If there’s one thing the Fast and Furious franchise has mastered, it’s reinvention. What started in 2001 as a movie about street racing and DVD player heists somehow morphed into a billion-dollar saga where cars fly, submarines chase Lamborghinis, and Vin Diesel defeats helicopters with a pair of Dodge Chargers. Over 10 movies (and counting), we’ve seen everything from rooftop chases in Rio to family barbecues that feel just as intense as the action scenes.

And through it all, Dom Toretto has reminded us, repeatedly, in case we forgot, that nothing is more important than family.

Of course, not every Fast & Furious movie is a nitrous-fueled masterpiece. Some entries turned the franchise into cinematic gold, while others, well, let’s just say they were running on fumes. The early movies were all about the underground racing scene, but as the franchise grew, so did its ambitions. By Fast Five, we were in full-blown heist movie territory, and by Fast X, we had a surprising family reunion and Jason Momoa hamming it up as a flamboyant villain who makes blowing things up look like performance art.

But which Fast & Furious movie is the best? And which one should be left in the dust? We’re ranking all of them from worst to best, based on action, ridiculousness, and how much fun they bring to the ride. So rev your engines, and let’s see which Fast & Furious film takes the checkered flag.

10 The Fate of the Furious (2017)

The Fate of the Furious is where the Fast & Furious franchise cranked everything up to 11, bigger explosions, crazier stunts, and a villain so over-the-top she might as well be twirling a mustache (looking at you, Charlize Theron). With a massive $250 million budget, this movie had enough money to buy a fleet of muscle cars and still have spare change for some jet skis.

It also introduced us to Scott Eastwood, aka Discount Paul Walker, while giving Jason Statham a surprising redemption arc. Apparently, murdering Han is totally forgivable if you can pull off a cool baby-rescue action sequence.

The wildest part? Dom Toretto turns against his beloved. Well, kind of. The whole “Dom goes rogue” storyline could have been a game-changer, but since we all know Vin Diesel’s moral compass never actually budges, there’s no real tension. Nobody actually believes he’s the bad guy, which takes the bite out of the betrayal. Meanwhile, The Rock and Vin Diesel’s infamous offscreen beef means their characters barely share a scene, which is a bummer for anyone hoping for another round of their beefed-up brawls.

Still, the movie delivers ridiculous action, including Hobbs going full superhero and Statham’s oddly charming bromance with him. Sure, it feels more like a setup for later movies than a fully satisfying entry, but hey, it’s still a fun ride. Just don’t think too hard about the logic, or the fact that the guy who killed Han is now part of the fam.

9 Fast & Furious (2009)

Fast & Furious is the franchise’s awkward teenage phase, important for what comes next, but not exactly a fan favorite. Think of it as the pilot episode for the Fast & Furious we know today. This is where the series shifts gears from underground street racing to full-blown action blockbusters, bringing back Vin Diesel and Paul Walker while director Justin Lin starts laying the groundwork for the insanity to come.

The movie kicks off with a killer tanker heist, one of the best opening stunts in the series. But after that? It’s kind of a downer. Letty gets “killed,” turning Dom into a brooding revenge machine, while Brian ditches his undercover edge to become a buttoned-up FBI agent. Gone is the playful rivalry from the first movie, replaced by a moody, slightly stiff dynamic that doesn’t quite hit the same. The action is still solid, but a lot of the movie involves characters following directions like they’re using Google Maps, which isn’t exactly thrilling.

That said, Fast & Furious is a necessary pit stop. It bridges the old-school car culture vibes with the over-the-top action that would define Fast Five and beyond. Without it, we wouldn’t have the Fast & Furious we know today. So while it might be one of the more forgettable entries, it’s also one of the most important, kind of like the movie equivalent of a tune-up before the real race begins.

8 The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is the oddball of the franchise, the one that showed up late to the party with a whole new cast, a new setting, and somehow still became a fan favorite. It ditched Dom and Brian (at least until a last-minute cameo) and took us to the neon-lit streets of Tokyo, where drifting is an art form and our lead, Sean Boswell, looks about 30 but is somehow still in high school.

This movie is pure car culture. No ridiculous heists, no skydiving vehicles, just fast cars and even faster turns. It leans into the underground racing scene in a way no other Fast & Furious movie does, making it feel like the truest spiritual successor to the original. Plus, it introduces us to Han, the effortlessly cool driver who somehow steals the entire movie and becomes a franchise legend.

Sure, the plot is a little thin, and Sean isn’t exactly the most compelling protagonist, but the energy of Tokyo Drift makes up for it. The final race down a winding mountain road is still one of the best driving sequences in the entire series, even if flip phones and early 2000s fashion make parts of it feel hilariously dated.

It may not have started as an essential part of the franchise, but over time, Tokyo Drift has earned its stripes. It’s the underdog that proved you don’t need Vin Diesel to make a Fast & Furious movie work, though the franchise clearly thought otherwise after this one.

7 Fast X (2023)

Fast X is the Fast & Furious franchise cranking everything up to 11, because why not? At this point, Dom and the gang have pulled off so many impossible feats that logic is just a distant memory. This time, they’re being hunted by Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes, a revenge-obsessed villain with a wardrobe that screams “fashion-forward pirate” and a personality that feels like he wandered in from a Batman Forever audition. He’s chaotic, flamboyant, and somehow both hilarious and terrifying.

This movie is peak Fast and the Furious insanity. There’s a bomb rolling through Rome, a truck dangling off a dam, and enough gravity-defying car stunts to make physics professors weep. The franchise has officially hit “throw everything at the screen and see what sticks” mode. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s a glorious mess, but it’s never boring.

The cast list is getting comically long at this point. Between Brie Larson, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, and Rita Moreno, the Fast & Furious universe now has more Oscar winners than some prestige dramas. But let’s be honest, we’re not here for deep storytelling, we’re here for ridiculous action, family speeches, and Diesel growling things like, “You messed with the wrong family.”

Fast X won’t win over skeptics, but if you’re already strapped into this nitrous-fueled rollercoaster, it delivers exactly what you expect: absurd stunts, big explosions, and Dom defying death for the umpteenth time. Buckle up, because there’s still more to come.

6 F9 (2021)

F9 is where the Fast & Furious franchise says, “You thought we were ridiculous before? Watch this.” This movie throws everything at the audience: flashbacks, family drama, magnets, and, oh yeah, outer space. Because why not? At this point, Dom and his crew have pulled off so many impossible stunts that launching a car into orbit seems like the next logical step.

Justin Lin returns to direct, bringing back fan-favorite Han (yes, that Han, because no one stays dead in this universe). The movie also introduces John Cena as Jakob Toretto, Dom’s long-lost, never-before-mentioned superspy brother, because apparently, there’s always room for more family. Cena plays it straight, but the real scene-stealer is the absurdity of the film itself.

One minute, it’s a heartfelt prequel exploring Dom’s past; the next, it’s Fast & Furious meets Indiana Jones with a jungle chase straight out of an adventure movie.

The magnet car chases? Insane. The action? Over-the-top. The mid-credits scene? Pure fan service. If you’re here for grounded storytelling, you took a wrong turn about five movies ago. But if you love Fast for its wild stunts and melodramatic family speeches, F9 is peak popcorn entertainment. They literally sent Ludacris and Tyrese to space. What more could you ask for?

5 Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

Fast & Furious 6 is basically Fast Five’s encore, except bigger, crazier, and somehow even less concerned with reality. This is the movie where Dom literally catches Letty mid-air on a freeway, and they survive because, well, cars break falls now. Science? Nah. Fast & Furious logic.

Justin Lin, in his final Fast ride (until F9), crafts some of the franchise’s most jaw-dropping action sequences. The tank chase is legendary, but the real showstopper is that endless runway sequence. Seriously, that thing must be half the size of Europe. Every character gets a moment to shine, the stakes keep climbing, and it all culminates in a fiery, physics-defying finale.

That said, the plot? A bit messy. Letty’s amnesia keeps her at arm’s length from the real drama, and Brian randomly disappears for a Fast & Furious 4 side quest. But who cares? The movie knows exactly what it is: pure, high-octane spectacle. Plus, it gives us Luke Evans’ Owen Shaw, one of the franchise’s better villains, setting up the arrival of his even meaner big brother in Furious 7.

At its core, Fast & Furious 6 is a celebration of everything ridiculous and glorious about this series. It’s not quite Fast Five levels of perfection, but it’s one heck of a joyride.

4 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

2 Fast 2 Furious is the franchise’s awkward but lovable teenage phase, goofy, over-the-top, and completely unbothered by things like logic or continuity. No Vin Diesel? No problem. Enter Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce, a human one-liner machine with a love for barbecues and yelling “We hungry!” at inappropriate moments. Ludacris joins the mix as Tej, back when he was just a guy with a garage instead of a tech genius who can hack satellites.

John Singleton leans into the Miami Vice vibes, drenching everything in neon and turning the whole movie into a video game cutscene. Every character is color-coordinated, every race is ridiculous, and the dialogue? Pure gold. Who could forget the sheer menace of Cole Hauser’s Carter Verone? (Trick question. You already did.) But hey, at least he knew how to torture someone with a rat and a blowtorch.

Yes, it’s silly. Yes, it barely feels connected to the rest of the franchise. But 2 Fast 2 Furious is also the movie that taught the series to embrace the ridiculousness. Without it, would we ever have gotten Fast Five or F9’s space adventure? Probably not. So respect where it’s due, this may not be the best Fast, but it sure is one of the most fun.

3 Furious 7 (2015)

Furious 7 is the moment the Fast & Furious franchise goes full rock opera, big, loud, and unapologetically emotional. It’s got everything: Jason Statham throwing hands with The Rock, Vin Diesel growling about family, cars defying gravity like it’s an afterthought, and Kurt Russell casually sipping beer while explaining government conspiracies.

James Wan, best known for horror, brings his signature flair to the action, making every set piece feel both insane and elegant. Cars don’t just crash, they glide through skyscrapers. Fights don’t just happen; they erupt like gladiatorial showdowns. And yet, in the midst of all the chaos, the film never loses sight of its heart.

That heart, of course, is Paul Walker. His untimely passing mid-production turns Furious 7 into an accidental tribute, and the movie rises to the occasion. His farewell set to Wiz Khalifa’s See You Again is the kind of rare, genuine moment that transcends the film itself. No other action franchise could pull off an ending like this, and that’s what makes it special.

It’s ridiculous, it’s over-the-top, but it’s also deeply sincere. Furious 7 isn’t just one of the best Fast & Furious movies, it’s one of the most memorable action movies of the decade.

2 The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Before the Fast franchise was leaping between skyscrapers and launching cars into space, it was just The Fast and the Furious, a scrappy, street-racing thriller about fast cars, undercover cops, and a makeshift family that runs on trust and NOS.

Compared to what came later, this first installment feels almost quaint. No global heists, no superheroic feats of physics, just Vin Diesel and Paul Walker locking eyes over the hood of a tricked-out Eclipse, sizing each other up like it’s Point Break with spoilers. The stakes? A few stolen DVD players and the fear of losing a friend. But the real thrill? Watching Dom Toretto emerge as a growling, muscle-bound philosopher, delivering the line that would become the franchise’s foundation,

Sure, the CGI hasn’t aged well, and the racing scenes feel tame compared to today’s Fast insanity. But this is where it all began, where Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez first settled into roles they’d play for decades, where Brian O’Conner first infiltrated the family he’d never really leave, and where that sweet early-2000s energy still radiates from every neon-lit drag race.

It’s not the best Fast & Furious movie, but it’s the soul of the franchise. Everything since? Just adding more NOS.

1 Fast Five (2011)

Fast Five is where the Fast & Furious franchise put its foot down, literally on the gas, metaphorically on logic, and became legendary. Before this, the series was about street racing and underground crime. Fast Five? It turned Fast & Furious into a full-blown, physics-defying, gravity-insulting, testosterone-fueled heist franchise.

Three action scenes here belong in the all-time hall of fame, the train heist, the Vin Diesel vs. Dwayne Johnson brawl (which might as well have been Godzilla vs. King Kong), and that vault sequence, the one where Dom and Brian drag a bank vault through the streets of Rio, using it as a wrecking ball against everything in their path. It’s absurd. It’s glorious. It’s peak Fast & Furious.

And let’s talk about The Rock. Luke Hobbs bursts into the franchise like a sweating, muscle-bound tornado of fury, all biceps and quotable one-liners. He’s the perfect foil for Dom, a relentless lawman who, of course, ends up bro-ing out with Diesel by the end. Because family.

Set in Rio, with its sun-drenched favelas and corrupt drug lords, Fast Five feels like an entire world unto itself. It also ties together all the loose ends of the series, bringing back characters from 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift, making it feel like a grand crossover event before cinematic universes were all the rage.

Had this been the last Fast movie, it would’ve been a perfect send-off. But as we all know, there’s always one last job. And Fast Five made sure the franchise would never hit the brakes again.