For such a relatively low-born franchise, The Fast and The Furious has become one of the most successful film series of all time, and that of course means that plenty more sequels are on the way, starting with Fast 8 this month.
Returning to the franchise are long-time mainstays of the Fast and Furious cast - Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Dwayne Johnson, while newcomers will include Charlize Theron, Scott Eastwood and even Helen Mirren.
It’s also going to be the first Fast film following the death of Paul Walker, whose character was officially retired from the series in Furious 7. The release date for The Fate of the Furious is 12th April here in the UK and 14th April elsewhere, but before that, read our complete guide to the series here.
What’s it about?
The crux of the Fast and Furious movies revolves around the adventures of a gang of street racers led by Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto. There’s lots of crazy stunts, lots of cool cars and plenty of lovably bro-tastic dialogue.
Originally, the films focused heavily on underground street racing and tuner culture and were widely cited as providing the inspiration for an entire generation of car fans and the explosion of modified car culture during the early-to-mid 2000s.
Later films have evolved to distance themselves from the street racing theme and instead focus more heavily on the action and heist aspects. A bit like The Expendables then, although the cars remain a pivotal aspect of the Fast and Furious series’ plot and appeal.
I’ve never seen The Fast and The Furious, what do I need to know?
We’re very glad you asked. Whether you’ve seen only a couple of the movies and you’re interested in the new one or you’re going in completely cold, here’s our guide to each film in the franchise so far, along with our picks of the best stunts, the best cars and some fun facts you might not know.
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
The plot:
Our first introduction to the world of The Fast and The Furious, the original film follows undercover cop Brian O’Conner, played by the late Paul Walker, as he infiltrates the world of illegal street racing to track down a crew of hijackers led by Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto.
Along the way, O’Conner ingratiates himself in Toretto’s world, falls in love with Dom’s sister Mia and struggles to figure out where his true loyalties lie, before eventually letting Toretto escape.
Cue lots of street racing, hilariously naff quotes, scraps, scrapes, blown intake welds and arguments about tuna on white (no crust) in what would go on to become one of the greatest pop culture icons of the decade.
The best cars:
The first Fast movie featured all sorts of import wonderment, but it’s Brian’s acid orange Toyota Supra, which he builds from the ground up with the help of Dom, which takes the prize for best car in this film.
Honourable mentions go to the first appearance of Dom’s iconic Charger, Jonny Tran’s ‘VTEC YO’ Honda S2000 and those iconic black Civics with the green underglow.
The best stunt:
Compared to the films which followed it, the original was relatively low on physics-defying stunts, but the final showdown between Brian and Dom, where Dom races a train, wins and then immediately wipes out afterwards set the pace for the series’ penchant for destruction.
Unlike the frankly terrible proto-CGI employed throughout much of the rest of the film, this final crash was done for real, and we defy anybody to tell us they hadn’t chewed their nails down to bloody stumps under all that tension.
Fun facts:
The plot of the film was based on an article called ‘Racer X’ by journalist Ken Li, which chronicled the life of outlaw street racer Rafael Estevez.
Director Rob Cohen sent a script writer to hang out with Estevez and his crew for added realism, but the writer reportedly scared the life out of himself trying to keep up with the real-life racer from behind the wheel of a white rental Mustang.
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
The plot:
On the run from the very authorities he used to work for, Brian ends up turning to racing for money in order to survive. After being caught by the feds, he offers to find and take down drug lord Carter Verone in exchange for his freedom.
It’s the film with the most actual street racing, the first to introduce Tyrese Gibson as Brian’s childhood friend Roman Pearce, the only one without Dom and the one with the best car in the entire series: the blue-on-silver Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R.
The best cars:
Yep, definitely that R34. In fact, the car that appears in the film was Walker’s personal car, upgraded with all sorts of goodies like a C-West bodykit, HRE alloys and HICAS four-wheel steering.
The nuclear green Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII is also up there in terms of favourites, along with Tej’s Louis Vuitton-patterned Honda NSX and Suki’s sparkle pink S2000 with custom graphics.
The best stunt:
Without a doubt the best stunt in the film takes place at the climax, where Brian and Roman resort to literally jumping a Chevrolet Camaro Yenko onto escaping baddie Carter Verone’s yacht.
Like the train stunt in the previous film, it was all done for real and marks the point where the series properly started to evolve past intense street racing and move more into the territory of plausibility-defying stunt work.
Fun facts:
Vin Diesel should have been in this film; in fact, the studio went as far as to write two completely different scripts in the event that he should return. Mr Diesel was offered a cool $25 million to come back, but thought that the script “sucked”. Awkward…
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
The plot:
The third instalment acts more like a stand-alone movie, with proceedings instead shifting to the streets of Tokyo, where teen delinquent Sean Boswell gets in deep with the local drift scene after getting in trouble with the law and being sent to live with his dad in Japan.
In and among plenty of sideways action, Sean ends up stealing the title of Drift King of rival Takashi, a not-so-secret Yakuza member, and also steals his girlfriend. Lil’ Bow Wow is in it (remember him?), and Vin Diesel makes a quick cameo appearance at the very end.
All in all, it’s the most divisive entry in the Fast and Furious series, with critics lambasting its paper-thin plot and overall ridiculousness, though for some the high-octane driving action and director Justin Lin’s gorgeous visuals make it the best of the lot.
The best cars:
Despite being one of the more car-focused movies in the franchise, the cars in Tokyo Drift don’t quite have the stand-out qualities of those in some of the other films. Still, Takashi’s murdered-out Nissan 350Z and Han’s Silvia S15 are high points, while Sean’s trick ’67 Mustang is a nice piece of Americana in between all that high-horsepower JDM stuff.
Of course, we couldn’t finish up without a mention for the Volkswagen Touran driven by Twinkie, which comes complete with an Incredible Hulk-themed paintjob (complete with fist marks!), plus an interior with huge subwoofers and TV monitors. One for the Pimp My Ride lovers, but an icon nonetheless.
The best stunt:
Measured against the other films in the franchise, Tokyo Drift is comparatively thin with the stunts, but for those who value serious driving over Hollywood ridiculousness, the sequence where Sean races his rival down the twisting mountain passes is spine-tingling.
It’s like a scene ripped straight from the Initial D manga series as the two cars slither neck-and-neck down the hairpins, and if the original film was the one that made our pre-teen selves want a car, Tokyo Drift is the one that made us want to know how to get it sideways.
Fun facts:
Tokyo Drift was later retconned to sit as the sixth instalment in the series overall, following on from Fast & Furious 5. That explains why fan-favourite character Han Seoul-Oh, who (spoiler alert!) meets a fiery end in the third film, magically reappears again in the following movie.
As well as that, Tokyo authorities refused to grant filming permits, and so many of the illegal street racing scenes were genuinely shot illegally, and on the street. At one point the cops got wise and production was temporarily shut down.
Fast & Furious (2009)
The plot:
The gang’s back together! After escaping at the end of the first movie, Dom and his crew resume their dirty criminal habits hijacking trucks in the Dominican Republic before disaster strikes and Dom’s girlfriend Letty is found dead.
Dom begrudgingly teams up once more with Brian, now a full-blown FBI agent, to track down the brilliantly slippery drug lord Arturo Braga in order to avenge Letty’s death and win Dom’s freedom.
More street racing ensues (of course), alongside big explosions and big reveals. Also, the rekindling of Brian and Mia’s relationship and a whole hunk of high-horsepower action. One of the highest points of the series so far.
The best cars:
The fourth movie is packed with all sorts of awesome machines, from the reappearance of Brian’s R34 and Dom’s 1970 Charger R/T, to newcomers like a vicious black-on-yellow M5, the sleep-tastic Buick GNX and the hatchback Impreza WRX STi.
Our favourite, though, is the military green Chevrolet Camaro ‘F-Bomb’. Powered by a 1,500bhp twin-turbo V8 and kitted out with WWII bomber-style decals, Dom uses it to kill pesky henchman Fenix Calderon by ramming it straight into his torso.
The best stunt:
There’s plenty of cool moments in the fourth film, but the highlight is probably the opening scene where Dom and Letty attempt to hijack an oil tanker. The driver has other ideas, and the tanker ends up in a fiery wreck, barrelling down the road towards our two protagonists.
In an utterly ridiculous, but undeniably brilliant move, Dom slams the accelerator on his car just in time for the tanker to pass overhead and explode safely behind them. A popcorn moment in its purest form.
Fun facts:
That exploding tanker scene? Yeah, that was actually done for real. Or at least most of it anyway, as the film crew strapped actress Michelle Rodriguez to the tanker with only a thin safety harness to prevent her from ending up as road stew.
There’s actually a behind-the-scenes featurette on how they pulled the stunt off, which you can watch, if you’re so inclined, by clicking here.
Fast Five (2011)
The plot:
After giving himself up at the end of the previous film, Dom is busted out by Brian, who once again gambles with life on the other side of the thin blue line. The gang escape to Brazil and stumble upon the work of Rio crime boss Hernan Reyes before hatching a plot to steal his money.
All the while, they’re being hunted by Dwayne Johnson’s impossibly muscly DSS agent Luke Hobbs, and with the help of ex-crew member and Brian’s one-time love rival Vince, they successfully steal the money, make up with Hobbs and go their separate ways.
Normalcy restored, they wind up living together on a beach in Spain. Mia gets pregnant, Dom hooks up with Hobbs’ former colleague Elena Neves and Brian and Dom have one last race to prove who’s the better driver.
The best cars:
There’s much less of a focus on the import tuner culture of previous movies in the fifth instalment, but there’s still plenty of impressive metal like the original Ford GT40 the gang steals, Dom’s 911 GT3 RS and the Lexus LF-A driven by Han.
The R35 Nissan GT-R makes a cameo appearance towards the end of the film, facing off against Dom’s Charger, while the $2 million Koenigsegg CCX R Roman and Tej purchase with their ill-gotten gains towards the end of the movie is one of the most expensive cars shown in the franchise to date.
The best stunt:
Not only is the scene where Brian and Dom trail a bank safe throughout the Rio streets the best stunt in Fast Five, it’s probably also the best stunt sequence in the franchise so far, bar none.
Admit it: you couldn’t help but mouth “What the hell?!” the first moment that big ol’ box of money exploded into shot in a moment that married the quick-witted thievery of Oceans Eleven with the crazy stuntwork of Mission Impossible and the OTT flair that first made the Fast franchise such a hit.
Fun facts:
While previous films had been going in that direction anyway, Fast Five marks the point where Universal Studios officially decided to change the franchise from a street racing series to focus on heist action.
Although it alienated some fans it was hoped it would attract a wider audience who might otherwise be put off by talk of intake welds and granny-shifting. Only one proper race is in the film, but it went on to become the most financially successful movie in the franchise up until that point.
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
The plot:
Everybody’s paired up, settled down and for a while it’s all peachy. Until it’s not. The crew get dragged out of retirement by Hobbs to capture rogue SAS major Owen Shaw, played by a smugly evil Luke Evans.
Hobbs reveals that Letty is, in fact, still alive and brainwashed by Shaw, so Brian, Dom and the rest of the gang travel to London to take down the bad guy on the promise that they’ll be officially granted their freedom at the end.
There’s some car stuff, lots of explosions and Shaw commandeers a tank. All seems lost until the gang pulls together and manages to save the day and catch the crook. Dom takes Letty home and, in a post-credits scene, Han meets a sticky end courtesy of an unknown assailant.
The best cars:
Like all the movies, Fast 6 has its fair share of cool motors from the 1969 Charger Daytona that Dom drives in the street scene to a rather fetching widebody GT-R modified by Japanese tuning house BenSopra, but it’s the little MkI Ford Escort RS1600 that gets our vote for best of the bunch.
For a franchise better known for its love of Japanese imports rather than ancient English family cars, the RS1600 is a bit of a niche item, but its iconic rallying heritage and pivotal role in the movie’s climax makes this pint-sized badass the star of the show.
The best stunt:
It’s the tank scene. It could only be the tank scene. After the relatively tame chases of Fast Five, director Justin Lin literally brought out the big guns.
Sure, it’s CGI’ed to high hell, but there’s a bit of everything in this scene, from Brian jumping the RS1600 across a flyover to that hilariously impossible mid-air catch between Dom and Letty.
Fun facts:
Because much of the film is set in London, it offers a ‘spot the location’ experience for British viewers that’s unique to the series. The street race kicks off at Somerset House and runs through Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square in a who’s-who of London landmarks.
Interestingly, because of the 2012 Olympics much of that scene had to be filmed in Glasgow and Liverpool. If you pay close enough attention, you can actually spot the Car Keys office!
Furious 7 (2015)
The plot:
After being pardoned for their (extensive) past crimes, everyone’s back leading normal lives and Brian’s long traded the GT-R for a more school run-friendly people carrier while Dom helps Letty get her memories back.
That all gets blown to pieces when a bomb arrives on Dom’s doorstep at the same time as Han is killed in Tokyo. The attacker turns out to be previous villain Shaw’s older brother, who’s played by Jason Statham and who’s here to teach the little jerks who defeated his bro the lesson of a lifetime.
There’s something about hackers and cars are jumped out of skyscrapers, before the good guys prevail and Shaw senior is jailed. Also, there’s that scene at the end where Brian and Dom drive off in different directions. You know the one, where you cried like a little girl in the cinema? It’s okay to admit it, we did too.
The best cars:
Like the previous movies, the cars have evolved to more family-friendly factory sports cars and supercars. There’s plenty of American muscle in the form of various Dodges and Plymouths, plus cars like the Bugatti Veyron, the Nissan GT-R and the Aston Martin DB9.
The major talking point of the film, however, was the Lykan Hypersport which Brian and Dom jump out of a Dubai skyscraper. Supposedly the most expensive car ever used in a Fast and Furious film, only seven of them exist, with each costing around £2.3 million and kitted out with real diamonds in the headlights.
The best stunt:
While it’s the skyscraper jump that got all the headlines, the sequence where the team drop their cars out of a plane gets the best stunt vote from us, mostly because unlike the CGI’ed skyscraper scene, this was mostly done for real.
Real cars were thrown out of the back of a real C-130 cargo plane, followed by real cameramen wearing wing-suits to track them falling on the way down. A real highlight for practical effects, and a good bit of trivia to annoy your mates with too.
Fun facts:
“Fun” is definitely the wrong word to use but, of course, Furious 7 is remembered best as the final film to feature Paul Walker, who tragically passed away before his work on it was completed. To finish it off, his brothers Cody and Caleb stood in as body doubles, with Paul’s face digitally pasted in.
The ending of the film was rewritten to retire Paul’s character Brian, with a fittingly emotional tribute added to finale. All together now: “It’s been a looong day, without you my friend…”
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
The plot:
So far it’s largely unknown, but the main premise seems to be that Dom has turned against his friends and family and is now the baddie. He’s likely being manipulated by Charlize Theron’s cyber-terrorist Cipher, while Jason Statham returns on the side of the good guys this time.
There’s also something to do with a giant submarine. Oh, and Helen Mirren’s in it, possibly playing the mother of one of the characters. You’ll have to wait and see what you think for yourself, but early reactions seem to suggest that it’s pretty good.
The best cars:
Well, we haven’t seen it yet, but from first impressions it looks like there’ll be plenty of automotive goodies. Among the highlights is a Local Motors Rally Fighter, a bright orange Lamborghini Gallardo and a highly-modified widebody version of Dom’s favourite Dodge Charger.
The new Dodge Demon, an ultra-hardcore, drag-focused version of the Challenger Hellcat, will also make an appearance in the film, at least judging by promotional material that’s shown Vin Diesel next to a batch of the cars.
The best stunt:
Again, no idea, but from the look of the trailers that part where the gang are chased across a frozen lake by a ginormous bloody submarine seems like it’ll be pretty cool. Ditto for the part where Dom takes out a bunch of cars with a giant wrecking ball contraption.
Fun facts:
Vin Diesel thinks the movie will win an Oscar. Honestly, no joke. According to Diesel, director F. Gary Gray has something really quite special on his hands and, in his own words, is “about to throw Oscars at you”.
Will there be a Fast & Furious 9?
Yes, there will, and in fact it’s even been confirmed that there’ll be a 10th instalment too. Originally, the studio was unsure whether to proceed with an eighth film without Paul Walker, but just days before his death Walker had promised that an eighth film would be made.
Vin Diesel took that as a blessing to proceed, and following Fast 8, the release date for the ninth and tenth Fast and Furious movies will be April 19th 2019 and April 2nd 2021 respectively. Beyond that is anyone’s call, but provided they keep selling box office tickets there seems to be no reason there won’t be an 11th movie too.
Possible titles we can think of include Fast & Furious: Driverless Car Drift, 2 Fast 2 Furious 2 Many Sequels? or the likely inevitable Fast 11: This Time, They’re In Space.
Fast and Furious Best Quotes
Love the series or loathe it, there’s no denying that The Fast and Furious series has produced some of the most quotable lines in all of movie history, whether it’s for good reasons or, more likely, for bad ones.
Here’s our personal run down of some of the best, worst, most hilarious and most utterly unforgettable snippets from the movies.
“I live my life a quarter mile at a time” – Dom Toretto, The Fast and The Furious
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Notable as being one of the few scenes in the first movie where Dom actually wears a full shirt instead of just a tank top, this little extract has become gospel for many would-be racers the world over.
“EJECTO SEATO, CUZ!” – Roman Pearce, 2 Fast 2 Furious
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Roman was introduced to the franchise as some much-needed comic relief in and among all that nitrous and testosterone, and we wish we could be as excited by anything as he is the first time he discovers his car has ejector seats.
“I’ll have the tuna. No crust” – Brian O’Conner, The Fast and The Furious
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Brian’s feeble attempt to flirt with Mia in the original movie is one of the most hilariously pointless pieces of dialogue in all of movie history, but has nonetheless gone on to become iconic. You can even buy T-shirts with the quote on it, for God’s sake.
“You almost had me? You never had me. You never had your car” – Dom Toretto, The Fast and The Furious
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Dom’s put-down after Brian gets soundly whooped at their first race is a notoriously hot mess of clunky dialogue. Definitely one for the so-bad-it’s-good pile, but the sheer amount of memes you’ll find on the subject speaks volumes about its memorability.
“Granny shiftin’, not double clutchin’ like you should.” – Dom Toretto, The Fast and The Furious
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See the previous entry. For such an experienced racer and tuner, the fact that Dom’s never heard the word “synchromesh” seems a bit surprising, but chalk that up as another victim of the first film’s patchy script.
“You're lucky that hundred shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake!” – Dom Toretto, The Fast and The Furious
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Probably the most maligned line in the entire series, this one has left car fans and mechanics scratching their heads in confusion for 16 years now. Tricky stuff that NOS, seeing as how it can inexplicably blow up the intake and even more inexplicably cause the bottom of your car to fall off…
“Too soon, Junior” – Johnny Tran, The Fast and The Furious
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Tran’s acidic putdown of young tuning genius Jesse in the first film has gone on to be used for everything from telling someone to settle down to reflecting on the untimely demise of Paul Walker.
“Ask any racer. Any real racer. It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning's winning” – Dom Toretto, The Fast and The Furious
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Another cracker from Dom in this case. The ultimate alpha of the east coast street scene, Dom was the king and made damn sure this n00b Brian knew all about it.
“No matter where you are, whether it's a quarter mile away or halfway across the world, you'll always be with me. And you'll always be my brother” – Dom Toretto, Furious 7
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*Sobs*
Who are the characters?
The franchise revolves around a small group of street racers turned criminals turned heroes, led by mechanic Dominic Toretto and former cop Brian O’Conner.
Below you can check out our list of the main hitters in the Fast and Furious cast and the actors who portray them.
Dominic Toretto – Vin Diesel
The leader of the group, Dom is a mechanic by day and an elite racer on the illegal street racing scene by night. Older brother to Mia and later husband to Letty, he’s Brian’s best friend and has spent most of his life on the run from the law.
He likes Dodge Chargers, barbeques, taking part in elaborate and improbable heists and over-use of the word “family”.
Brian O’Conner – Paul Walker
Ace driver and the main character of the series up until Furious 8, Brian grew up on the streets but decided to become a police officer and starts working as an undercover detective in the LAPD.
While investigating a series of heists he winds up befriending Dom’s gang, falls in love with his sister Mia and turns his back on his cop lifestyle. Despite tip-toeing back and forth between working for the authorities and running with Dom, he eventually settles down with Mia and officially retires.
Letty Ortiz – Michelle Rodriguez
Introduced as Dom’s girlfriend, Letty is a highly skilled racer and mechanic in her own right, and also works as part of Dom’s criminal gang. She’s later believed dead only to resurface with amnesia, before regaining her memories and marrying Dom.
Agent Luke Hobbs – Dwayne Johnson
Bounty hunter, Diplomatic Security Service agent and man-sized bicep, Hobbs is the man tasked with bringing in Dom’s crew. Despite initially being antagonistic, he later joins up with them on several occasions as an unofficial member of the team.
Mia Toretto – Jordana Brewster
Dom’s sister, Brian’s love interest and later his wife, Mia is aware of what her brother’s gang gets up to but doesn’t personally get involved. She’s a dab hand behind the wheel herself all the same, and later retires with Brian in the seventh movie.
Roman Pearce – Tyrese Gibson
Childhood friend of Brian and human dynamo, Roman serves as the fast-talking comic relief. He met Brian as a kid in juvy, before getting busted in a garage with eight stolen cars and blaming O’Conner simply because he aspired to be a cop.
Roman and Brian later made up in the second film, and in addition to assisting the crew he runs his own tuning shop that he started with money pocketed from the team’s heists.
Tej Parker – Ludacris
Another old friend of Brian, Tej originally helps set him up with races even though he doesn’t race himself. He later gets back behind the wheel as part of Dom’s gang and has a love-hate relationship with Roman.
Han Seoul-Oh – Sung Kang
The Boba Fett of the Fast movies, Han is a fan favourite and probably the coolest guy in the whole franchise despite not doing all that much in the grand scheme of things.
In the movies, super-smooth Han is an old friend of Dom’s and joins in with the team’s activities. He later moves to Tokyo and serves as the mentor figure in Tokyo Drift, before meeting an untimely end towards the climax of the film.
So, can you actually blow the welds on your intake manifold…?
Actually, yes.