has grown into a big-budget action saga about saving the world. It has shockingly become one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time and seems to only be getting bigger.
With such a long-running and evolving franchise, the quality of each film can really vary. Some entries show the franchise losing its footing, while others take it to a whole new level. Here are all the films in the Fast and Furious franchise ranked, according to IMDb.
2 Fast 2 Furious (5.9)
Vin Diesel might be the face of the franchise now, but he originally left after the first film. He and director Rob Cohen ditched the second film to make xXx. John Singleton signed on to direct 2 Fast 2 Furious, with Paul Walker returning as disgraced FBI agent Brian O’Conner. The film also introduced Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce and Ludacris as Tej Parker.
Though the lack of Diesel could be to blame for the lowest rating, this sequel has a lot wrong with it. While Walker and Gibson have chemistry, the story is bland and boring. Unlike the other sequels in the franchise that always aimed to go bigger, this movie seems content being a pale imitation of the original.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (6.0)
As popular as the franchise is now, it’s amazing to think that it all almost ended with this third film. With none of the original stars returning (save for a quick cameo by Diesel), Tokyo Drift was nearly a straight-to-DVD release. The film followed new characters in the Japan-set story, which introduced key elements to the franchise such as Han (Sung Kang) and director Justin Lin.
Despite switching up the location and getting some fresh blood, Tokyo Drift failed to change things around too much for the franchise. The series still suffered from the same wooden performances and weak writing, though Lin was praised for his truly spectacular race sequences.
Fast & Furious (6.6)
Fast & Furious was billed as the franchise returning to its roots with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker sharing the screen for the first time since the original. Brian has returned to the FBI, but teams with Dom once again to take down a drug kingpin who is responsible for the apparent death of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).
This film laid the groundwork for the franchise’s ultimate turnaround, but it had yet to embrace the wild potential of the series that would turn it into a mega-success. Though the dull story might have drained some of the excitement, fans were clearly happy to see the original stars return.
The Fate of the Furious (6.7)
The Fate of the Furious is the latest film main series and the first installment to be without Paul Walker, following his tragic death. The film finds Dom being blackmailed by a cyberterrorist named Cypher (Charlize Theron) and his former team having to stop him. The movie also brought back Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) as an unsteady ally to the team.
The cast of the franchise had grown to an enormous size by this point and the movies were not holding back on the craziness. Though this eighth film was a hit with most audiences, it also suggested that the series might be going too over-the-top. Still, the personal story, Theron as the villain and some insane set pieces made for a fun ride.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (6.8)
Hobbs & Shaw is the latest film in the Fast and Furious franchise and the first spin-off in the series. Separating itself from the adventures of Dom and the family, this buddy-action film paired Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) with Shaw to take on a cybernetically advanced mercenary (Idris Elba) looking to steal a super-virus.
Johnson and Statham are two of the biggest action stars working today and they had great chemistry in the previous Fast and Furious films. However, it was still uncertain if they could carry the franchise outside the main films. The result was a fun and appropriately wild movie that made good use of the leading stars, but failed to match some of the most popular films in the franchise.
The Fast And The Furious (6.8)
Fast and Furios has become one of the most beloved film franchises in the world, so it’s funny to think that it all kicked off with a movie that is essentially a Point Break rip-off. The film introduced Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner, an undercover cop who infiltrates Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) street-racing gang in order to stop a series of robberies.
The lack of originality in the story might have turned some fans off, but the first film was a hit with a lot of people. Though the acting and writing were far from Oscar-worthy, the unique world and stylized race sequences made for some solid fun.
Fast & Furious 6 (7.1)
Fast & Furious 6 is the film that really took the franchise in its new, more ambitious direction. Switching gears from the heist films on wheels, the series now saw Dom and the gang as international spies who sometimes drove cars. Hobbs returns to recruit the crew to take down a world-class thief who also has Letty by his side despite her apparent death.
After bringing together an impressive cast of characters from all over the franchise, this sixth film wisely stuck to that idea of the “Fast Family.” The crew represents a lot of the fun and heart of the film, while the action keeps getting bigger. This sequel ramped things up with some unforgettable and thrilling set-pieces, making it a genuinely great action movie.
Furious 7 (7.2)
By the time Furious 7 came along, the franchise was in a tremendous upswing with solid critical acclaim as well as huge success at the box office. This seventh entry continued the success and introduced the exciting addition of Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw, an unstoppable mercenary out for revenge.
With this film, it became clear that the franchise was totally willing to embrace the craziness. Rules of physics and common sense were thrown out the window and the only concern was topping what came before. However, the film is most remembered for its touching tribute to the franchise’s late star, Paul Walker.
Fast Five (7.3)
Just when the franchise seemed ready to fizzle out, Fast Five came along and reignited everything. The film also set up its own shared universe, bringing together characters from all the previous films to form the main crew. Fast Five also introduced Luke Hobbs, the tough-as-nails lawman hunting down Dom and his crew as they try to pull off a daring heist.
The addition of Dwayne Johnson cannot be ignored as helping the franchise find some new life. He was the perfect foil for the crew and it was especially fun to see him go head-to-head with Diesel. The action in this fifth film also improved significant, with some amazing fight sequences and car chases that proved this was one of the most exciting action franchises around.
