Fast10 your seatbelts. Here is our guide on how to watch the Fast and Furious movies in chronological order.
How do I watch the Fast and Furious movies in order?
1. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Released in June 2001, Rob Cohen’s original action thriller is the moment undercover LAPD agent Brian O’Conner met infamous street racer Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel). The flashy, muscular picture was a considerable hit, grossing more than $200 million worldwide. Co-written by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, End of Watch), The Fast and the Furious is a beat-for-beat remake of Kathryn Bigelow’s masterful, iconic Point Break—only with cars replacing surfboards. The 2015 Point Break remake (already pretty much forgotten), ironically, was a rip-off of the Fast & Furious films, surging in popularity at the time. Short film Turbo-Charged Prelude bridges the gap between this picture and its 2003 sequel. You can watch it on YouTube.
2. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Giddy and dumb, 2 Fast 2 Furious represents the low point of the series. It’s still a fun B-movie on its own terms, directed with precision by Oscar nominee John Singleton. In 2, Brian goes undercover once again, this time to take down drug lords. Diesel didn’t return (at the time, it appeared he was done with the series) because he reportedly didn’t like the script. Diesel-penned short film Los Bandoleros bridges the gap between this films and Dom’s next adventure Fast & Furious. You can watch it on YouTube.
3. Fast & Furious (2009)
Here is where the series chronology gets a little tricky. Tokyo Drift was released in 2006—and we’ll get to that one soon. Front-and-center of 2009’s Fast & Furious is the fateful reunion of Brian and Dominic. This is also the film where a pre-Wonder Woman Gal Gadot joins the series as motorcycle enthusiast Gisele. Fast & Furious received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics at the time of release, but people seemed to have warmed to it since.
4. Fast Five (2011)
This is the turning point for the series—a fan favorite that inspired evolution. In Fast Five, the series evolves into a broader, action-crime thriller fare. The final set piece (centered on a massive vault being dragged through the streets) is a world-class car chase. Fast Five also benefits greatly from the addition of smart-mouthed former service agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson).
5. Fast and Furious 6 (2013)
In the vein of its immediate predecessor, but sleeker and more confident, Fast and Furious 6 is arguably the best film in the series. The final set piece is an extended high-speed chase on a tarmac. Like so much in this series, it’s technically implausible. Is it fun, though? Oh hell yeah. How many movie series are operating at peak powers six films in?
6. TheFast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Dismissed by audiences in 2006 for being too over-the-top (hilarious now with hindsight), Tokyo Drift is an underrated, diverting sidestep starring Lucas Black and Bow Wow. This is the first of four films in the franchise directed by Justin Lin.
7. Furious 7 (2015)
Directed by The Conjuring’s Justin Wan, this is the moment the series went full superhero. Huge. More proved to be just that for audiences, and Furious 7 grossed $1 billion faster than any other film before it. Walker died tragically during the film’s production, and rather than kill Brian off unceremoniously, the filmmakers seamlessly weaved Walker into the final film with ingenious special effects, giving Brian a happy ending. The effect, even for casual fans, was stunning. I’m not crying; you’re crying.
8. The Fate of the Furious (2017)
F8 introduces a new big bad (Charlize Theron’s Cipher is revealed to have been pulling strings behind the events of the previous two entries), and takes the action stakes to an even more insane place. This is when critics began to joke that at the rate the series was one-upping itself, the next film would have to go to space.
9. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
The series first spin-off film arrived not long after a much-publicized falling-out between Johnson and Diesel. Hobbs and Shaw’s approach was even lighter and more over-the-top than the pictures that preceded it. Its worldwide box-office haul was half that of Furious 7, suggesting audiences are far more invested in the central “family” storyline than… Hobbs or Shaw.
10. Fast & Furious 9(2021)
In F9, Dominic’s crew must team up to fight their most dangerous opponent yet—Dominic’s brother (played by series newcomer John Cena). Pushed back multiple times due to the international coronavirus crisis, F9 opened May 28, 2021. Despite relatively mixed reviews, it still became one of the highest-grossing movies of the year. And casual fans and obsessives alike can start looking forward to Fast & Furious 10: Fast X, set to premiere in 2023. What’s your favorite film in the series? Are you looking forward to Fast X? Sound off in the comments!
