The original The Fast and the Furious was intended as a motorized take on West Side Story, a star-crossed love story of forbidden fruit, and a remake of Point Break, a story of an undercover FBI agent trying to bust a bunch of surf boarding, bank robbers, but the criminal elements slowly drift into the background as the franchise progresses, leaving bits and pieces of the love and passion popping up sporadically, usually as a distraction, through all 8 movies. The high-speed, adrenalin fueled action is the inducement drawing the audience back, again and again. The franchise grows money from where the rubber meets the asphalt; every buck in production spending, returning over $5 in revenue.
Having spent the last week or so watching the movies, I, pretentiously, offer my rankings, for better or worse, listed in order of good to not so good. The franchise has produced 4 very good movies worth seeing over and over, 2 that are ok, and 2 that I can’t fathom how the series survived their release.
- The Fate of the Furious (2017) els-6.8/10; IMDb-6.8/10; RTC-6.1/10 8
- Furious 7 (2015) els-6.8/10; IMDb-7.2/10; RTC-6.6/10 7
- Fast Five (2011) els-6.6/10; IMDb-7.3/10; RTC-6.4/10 5
- The Fast and the Furious: The Original (2001) els-6.0/10; IMDb-6.7/10; RTC-5.4/10 1
- Fast and Furious (2009) els-5.7/10; IMDb-6.6/10; RTC-4.5/10 4
- Fast and Furious 6 (2013) els-5.5/10 IMDb-7.1/10; RTC-6.2/10 6
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) els-5.4/10; IMDb-5.9/10; RTC-4.7/10 2
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) els-5.0/10; IMDb-6.0/10; RTC-4.8/10 3
The Fast and the Furious: The Original (2001)
els – 6.0/10
IMDb – 6.7/10
Amazon – 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 5.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 3.4/5
Directed by: Rob Cohen
Written by: Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist, David Ayer
Produced by: Neil H. Moritz, et.al.
Music by: Brian Wayne Transeau
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster
Hijacking 18 wheelers, and the daring theft of their electronic cargo, by street wise, street racing, thrill seeking, loveable gang of incorrigibles, led by Dominic Toretto (Diesel); pursued by a team of FBI agents, including Brian O’Connor (Walker) who is more interested in capturing the heart of Dominic’s sister Mia (Brewster) rather than making a case for arresting the thieves, starts this franchise off on a great set of wheels.
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
els – 5.4/10
IMDb – 5.9/10
Amazon – 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 4.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 3.1/5
Directed by: John Singleton
Written by: Gary Scott Thompson, Michael Brandt, Derik Hass
Produced by: Neil H. Moritz, et.al.
Music by: David Arnold
Cast: Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes
Vin Diesel takes a pass on a tired storyline, leaving Paul Walker with not much of anything. O’Connor (Walker) and Roman Pierce (Gibson) go undercover for the good guys to bust a drug smuggling bad guys in Miami, how original…not. Amazingly, this movie didn’t kill the franchise.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
els – 5.0/10
IMDb – 6.0/10
Amazon – 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 4.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 3.5/5
Directed by: Justin Lin
Written by: Chris Morgan
Produced by: Neil H. Moritz, et.al.
Music by: Brian Tyler
Cast: Lucas Black, Sung Kang
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker take a pass on this film, leaving the franchise, regrettably, with a teenage B movie. Set in Tokyo featuring the underground drift racing circuit; an American teenager makes enemies and friends in the world of fast cars and gangsters. The racing is fascinating and fun, Han’s (Kang) ‘Cool Hand Luke’ acting is refreshing, but the for the rest of movie, it’s a drag.
Fast and Furious (2009)
els – 5.7/10
IMDb – 6.6/10
Amazon – 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 4.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 3.7/5
Directed by: Justin Lin
Written by: Chris Morgan and Gary Scott Thompson
Produced by: Neil H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Michael Fottrell, et.al.
Music by: Brian Tyler
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are back and the excitement comes with them, producing some of the best and glorious car racing, car chasing scenes yet. Not much new in the story line, good guys chasing bad guys who sell drugs, yawn, but the action is fast and furious.
Fast Five (2011)
els – 6.6/10
IMDb – 7.3/10
Amazon – 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 4.0/5
Directed by: Justin Lin
Written by: Chris Morgan and Gary Scott Thompson
Produced by: Neil H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Michael Fottrell, et.al.
Music by: Brian Tyler
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson joins the franchise, bringing the testosterone level up to 17, as the badass good guy, Luke Hobbs, comes after Toretto (Diesel) and his gang of extraordinary lug-heads, in Brazil, for the alleged murder of federal agents. The Fast and the Furious gang seeks revenge for a job gone bad, going after the most powerful gangster in Rio, with a possible retirement, potential payoff of $100 million.
Fast and Furious 6 (2013)
els – 5.5/10
IMDb – 7.1/10
Amazon – 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 4.1/5
Directed by: Justin Lin
Written by: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson
Produced by: Neil H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Clayton Townsend, et.al.
Music by: Lucas Vidal
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson
Hobbs (Johnson) on the heals of dastardly mercenaries, entices the Fast and the Furious speed sportsters to join in on the hunt by promising to clear their criminal records, and re-uniting them with the, back from the dead, Letty (Rodriquez). Letty was always a distraction to the franchise, bringing her back strains the storyline, and plot, to a point of breaking and adds nothing in return to this otherwise most excellent adventure.
Furious 7 (2015)
els – 6.8/10
IMDb – 7.2/10
Amazon – 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 4.1/5
Directed by: James Wan
Written by: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson
Produced by: Neil H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Clayton Townsend, et.al.
Music by: Lucas Vidal
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell
Living the good life was just not to be for our lovable carsters. Deckard Shaw (Statham) steps into the franchise to exact retribution for the hurt the hyper-horsepower crew of Fast and Furious inflicted on his brother. Mr. Nobody (Russell) also jumps in to offer a healthy dose of levity, black-ops, and spy craft.
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
els – 7.0/10
IMDb – 6.8/10
Amazon – 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 3.8/5
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Written by: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson
Produced by: Neil H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Chris Morgan, Michael Fottrell, et.al.
Music by: Brian Tyler
Cast: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell
Nefarious Cipher (Theron) compels love struck Toretto (Diesel), to turn his back on his adrenalized gang of acceleration fanatics, ensuing a globe hopping race of speed and mayhem.
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