Fast X was definitely not the best entry in the franchise. But was it the worst? Fans of the franchise know that’s not the right question to ask. It’s not even an important one. Fast & Furious films aren’t defined by whether they’re objectively good or not. They’re defined by how awesome they are. So we ranked all the Fast & Furious installments, from the least awesome to the most awesome. Which movie reigns supreme? Let’s hit the NOS and find out.
11. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
The franchise’s only spinoff ( thus far) has some great set pieces and its two titular stars have real chemistry together. But despite the script’s best efforts Hobbs & Shaw doesn’t have the heart of the primary movies. It all feels a little hollow, and in turn less awesome. The fact this Fast & Furious film is ranked at the bottom spot is a pretty good indication of how high the floor is on these movies, though.
What’s really awesome about this movie: Vanessa Kirby, who like her onscreen mom proves the Shaw woman are way cooler than the Shaw men.
10. Fast X
Fast X has a whole lot of problems, even if it does have some truly amazing action sequences and a tremendous supporting cast that prevent it from being bad. Despite also having both the most absurd resurrection and most shocking return in series history, it’s not enough to overcome the story’s malaise and the repetitive beats of its recurring characters, all of which are decidedly not awesome.
What’s really awesome about this movie: Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes, a charming, flamboyant sociopath and the franchise’s best villain.
9. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Drifting? Really freaking awesome. The locale? Also awesome. The worst lead performance in franchise history? Not awesome. I still love this movie (honestly), because it features arguably the best street races in the franchise alongside a truly absurd story, but the other movies are just a lot better.
What’s really awesome about this movie: It gave us Sung Kang’s Han, one of the coolest characters in history.
8. The Fate of the Furious
The fact this is one of the franchise’s most interesting stories (this is the God’s Eye one) is partly why it comes in lower on the awesome scale. The eighth entry forces Dom to temporarily turn his back on his family after Charlize Theron’s Cipher kidnaps the son he didn’t know he had. It also brutally kills off Elena. (Until they decide it didn’t.) There’s still a lot of great, entertaining stuff to love in this intense film. But this Fast & Furious list is highly competitive, therefore it gets a low ranking.
What’s really awesome about this movie: They blow up a submarine and make friends with their old enemies. I love this franchise.
7. 2 Fast 2 Furious
It sometimes feels like the second Fast installment gets overlooked, even though the franchise wouldn’t exist without it. Without this fun, bright, light Miami-based entry Vin Diesel would never have come back and pretended he’s the reason they keep making these movies. It also introduced Roman and Tej to the Fast world, which is a really big deal! And it also features a fantastic Eva Mendes performance. This movie is awesome and its relatively low ranking is a huge compliment to the films above it.
What’s really awesome about this movie: The title. “They should have sent a poet…” Or rather two of them. 2 Sent 2 Poets.
6. The Fast and the Furious
The movie that started it all—a wildly entertaining starter with great characters and incredible street racing action—has only grown in awesomeness thanks to its many sequels. How did that happen? Watching this film now is one of the funniest things a fan can do. The people who started out robbing DVD players on the highway are now all global superhero genius spies. The Fast family makes Steve Rogers’ transformation look lame.
What’s really awesome about this movie: “I live my life a quarter mile at a time.” Thank you, Dominic Toretto, for giving us this all-time quote. Truly.
5. F9
F9 is just as much a comedy as it is an action-movie. Some of its funniest elements include Roman figuring out they’re basically all made of plot armor and nothing can ever hurt them, “Mr. Family” Dom Toretto having a secret brother he disowned after their dad died, and John Cena’s Jakob taking the world’s longest and funniest zipline ride. There’s just a lot to enjoy here on top of all the ludicrous action.
What’s really awesome about this movie: They brought back Han for one. And they finally did “it.” This movie actually went to space.
4. Fast & Furious 6
Some people will say this film is too high. Those people are wrong. The sixth installment is awesome. It’s only problem was having the unenviable task of following the fifth, which few action movies ever can compare to. But that doesn’t mean Fast & Furious 6 is not incredible. It has Brian getting himself imprisoned, Letty’s amnesia story (LOL), and the big cargo plane sequence. History will prove this ranking correct.
What’s really awesome about this movie: This is the one with the tank chase on the highway. Yeah, like we said, awesome.
3. Furious 7
The saddest installment gave Paul Walker—the true heart and soul of the franchise—one of the best, most moving farewells in history. Before Brian drove off to the life of a dad, though, he was part of one of the most entertaining films in Fast & Furious history. This globe-hopping adventure includes him and Dom jump a car between the Etihad Towers in Dubai and yet somehow isn’t the most incredible stunt in the film. That goes to them parachuting real cars out of a real plane in real life! Gah! The awesomeness is glaring!
What’s really awesome about this movie: Jason Statham and Kurt Russell. As always.
2. Fast & Furious
The last film before the series went from somewhat realistic to the land of superheroes is also one of its best, most enjoyable installments. Fast & Furious 4—which reunited Dom and Brian—really hit the NOS on what the franchise could be: an over-the-top series defined by heart, humor, and action. Future films might be bigger with more incredible stunts, but to this day the fourth entry still features some of the best driving sequences.
What’s really awesome about this movie: The chase through the tunnels, which is unlike any other car scene in the franchise.
1. Fast Five
The best film is also the most awesome entry in the franchise. Fast Five, which elevated the Fast & Furious to a whole different stratosphere of quality, belongs in a very small group of best action-movies ever.
What’s really awesome about this movie: Literally everything and everyone. Fast Five is so good it should be a synonym for “awesome.”
As in, “This list is really Fast Five.”
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
