There’s Only One Right Way to Watch All the ‘Fast and Furious’ Movies
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WHETHER YOU'RE a Fast and Furious veteran or a newcomer to the series (more on that in a little), what you're really coming for, all things considered, is the utterly out-of-control action and thrills, right? Some of the movies in the Fast and Furious-verse are better than others, but whether they're early films in the series centered on underground street racing, or the later movies, which are....uh, basically about superhero spy heists and stuff, you're coming for the thrills. And if you're new to the whole Fast and Furious deal, it might be a bit confusing to jump right into.
But it shouldn't be. Some of the titles are admittedly confusing. How is someone supposed to know that The Fast and the Furious is the first movie, but Fast & Furious is the fourth, and The Fate of the Furious is the eighth (F8. F-8. Fate. Get it?)? It's definitely very confusing.
And on top of that, the movies end up getting into some timeline trickery, where later movies take place prior to earlier movies. Yes, yes, far too complicated for movies that we're mostly watching for mind-blowing action, car chases, and Vin Diesel being a quasi-superhero. But honestly? Just deal with it. It's worth it.
If you're new to the Furious-verse and looking to firmly entrench yourself in the family, well, you're in for a great time (and don't be surprised if you find yourself craving a Corona very soon). If you're going to watch all of the movies, we recommend watching them one way and one way only: the order in which they were released.
But for whatever reason, that's not for everyone. Some people like to watch these movies in the chronological timeline order of the movies' events. We do not recommend this, especially not for newcomers. But in case you want to, you can.
If you want to watch the Fast and Furious movies in their chronological timeline order, this is your best bet:
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Fast & Furious (2009)
Fast Five (2011)
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Furious 7 (2015)
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
F9: The Fast Saga (2021)
Fast X (2023)
But we recommend sticking with release date—the order in which every Fast and Furious movie came out in theaters.
Even though the Fast and Furious movies mess around with the over-arching timeline quite a bit (mainly, we think, as a way to keep fan-favorite, chip-snacking speedster Han (Sung Kang) in the mix), we are always going to recommend watching the movies in the order in which they were released as opposed to the chronological timeline order. Just like with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and even the Fox X-Men movies, watching these movies in the order in which they were released allows you to have certain shocking reveals that change everything in the way they were intended theatrically. Watching otherwise may erase those thrills, or, even worse, give you a reveal that at the time makes little to no sense.
So, without further ado, here's the order in which you should watch every Fast and Furious movie:
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
The story starts here. Sure, some day we'll probably get a prequel about Dom, Letty, Mia, and Brian's younger days (and we start down that road in F9), but for now the entire saga of family, cars, and Corona begins with low-level heists, drag racing in the street, and a wildly 2001 nu-metal-influenced soundtrack. The Vin Diesel/Paul Walker bromance begins, and you're in for a wild ride the rest of the way.
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
2 Fast 2 Furious is the only movie in the main Fast and Furious series to not feature the franchise's face and superstar, Vin Diesel. Still, despite Dom's absence, 2 Fast 2 Furious (which takes place chronologically after The Fast and the Furious) is very silly, very fun, and very action packed. The story also introduces Ludacris as Tej and Tyrese Gibson as Roman, two characters who become crew mainstays over the course of the next... two decades.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
So here's where our timeline gets a little... twisted. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was originally seen as a soft reboot of the Fast and Furious franchise, in that it starred neither Paul Walker nor Vin Diesel (nor Ludacris, nor Michelle Rodriguez, nor Tyrese). Instead, it moved the action to Japan, and introduced a street racer named Han (Sung Kang), who eventually became a fan-favorite. Some... events of this movie.... made keeping Han around in future films a little tricky. Hence some future playing around with timelines. Luckily, the movie ends with quite the Furious-verse cameo, which makes way for the wild timeline that establishes itself in future films.
Fast & Furious (2009)
We get back to our old pals Dom and Brian with Fast and Furious, the confusingly named fourth installment of the franchise. This is set after 2 Fast 2 Furious, but as we previously alluded, far before The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. We'll get there. The franchise doesn't hit full speed here, but we're getting there.
Fast Five (2011)
Here's where things really, really enter a new gear. Fast Five adds The Rock to the movie's repertoire of players, while bringing back Ludacris and Tyrese, along with Gal Gadot, Sung Kang, and the rest of our heroes for... really just an absolutely legendary action movie. Great stuff here, and where the franchise finally realized its most important lesson: bigger, and most outrageous, is without a doubt better.
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Fast & Furious 6 picks up where Fast Five leaves off, in terms of being a supercharged, super team-up heist movie. But a couple new things happen: a new villain family is introduced (Luke Evans as Owen Shaw), and a credits scene with a new franchise character (Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw) reveals that the series' main timeline has finally caught up with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. It may sound confusing, but it's not too bad. This is our last movie with the great Han for a little while.
Furious 7 (2015)
Cue the tears. Furious 7 is the last movie in the Fast and Furious series to feature the late Paul Walker (as Brian O'Conner), and the movie sends his character off in really as caring and delightful a way as they possibly could have. It helps the Furious 7 legacy that the movie itself might be the best one in the entire series; Deckard Shaw (Statham), in his first starring role in the franchise, is a more-than-formidable adversary, and has some really great fight scenes with both The Rock and Vin Diesel. Some incredible action along the way to the emotional end in this one.
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
There's no '8' in the title (outside of Fate.. F8... get it?), but The Fate of the Furious is the eighth film in the main Fast and Furious series. This one introduces an Academy Award-winner (Charlize Theron) as a villain named Cipher who manages to turn Dom against the family. No Coronas any time soon. At this point, you've gotta know what you're getting, right?
Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Not technically part of the main Fast and Furious series, but Hobbs & Shaw spins off a comedic action tale on Luke Hobbs (The Rock) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). Yes, Shaw was introduced as a villain and became a hero.... almost shockingly quickly. Whatever. It's fine. Don't think about it. Hobbs & Shaw is a blast, and finds the two titular heroes teaming up with Academy Award-nominee Vanessa Kirby as Shaw's sister, and taking on a super soldier played by Idris Elba. Sold.
F9: The Fast Saga (2021)
The ninth movie in the main Fast and Furious saga brings back many of our favorite members of the family, and also introduces John Cena as Jakob, a literal member of Dom's family. They're kind of just writing these at random at this point, and, honestly, that's exactly what we want. F9 takes things in the franchise to new heights, quite literally—you'll know what we mean once you check the movie out (they go to space. THEY GO TO SPACE). Han (Sung Kang) is also back. We'll let you figure that one out on your own. Great movie.
Fast X (2023)
This is "The end of the road begins," which makes fittingly little sense for this utterly nonsensical (and completely one-of-a-kind) action franchise. In reality, Fast X is the first of a planned two-part (possibly three-part?) conclusion to the Fast story, one that to this point has spanned more than two decades, dozens of characters, and some of the most nonsensically entertaining moments in all of movies. And since this is the start of what's being sold as a grand finale, we get an Avengers: Infinity War-esque meeting of basically every major character in the Fast franchise. The usual cast of characters from the last couple movies is still around, and characters played by Charlize Theron, John Cena, and Helen Mirren are also back. Newcomers, including Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, Reacher's Alan Ritchson, and Jason Momoa as the film's unhinged villain are also here for the fun for the first time.
If you count closely, Fast X has four—FOUR!—Oscar winners among its ranks. I'm not sure if this is something that should be impressive or upsetting, but it's a fact and it's something worth noticing. For as bizarre and utterly strange as these movies may be, there's something of a magnetic draw around them. Is Fast X good? Well, you can be the judge of that. But will you be bored? No, you will not be.
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