Fast and Furious Movies Ranked: Best to Worst

Fast Five (2011) ranks first because it turns a street racing saga into a heist movie without losing the family at its center. The Rio setup, a train job that goes wrong and Dwayne Johnson arriving as Luke Hobbs give every set piece a clear goal and a clear obstacle. In my opinion, no later film plans its action as cleanly, and it was the first in the run to pass $600 million worldwide, at $644 million.

Furious 7 (2015) ranks second because it is the biggest film in the saga, with $1.5 billion worldwide, and it adds Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw and Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody to an already crowded ensemble. It leans harder on spectacle than Fast Five, which is why it sits one spot lower for me. The song "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth carries a lot of the film's emotional weight, in my opinion.

Fast & Furious 6 (2013) ranks third because it is the cleanest team against team film in the series, with the crew of Dominic Toretto facing Owen Shaw, played by Luke Evans, and his mercenary drivers across London. Gina Carano and Joe Taslim give the opposing crew real presence. It earned $789 million worldwide on a $160 million budget. In my opinion, it is the most rewatchable middle chapter.

The Fast and the Furious (2001), directed by Rob Cohen, ranks fourth because the story is simple and the chemistry between Paul Walker and Vin Diesel is there from the start. It is one of the most focused films on the list, built around an undercover cop named Brian O'Conner, a street racing crew and a family cafe. It cost $38 million and earned $213 million worldwide.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) ranks fifth because it introduces Han Lue, played by Sung Kang, and its drift racing scenes give the saga a distinct look. It is the odd one out, with Lucas Black as Sean Boswell instead of Dominic Toretto or Brian O'Conner, and it has the lowest worldwide total on the list at $158 million. I would not skip it, because later films come back to both Han Lue and Sean Boswell.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019), directed by David Leitch, ranks sixth because it works best as a buddy comedy, with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham trading insults while Idris Elba plays Brixton, a cybernetically enhanced villain. Helen Mirren and Vanessa Kirby add warmth as Queenie and Hattie Shaw. It earned $761 million worldwide and, in my view, it is the most fun film in the lower half, though the story is thinner than the best of the main saga.

The Fate of the Furious (2017), directed by F. Gary Gray, ranks seventh because its premise is stronger than its execution. It sets Dominic Toretto against his own crew, with Charlize Theron as the cyberterrorist Cipher, and its Havana, Iceland and New York locations give it a big canvas, yet the crew spends too much of the film apart. It cost $250 million and earned $1.2 billion worldwide.

Fast & Furious (2009) ranks eighth because it is a darker, plainer revenge story than the films that follow. It reunites Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster and opens with a fuel tanker hijacking. It earned $360 million worldwide, a big jump from Tokyo Drift, though the ensemble is still small.

F9 (2021), directed by Justin Lin, ranks ninth because its many returning characters crowd out its set pieces. It is the longest main entry at 143 minutes and adds John Cena as Jakob Toretto, the brother of Dominic Toretto, with flashbacks to their father's racing crash. The ambition is admirable, yet the film carries so many returning faces that the set pieces compete for room. It earned $726 million worldwide on a $200 million budget.

Fast X (2023) ranks tenth because it feels like the first half of a bigger story, with Fast Forever still to come, so it is hard to judge on its own. It has the largest budget in the series at $340 million and a strong villain in Jason Momoa's Dante Reyes, who is out for revenge on the family of Dominic Toretto. It earned $705 million worldwide.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) ranks last because Dominic Toretto is not in it, and the family core is what makes the other films work. It gives Brian O'Conner a real partner in Roman Pearce, played by Tyrese Gibson, brings in Ludacris as Tej Parker and gives the saga a bright Miami look. It earned $236 million worldwide on a $76 million budget.