3) 7. The Fate of the Furious (2017) The first movie after Paul Walker's death/character retirement doesn't really work. Complete credit to the series for reeling in a legitimate A-list superstar Oscar-winning talent in Charlize Theron to play the movie's villain (and a nice hearty 'WTF' to whoever decided that she should wear dreadlocks in her hair). But the movie has a lot of slow patches. It also begins the awkward process of converting Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw (the Furious 7 villain) into a good guy; we can't forget that he literally killed Han, and moments later blew up Dom (Vin Diesel)'s house. But The Fate of the Furious finds him trusted enough to hold Dom's baby in one hand and fight off bad guys with the other. It doesn't make much sense. Don't think about it too much. Just watch action and fast cars. Universal
4) 6. Fast & Furious (2009) This movie gets credit for being the 'soft reboot' of the franchise, and was the first one I saw that didn't seem incredibly dated. During chase scenes, Fast & Furious at least had an actual movie score playing instead of a random selection of totally forgotten early-2000s rap/rock. Letty dies early in this movie, which is a damn tragedy (stay tuned). Brian is also inexplicably in the FBI, working the Toretto case. This makes no sense at all, as he was previously caught for being involved with Toretto and letting him go and being generally corrupt. And by the end of the movie... well... you won't believe what happens. Universal
5) 5. The Fast and the Furious (2001) The first entry in the series is clearly the best of the pre-Fast Five movies. Yeah, in a lot of ways it is so completely dated (in particular, the music), but it's got a bit of heart that really help it to sort of, somehow, against all odds, hold up. Fans of the series (which, it seems, now includes me) love this movie as much as Dom loves Coronas. Paul Walker's acting, rest his soul, is absolutely terrible. But it's almost endearingly so. I've been quoting this scene ("Dude, I almost had you!") on a daily basis since watching the movie. His reaction makes no sense (a running theme in these movies, you might notice), but it's also just legendary. Universal
6) 4. Fast & Furious 6 (2013) The credits scene of Fast Five had a stunning reveal: Letty is alive (don't think about it, I promise you it won't make sense). But in Fast & Furious 6, we see a reveal that she's got amnesia, and is operating as a member of villain Owen Shaw's team. This movie has a ton of action, and Shaw 1.0 (who, much like his on-screen brother, also becomes good. Don't think about it.) is the series' first above-average villain. We lose Gal Gadot's Gisele in this movie, which is a shame because she and Han are the true First Couple of these movies. Bring them both back. Plus, Statham's introduction in the credits scene actually rules. Universal
7) 3. Hobbs & Shaw (2019) Now we're talking. Jeez, this movie was good. Who needs Vin Diesel? (This is a joke. Vin Diesel please continue to be Dominic Toretto in Fast and Furious movies for 100 more years). It was clearly angling for more comedy, but the action sequences were jaw-dropping (I was particularly fond of, oh, you know, The Rock pulling a helicopter out of the sky with one bicep). Yes, it's a bit awkward that Shaw, who killed Han, is now a good guy and it's not really mentioned. But once you decide to not think about that (please, as is tradition in the Fast/Furious world, just turn your brain off), this movie is great. It also helps that following suit from Charlize Theron and Statham himself, the movie has a villain played by a legitimately awesome and charismatic actor; Idris Elba as 'black Superman' is so cool. Universal
8) 2. Fast Five (2011) I remember being in high school when Fast Five came out and scoffing at people trying to claim that it was "actually sick." (2011 was a weird time) Eight years later, and.... I agree. Fast Five turns the series from a racing series into a heist series, and adds The Rock as a fugitive hunter/team member and it works INCREDIBLY. Bringing back the all-star cast from the movies to this point was great, and it also allowed for more Han, who, again, is a legend and needs to be featured more. The Rock and Vin Diesel actually fight in this movie and Vin Diesel wins somehow (don't think about it). The Rock also talks with a strange accent for a fraction of the time, which he abandons in future movies. It is yet another truly thrilling thread of Fast Five. Universal
9) 1. Furious 7 (2015) This movie has a devastating and truly affecting ending (Paul Walker had filmed about half of his role in this movie at the time of his 2013 death; the movie ends with a touching tribute to him), but it's also got the best action sequences in the series. Statham as Deckard Shaw is still the best villain the series has made, a lone, rogue, black ops spy who pits people against one another with ease. It also adds Kurt Russell as spy leader Mr. Nobody, who rules, and Game of Thrones' Nathalie Emanuel as a hacker named Ramsey. Things that also happen in this movie: Vin Diesel flies his car through a helicopter and plants a bag full of grenades on it. The Rock, recovering in a hospital bed, looks out the window and says to his daughter "Daddy's got to go to work," before flexing out of a full-arm cast (please, please, I beg of you, don't think about it.), riding an ambulance down to the action, shooting a drone and firing a turret like a madman. It might just be the greatest scene in the history of movies. Universal
