Fast & Furious Movies, Ranked

The second installment in the franchise stalled in 2003 when none of the original cast except for Paul Walker returned for what amounted to a convoluted, ludicrous film. Newcomers Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Michael Ealy, Amaury Nolasco, and Devon Aoki tried to fill the cast gaps, but 2F2F didn't have the same chemistry or feeling of brotherhood as the original. Although the sequel was panned by critics, fans were still revved up to the tune of $236 million worldwide.

"2 Fast 2 Furious is just 2 lame, 2 tame, and 2 much like a video game." —Michael Agger, Slate

The third Fast and Furious film suffered, yet again, from the lack of original cast members, although Vin Diesel made a half-hearted cameo toward the end of the 2006 film. Instead, it presented teenager Sean (Lucas Black), who was sent to stay with his dad in Japan in order to avoid juvie. Bow Wow introduced him to drift racing in Tokyo, and the yakuza somehow got involved. Although Tokyo Drift made a respectable $158 million at the box office and cleared its estimated $85 million budget handily, it was far less profitable than its two predecessors.

"The director also makes a nod to Japan's rich history of genre filmmaking by casting action legend J. J. Sonny Chiba as a cigar-smoking yakuza. Chiba's presence momentarily classes up a passable youths-ploitation flick into a transcendent piece of movie trash." —Jason Anderson, The Globe and Mail

At long last, the fourth film in the franchise reunited the original film's winning cast and returned them to the City of Angels. It had all the over-the-top goodness that was so entertaining without being overly taxing, such as an elite street-racing team bent on running heroin across the border. Best of all, Brian and Dom got back together, continuing the macho-mechanic bromance that has formed the heart of the series. Apparently, fans were thrilled with the 2009 return to Fast & Furious's roots, giving the film a hefty $363 million in worldwide box office.

"Inoffensive if uninspired." —Nathan Lee, The New York Times

The newest—but definitely not the last—film in the Fast Saga, 2023's Fast X finds director Louis Leterrier taking over from Justin Lin. As in the previous film, there's no Dwayne Johnson to be found (except briefly), but the ever-growing cast expanded to add Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, and others. Also expanding: The film's budget. At a reported $340 to produce, Fast X is easily the most expensive film in the series to date—and one of the 10 most expensive films ever made in any franchise. Intended to be the first part in a series-concluding chapter that will eventually span two (or possibly three) titles, Fast X comes to a rather abrupt ending, which is one reason that critics didn't love the film. But some reviewers found themselves enjoying the usual blend of absurdity and action on display in this 10th chapter.

"Leterrier's achievement in assembling such a gargantuan, multi-stranded, globe-trotting, head-spinning blockbuster is impressive, but however many gruff sermons Dom makes about his family, it's impossible to care about any of it." —Nicholas Barber, BBC

The 2017 film follows Dom (Vin Diesel) as he turns on his team after being seduced by a mysterious woman (Charlize Theron) into a world of crime. The eighth installment in the franchise set a record with the biggest opening weekend in movie history, pulling in $532 million around the globe. This release was the first entry in the series filmed after the death of star Paul Walker.

"Zoom, crash, repeat with squealing, burning and flaming tires — it's all predictably absurd and self-mocking, and often a giggle when not a total yawn." —Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

The ninth film in the Fast Saga found Justin Lin returning to the director's chair for the first time since helming installments 3 through 6. But only half of Lin's previous FF films received a positive reception from critics, and F9 joined the two others that met with a more tepid response, even though it took the franchise to new heights (literally) with an action sequence set in Earth orbit. Recent regulars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham sat this one out (though the latter appears in a late cameo), but newcomers John Cena and Michael Rooker joined returning stars like Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Charlize Theron, and Helen Mirren. But moviegoers may have missed Johnson: F9 was a relative underperformer at the box office, grossing less than any of the four previous entries in the series.

"It's overstuffed with all the actors wasting both the viewers' and the movie's running time by actually speaking dialogue when we all know that what audiences really want to see is outrageous vehicular slamslaughter." —Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle

The original film in the franchise ignited moviegoers' need for speed in 2001. Paul Walker played an undercover cop who discovered the fuel injection flowing through his veins after infiltrating Los Angeles's underground street-racing scene. Car enthusiasts were treated to scene after scene of speedy vehicles with only an uncomplicated, wafer-thin plot to sustain it. Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Rick Yune, and Ja Rule rounded out a diverse cast, which no doubt contributed to the franchise's international appeal.

Despite lukewarm reviews, The Fast and the Furious sped away with a cool $207 million at the box office. That was especially impressive given that Universal only spent an estimated $38 million to make it. That was more than enough to greenlight a sequel.

"(You) might be charmed by the film's blend of kineticism, car-culture rituals, and hilariously flat-footed dialogue." —Amy Taubin, Village Voice

The first and—so far—only spinoff from the main series, 2019's Hobbs & Shaw centers on the title characters played by Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Directed by David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool 2), the film finds the longtime rivals forced to work together to stop a genetically enhanced terrorist (Idris Elba) from unleashing a bioweapon. Reviewers found the film overly silly and cartoonish, but some enjoyed the brain-dead action nevertheless—and many critics loved the addition of Vanessa Kirby as an MI6 agent (and sister to Statham's Shaw).

"Hobbs & Shaw is a ridiculous movie, and sometimes it's in the best way. I laughed at the audacity of its stunts, while shaking my head a little bit at their silliness. But I also despaired a little bit when I checked the time at what felt like it might be the climax and discovered there was still an hour to go." —Sam Adams, Slate

The Fast series hit its stride and took its fans across the pond for this 2013 action adventure set in London. The return of The Rock and—surprise!—the previously-thought-dead Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) gave the film that buzz of familiarity while refreshing the formula—just barely. The film series appeared to be critic-proof at this point, and each iteration was making more than the last by huge margins. Furious 6 earned an insane $789 million.

"Against all odds, the billion-dollar Fast & Furious franchise is actually picking up momentum, with FF6 clocking in as the fastest, funniest and most outlandish chapter yet." —Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

This 2011 film marked the departure of the series from its street-racing roots, instead becoming more of an international heist franchise. This new formula, along with the addition of charming action hero Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as an upstanding Diplomatic Security Service agent, seemed to please critics, who were on board with the high-speed lunacy. And the Fast and Furious crew may well have pulled a real-life heist because the film made a stunning $626 million at the box office, which more than made up for its already hefty $125 million budget.

"Gets lots of mileage from a combination of high spirits, scorn for the laws of physics, readily renewable energy and an emphasis on family values -- not those of the nuclear family, but of hell-raising, drag-racing outlaws who genuinely care for one another." —Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

This 2015 entry was the last movie in the series for Paul Walker, who died in a single-vehicle accident off the set halfway through filming. The remainder of his part was filled in by body doubles, his brothers Cody and Caleb, and CGI. The posthumous quality alone was enough draw fans who admired Walker, but the film's high-octane action and sentimental coda didn't disappoint fans either. Furious 7 broke all of its previous records and earned $1.5 billion worldwide. In the wake of such riches, Universal Studios greenlighted three more sequels.

"Furious 7 provides both a satisfying chapter in the movies' preeminent gearhead soap opera and a tactful, touching memorial to Walker." —Scott Foundas, Variety