How to Watch the Fast and Furious Movies in Order
Fast & Furious is an action movie franchise with central themes of street racing, heists, spies, and family. It's one of the most popular franchises globally and has been going since 2001.
There are 11 movies in the franchise, including one spin-off and two short films, with largely positive reviews (though some have had mixed critical feedback).
In this piece, we'll take you through all 13 installments in the saga, informing you how to watch them in order of release and chronologically.
By Release Date
- The Fast and the Furious (2001)
- The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious (Short) (2003)
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
- Fast & Furious (2009)
- Los Bandoleros (Short) (2009)
- Fast Five (2011)
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
- Furious 7 (2015)
- The Fate of the Furious (2017)
- Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
- F9 (2021)
- Fast X (2023)
In Chronological Order
Your other option is to watch the films according to the movie universe's timeline.
1. The Fast and the Furious (2001, directed by Rob Cohen)
The opening installment in the Fast & Furious franchise occurred around three years after its release in 2004. In this one, a Los Angeles police officer goes undercover in the fast-paced world of street racing to investigate a spate of truck carjackings.
This film stars the late Paul Walker as the LAPD officer, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster.
The movie that started it all set the tone nicely because it's high-octane and character-driven. While it's far from being the best installment in the franchise, it's still appropriately exciting.
2. The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious (Short) (2003, directed by Philip G. Atwell)
This short film, also known simply as The Turbo Charged Prelude, portrays events in 2004. In the movie, Paul Walker's character, Brian O'Conner, leaves Los Angeles to evade police capture.
It features Walker, Candy Richardz, and archival footage of Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto from the first movie.
It's a mostly silent film that perfectly sets the scene for 2 Fast 2 Furious. It's only six minutes long, but it still manages to be engaging and exciting.
3. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003, directed by John Singleton)
Events in later movies mess up the 2 Fast and 2 Furious chronology somewhat, but the plan was for it to take place in 2004. In the film, among the most standalone in the franchise, Brian O'Conner, and his friend go undercover for the U.S. Customs Service and the FBI to apprehend a drug lord named Carter Verone.
This installment stars Paul Walker, Eva Mendes, Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, and James Remar.
It's the second-poorest offering in the franchise. Still, it has enough action, stylishness, gorgeous people, and beautiful cars to keep the attention of enthusiasts interested in this kind of thing.
4. Los Bandoleros (Short) (2009, directed by Vin Diesel)
Los Bandoleros is a short film and the prelude to Fast & Furious. It takes place in 2009 and follows Vin Diesel's runaway fugitive Dominic Toretto as he sets up the hijacking of a fuel tanker in the Dominican Republic.
The short stars Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Tego Calderón, and Don Omar.
At 20 minutes, this one feels too long. It lays the foundations for Fast & Furious well enough, but it's tedious and unnecessary and could easily fit into a much shorter scene in the movie's opening.
5. Fast & Furious (2009, directed by Justin Lin)
Fast & Furious is when the timeline gets more complex. It's the fourth movie in the franchise but takes place in 2009, making it the third chronologically. In the film, Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker's Brian O'Conner team up to take down a drug lord named Arturo Braga.
It stars Diesel, Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, John Ortiz, and Laz Alonso.
It's the worst movie in the franchise. Sure, it features the usual epic action and stunts, but the performances and camaraderie are lacking in this one. At times, it feels as though the cast isn't interested.
6. Fast Five (2011, directed by Justin Lin)
The events of Fast Five happen in 2011, as Dominic Toretto, Brian O'Conner, and Dom's sister Mia put a team together to assist them in stealing $100 million from a drug lord called Hernan Reyes.
This movie's impressive cast includes Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, Tego Calderón, Don Omar, and Joaquim de Almeida.
There's only one film better than this one in the franchise. Everything about it is over-the-top, like its fans demand, but it's sleek and well-acted, the action and stunts are incredible, and it's hilarious.
7. Fast & Furious 6 (2013, directed by Justin Lin)
Fast & Furious 6 takes place in 2013, the same year of its release. In the movie, the franchise's iconic team of street racers are offered pardons for their crimes in exchange if they assist a DSS agent in apprehending a mercenary group led by a former British SAS soldier.
Its ensemble cast includes Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Sung Kang, and Gina Carano.
It's one of the franchise's better installments, with epic action and stunts, great humor, excellent dialogue, and a highly entertaining plot. This one's a real crowd-pleaser.
8. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006, directed by Justin Lin)
The third feature-length movie in the franchise is the sixth chronologically, taking place in 2014. Tokyo Drift focuses on a young car enthusiast sent to live in Tokyo with his estranged father to avoid jail after a high-speed crash. There, he finds solace in indulging in the city's drifting culture.
This standalone movie stars Lucas Black and Bow Wow, with the likes of Sung Kang, Brian Tee, Sonny Chiba, and Nathalie Kelley in supporting roles. It also features a cameo by Vin Diesel.
Tokyo Drift is among the franchise's worst offerings. The story is flaccid, and the acting could be better. It offers some new ideas and plenty of the typical heart-pumping action, but the installments with the established cast are generally better.
9. Furious 7 (2015, directed by James Wan)
The events of Furious 7 slightly overlap with the climax of Tokyo Drift, meaning the movie's events also took place in 2014. In this one, a covert ops leader recruits the core team of characters to stop a terrorist named Mose Jakande from getting his hands on a hacking program called God's Eye.
Its impressive ensemble cast includes Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Rodriguez, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey, and Nathalie Emmanuel.
Furious 7 is the finest movie in the franchise. It takes all the best aspects of the other films and amplifies them. The action and stunts, the cast camaraderie and chemistry, the humor, the acting performances, and the story are all great. It closes with a fitting and emotional tribute to Paul Walker.
10. The Fate of the Furious (2017, directed by F. Gary Gray)
The Fate of the Furious picks up just a few months after Furious 7, meaning 2014 or 2015 is when it takes place. The movie sees Dominic Toretto settling down with his wife until a cyberterrorist named Cipher coerces him into working for her, turning him against his team and prompting them to find Dom and take down Cipher.
This installment's impressive ensemble cast includes Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Kurt Russell, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Elsa Pataky, Kristofer Hivju, and Nathalie Emmanuel.
It's a strong entry, opening a new chapter in the franchise. The cast chemistry is as good as ever, the action is excellent, and it's about as fun an installment as possible. It is, however, one of the most implausible. As if Dom turning against his team wasn't unlikely enough, their making jokes about it is even more so.
11. F9 (2021, directed by Justin Lin)
Apart from a 1989 flashback scene, F9's events happen in 2019. The plot concerns Dominic Toretto and his team reuniting to prevent the rogue covert operative Otto and the cyberterrorist Cipher from getting their hands on a new high-tech weapons program.
This one boasts a more impressive cast than ever, with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron, John Cena, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Michael Rooker, Thue Ersted Rasmussen and Anna Sawai all appearing.
Given its cast, this movie should be better. It's not terrible, but it's not one of the franchise's best. It goes even more over-the-top than other installments with its physics-defying ridiculousness and suffers from its opening being its high point. That said, there's enough to keep hardcore fans enthralled.
12. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019, directed by David Leitch)
Hobbs and Shaw's story happens in 2022, which we know because one character refers to 2014 as “eight years ago.” In this Fast & Furious spin-off, the unlikely duo of Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw ally with the latter's sister to thwart a cybernetically enhanced terrorist called Brixton Lore from threatening the world with a deadly virus.
This one stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Kirby, Eiza González, and Cliff Curtis.
Johnson and Statham are a perfect match, which makes for a more than acceptable movie. The action is decent, and there's enough humor to categorize the movie as a screwball comedy. However, it doesn't quite reach the heights of the franchise's best entries.
13. Fast X (2023, directed by Louis Leterrier)
Fast X is an upcoming movie in the Fast & Furious franchise. The period in which it will take place is unknown, but it will see Dominic Toretto protecting his family and team from the alliance of Cipher and Dante Reyes, the son of drug lord Hernan Reyes, who wants revenge for his father's death in Fast Five.
It will have the most fantastic cast in the franchise to date. Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Brie Larson, John Cena, Jason Statham, Jason Momoa, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Alan Ritchson, Daniela Melchior, Scott Eastwood, and Rita Moreno will all appear.
The film will be the franchise's penultimate installment, and we can't wait to see what it has in store.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Writer and editor with ten years of experience working full-time in this capacity. I've written over 2000 pieces of published work and managed teams of 50+ writers. I've produced content for some of the world's most prominent entertainment and sports platforms. My published work includes feature articles, news and opinion pieces, listicles, quizzes, voice-over scripts, viral content, and more. I'm a British 80s kid who loves movies (horror, superhero stuff, and all things 80s are my favorites), boxing, and football (soccer), a former business owner and executive headhunter, and a Tottenham Hotspur FC fan for my sins.