By mid-August, the busy summer movie season has usually run its course. However, for the best streaming services, there is never really a slow season. There’s always something new on Netflix (which has my top movie this week) or something coming up on Hulu that you can watch. What’s difficult is finding the best content among everything that’s available. Luckily, we have a few of the best choices from what’s new this week within the streaming realm.

Almost all the major streaming platforms have at least one major original series or movie on offer. We have a Star Wars animated series for kids that's being added to Disney+ and a Hulu animated series not for kids. There’s also a pair of interesting original movies with unlikely duos that look to combine action and comedy just perfectly. Here’s what’s worth looking at this week.

New Movies

The Union (Netflix) 

In The Union, Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry play former high school sweethearts who reunite 25 years later. Little does he know that she’s a super spy, and she’s about to recruit him to work on a secret mission. Is the premise nuts? Sure but, if the action is solid and the chemistry between the two leads is there, nobody is going to care. One gets the sense that, at the very least, the cast had fun making the movie, and that can go a long way. Needless, this is my top movie, and I'm looking forward to checking it out!

The Union Premieres August 16 on Netflix.

The Woman King (Hulu)

2022’s The Woman King was one of the best-reviewed films of the year by both professional critics and general audiences, and yet it made less than $100 million worldwide at the box office and was ignored by the Oscars. That means there's a solid chance you may have missed one of the best movies of 2022, and you should fix that. The film stars Viola Davis as the leader of an all-female warrior unit in West Africa in the early 1800s. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood's historical epic features some impressive performances as well as excellent action. Don’t miss this one again.

The Woman King arrives on August 13 on Hulu.

The Fast & Furious Franchise (Peacock) 

The Fast & Furious movies are collectively the biggest current franchise that Universal has, and yet being able to watch the films with a Peacock subscription has been hit or miss due to agreements Universal signed before launching its own platform. This week the first eight Fast & Furious films join the ninth, which was added earlier this month, meaning you can watch almost the entire franchise in one place. Fast X is currently available with a Prime Video subscription if you need to watch all the Fast & Furious movies in order.

The Fast & Furious movies arrive August 12 on Peacock.

 Jackpot! (Prime Video) 

Most of us would do just about anything to win a lottery jackpot. The movie Jackpot!, from Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, suggests a hilarious future in which the way to win the lottery is to stay alive while everybody else tries to kill you and take your money. Awkwafina stars as the winner in fear for her life, and John Cena plays a guy trying to help her survive. The movie looks to combine Awkwafina's natural comedic timing with Cena's own comic abilities, while also giving the former WWE star plenty to do physically.

Jackpot! premieres August 15 on Prime Video.

New TV

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Season 2 (Disney+)

So many Star Wars fans became enthralled with the franchise as young kids but, now, even younger children have an easy entry into the galaxy far, far, away. Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Season 2 (which consists of 11 episodes) arrives for those with a Disney+ subscription this week. The show is set during the High Republic era, the same time frame as the recent live-action series The Acolyte. Of course, these stories are more geared toward children and focus on a group of young Jedi learning lessons and trying to make good choices.

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Season 2 premieres August 14 on Disney+.

Solar Opposites: Complete Season 5 (Hulu) 

In an era where a streaming series can be canceled seemingly without warning, the fact that Solar Opposites has made it to Season 5 is an accomplishment unto itself. Despite a high-profile voice actor change prior to Season 4, the show has remained popular among those with a Hulu subscription. The latest season promises fresh hijinks and new characters and looks to be exactly what fans are expecting.

Solar Opposites Season 5 premies August 12 on Hulu.

Bel-Air Season 3 (Peacock) 

When it was first announced that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the sitcom that made Will Smith a star, was going to be remade as a dramatic series, there were a lot of questions. What’s clear now is that the show is working for a lot of people, as Bel-Air premieres its third season this week.

Bel-Air Season 3 arrives August 15 on Peacock.

Bad Monkey (Apple TV+) 

I’m sure once I watch Bad Monkey with my Apple TV+ subscription, I’ll understand what the title means. All I know is that a good detective story with more than a little humor, courtesy of lead actor Vince Vaughn, looks like exactly the sort of thing I’d enjoy. Vaughn stars as a suspected police detective, who gets a bit too close to a murder case and then has to figure his way out of it.

Bad Monkey premieres August 15 on Apple TV+.

RuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars Season 1 (Paramount+)  

It’s difficult to undersell just how popular RuPaul’s Drag Race has become. The series has multiple iterations domestically, but it is now also produced in multiple countries around the world. Now, it's time for the Drag Race World Championship. RuPaul's Drag Race Global All-Stars brings together 12 former contestants from the various international versions of the show to compete against each other. Until a Paramount+ subscription gets you access to the international versions of the show, this will give fans a way to see how the game is played around the world.

RuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars Season 1 on Paramount+.

Plenty more good stuff is planned for August and beyond. We’ll be keeping our eyes open to find the best streaming content so you don’t miss it.

Long before she was known for playing Cara Dune in the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, one of the best Disney+ TV shows, Gina Carano made her first big splash in the realm of tentpole franchises with 2013’s Fast & Furious 6. Playing Riley Hicks, an ally-turned-enemy of Dominic Toretto and his crew, came just two years after the MMA fighter-turned-actress made her feature film debut in Haywire. However, Carano had contrasting experiences between the productions, calling the transition between the two movies “absolutely ridiculous.”

During a THR profile delving into the background behind the lawsuit she’s has filed against Disney over being fired from The Mandalorian, Carano recalled how she got her start in the acting business, first explaining how director Steven Soderbergh selected star in Haywire, where she played a black ops agent named Mallory Kane and co-starred with Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor and Bill Paxton. She then went over what it was like transitioning from that movie to Fast & Furious 6, saying:

Gina Carano had a decently-sized role in Fast & Furious 6, as Riley Hicks was originally presented as the DSS agent partnered with Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs, but it was later revealed that she was in cahoots with the main antagonist, Luke Evans’ Owen Shaw. But as far as the actress’ time on set, it sounds like it was difficult for her to get used to the different vibe in the air compared to what she’d gotten used to on Haywire. It’s understandable why she’d be taken aback by all the support the other starring actors were receiving, and meanwhile she’s left to fend for herself.

Still, Fast & Furious 6 did help push Carano’s acting career along. After appearing in the direct-to-video movies In the Blood, Heist and Extraction (no, not the Chris Hemsworth one), she was cast to play Angel Dust, the secondary antagonist in 2016’s Deadpool. Three years later, she was cast as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, and as mentioned in the profile, she was being lined up to lead the Rangers of the New Republic spinoff. But after the controversy surrounding her various social media posts unfolded, Disney cut ties with her, and since then she’s appeared in Terror on the Prairie and My Son Hunter, which were respectively released by The Daily Wire and Breitbart News.

While it remains to be seen when Gina Carano will be seen on the big or small screens next, Fast & Furious 6 can currently be streamed with an Apple TV+ subscription. The next installment in the franchise, Fast 11, is slated for release on April 4, 2025, and the Dwayne Johnson and Jason Momoa-led Hobbs & Reyes spinoff is also in development.

While the feud between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson has reportedly been put in the past, the battle between the two that culminated during the production of The Fate of the Furious is well known at this point. It’s been confirmed that scenes in that movie that include both Johnson and Diesel were shot separately because the two avoided being on set together. However, it turns out a shot from back in Fast & Furious 6 that many fans believed had been composited together actually wasn’t.

Justin Lin, who directed several Fast & Furious movies, recently appeared on Happy Sad Confused and the topic of the infamous scene came up. It’s a sequence at the end of the movie where Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Diesel’s Dominic Toretto are talking in front of the barn/garage at Dom’s house. The two are talking to each other, but don’t appear to be looking at each other, giving the impression to many that perhaps the scene was shot with each actor separately, and then cut together. But Lin says that’s not the case. Both actors were there, and the weird framing comes from the fact the ground wasn’t even. He explained… 

This may blow the minds of fans who believed that the pair were never on set together. It wouldn’t be the first time that camera tricks were used to put two people in a shot that never filmed together. And knowing what we know now, it would have made sense if the actors had tried to avoid each other. It turns out Justin Lin didn’t even realize that the shot was going to look the way it did until he sat down in the editing room. He continued… 

Whenever the “beef” between Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel started, it does appear to be over now. Johnson is returning to the Fast & Furious franchise, we saw him in the Fast X mid-credits scene, for a new spinoff movie that will bridge Fast X with its planned conclusion. Whether we’ll actually see the pair in a shot together in an upcoming movie, we still don’t know. But hopefully, if it happens it will be on something flat.  

I feel like the Fast and Furious movies found their footing with Fast Five, and with Fast and Furious 6, they were able to use that newfound knowledge and make a movie that tied the universe together and sent the audience on a very fun ride. While most Fast and Furious rankings would put the fifth and seventh installments on the top, I’d make the argument that the sixth movie is the best one so far (the jury is still out on seven). Overall, I really, really enjoyed watching the ensemble shine in this wicked fun and action-packed movie. 

I Loved All The Unexpected Duos In Fast And Furious 6 

Arguably the best thing about Fast and Furious 6 is the ensemble cast. We got to see a bit of the crew's eclectic chemistry in Fast Five, but in this movie they actually capitalized on the talent of the supporting cast, and paired them up in unexpected ways, making for a super fun movie. 

My first favorite unexpected duo was Han and Rome, who were supporting Giselle as they tried to find Shaw, and in the other, we had Hobbs and Tej trying to buy cars in London. Both duos were hilarious, chaotic and provided levity for the film, while also advancing the plot. I never thought I’d say Ludacris and The Rock have great chemistry, but they do, and their scene dealing with an uppity car dealer was easily one of my favorite moments in the movie. The same goes for the scene between Han and Rome; talk about a chaotic duo. 

Overall, I’m just glad the writers finally decided to let these actors shine, and pair them in ways that were unexpected and hilarious. 

Michelle Rodriguez Was The Best Part Of This Movie

Following the death of Letty, and the news that she was alive, which surprised Michelle Rodriguez and me, I was a bit concerned about how they’d work her back into the story. So, I was pleasantly surprised when they not only brought her back but gave her the most interesting storyline in Fast and Furious 6. Hands down, the best part of this movie was Rodriguez’s performance as she re-discovered that she was part of the family and slowly turned from a bad guy back into a good one. 

It was also so refreshing to see a woman as one of the leads of the movie, and she was on an equal playing field with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. She got to be just as in the action as both of them, and she had the most interesting story out of everyone. Overall, I’m so happy they brought Letty back, and they proved to all of us once again that Michelle Rodriguez is a powerhouse. 

They Finally Gave Ludacris The Screen Time He Deserves

Tej has been one of my favorite characters since he was introduced in 2 Fast 2 Furious, and ever since I’ve felt like they’ve never really given Ludacris his time to shine. However, as the last point stated, one of my favorite things about this movie is the unexpected duos and the amped-up screen time for all the beloved side characters, including Tej. 

I’ve always thought that he was one of the most interesting characters in the franchise. He’s not the biggest fan of driving, all he wants is to open a garage and he’s the crew’s tech guy in five and six. Ludacris’ character is unlike any of the others, and it seems like the rapper/actor really, really enjoys playing him. I mean the spit-take at the end of six is enough to make him one of the best cast members of the movie, but he really shined through the entire action-packed adventure. 

We Need To Talk About The Elephant – Or Tank, In This Case – In The Room 

To quote Rome: “I’m sorry, did somebody just say a tank?” Oh yes, they did say tank, and that was not a CGI tank either, it was a real one. While this scene is wild to watch the first time, when you learn how they did it, it becomes even crazier. Dennis McCarthy, the car coordinator on the film, told New York Daily News that they had two tanks and mock-ups on set. He said they had ten Dodge Chargers on set that day, to play the two shown in the movie, and explained that many of the crashes we saw really happened. McCarthy said: 

I agree; the times I’ve been able to notice the CGI in these movies I’m always a bit disappointed. However, in Fast and Furious 6 that was not the case, I was impressed the whole time, especially when it comes to this crazy tank scene. 

I Appreciated How They Tied In The Events From Past Films

The writers for movies two through five must have been in a silly-goofy mood when they told their stories, and because of it Fast and Furious 6 had to do a lot of course correcting when it came to the Fast and Furious timeline and various plot lines, and I greatly appreciated it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still extremely convoluted, but they were trying to fix things in this movie, and that’s what really matters. It’s the thought that counts.

There were two major points where I noticed, and liked, how they tied six in with past events. The first came when they brought Braga back, tying the events of Fast and Furious and Letty’s death directly to Fast and Furious 6, as well as the entire timeline. By making Brian face Braga in jail, we learned how the events of the fourth movie played into the greater Fast universe, and it made it clear that we were watching one (relatively) cohesive story.

The second connection came at the very end of the movie. Our boy Han is the biggest reason for the wacky timeline, and following the death of Gisele, he decides to head to Japan, implying that the events of Tokyo Drift are finally going to come into play.

So…Jason Statham Is The Reason Han Dies In Tokyo Drift?

I’ve been wondering how Jason Statham was going to make his entrance into the Fast franchise, and the way he was introduced was extremely unexpected. Early on in the movie, when Shaw (Luke Evans) was introduced, I figured he was related to Statham’s Shaw. I’m aware of the Hobbs and Shaw movie, and I’ve seen enough of the trailers to know that the older Shaw we were introduced to at the end of this movie will eventually become part of the family. 

Due to this ever-so-slight knowledge of what comes next, the last thing I was expecting was Jason Statham’s involvement in Fast and Furious 6 to be related to Han's death. Since the end of Tokyo Drift, I’ve been wondering who was behind the mysterious death of this fan-favorite character, and I’m very curious to see how Shaw’s involvement in the “death” (I know he’s not really dead…I think) of Han impacts the events of Furious 7.  

Other Thoughts 

• Why was Rita Ora there? 
• The movie should have been named Fast and Furi6. 
• It’s a real bummer that they describe things as “fast” all the time, but never as “fast and furious.” 
• Luke Evans’ character was scary and gross. 
• Who gave Dom and Hobbs superhuman jumping abilities? 

Overall, I feel like Fast and Furious 6 was the first movie where it really felt like everyone making the movie knew exactly what they were doing, and wanted to tell a story that allowed the franchise to be one big cohesive thing. So, with Fast X furiously approaching on the 2023 movie schedule, I’m fascinated to see how the franchise grows, and how this giant story continues to develop.

Long before Sung Kang’s Han Lue was revealed to be alive after his presumed death was witnessed in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7, it was Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty Ortiz who got the Fast & Furious franchise’s first taste of coming back from the dead. While the opening of 2009’s Fast & Furious saw the character seemingly meeting her demise offscreen, it was teased at the end of Fast Five that wasn’t the case, and she was was fully brought back into play in Fast & Furious 6. Now Rodriguez has shared the wild way she learned that Letty was still among the living.

Ahead of the Fast X trailer’s online debut, Michelle Rodriguez attended a special event for the first batch of footage from the penultimate entry in the main Fast & Furious film series. While there (via Insider), the actress shared that she learned she would be returning to the car-centric franchise more than a decade ago while watching Fast Five, as opposed to being given a heads up. As Rodriguez recalled:

So rather than Vin Diesel cluing Michelle Rodriguez in that Letty Ortiz’s time in the Fast & Furious world wasn’t done, she learned this news in a regular screening with the rest of the general public. For those in need of a refresher, while Fast & Furious, the 2009 movie that brought Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner back together for the first time since The Fast and the Furious in 2001, originally had Letty Ortiz dying at the hands of Fenix Calderon, the righthand man of lead antagonist Arturo Braga (a.k.a. Ramon Campos), Fast Five’s post-credits scenes had Eva Mendes’ Monic Campos, who was first seen in 2 Fast 2 Furious, visiting Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs to share that Letty had been photographed at a recent military convoy attack in Berlin, thus teasing her involvement in Fast & Furious 6.

While this makes for an amusing story for Michelle Rodriguez to tell, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if she’d decided that despite that tease, she wasn’t interested in returning to the Fast & Furious franchise (she has had complaints, after all). Would Letty Ortiz simply have been killed offscreen again, or would Vin Diesel and the franchise’s other producers have simply come up with a reason for Letty’s continued absence until they could convince Rodriguez to come back aboard for Furious 7? Fortunately for fans, this didn’t happen, and Letty’s been a mainstay in the Fast & Furious world ever since her grand return in Fast & Furious 6.

However, it took a little longer for Letty Ortiz to go back to being a good guy, as her near-death experience resulted in her being an amnesiac for years and joining up with Owen Shaw’s crew. Dominic Toretto was able to persuade Letty to come back to his side, but it wasn’t until the end of Furious 7 that all of her memories returned, as she finally recalled that she and Dom and married prior to the events of Fast & Furious. Since then, she and Dom have been through thick and thin together, and they’ll be called back into action once more for Fast X. This movie sees Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes, who also has a special connection to Fast Five, causing all kinds of trouble, including kidnapping Dom and Letty’s son Brian Marcos, who’s now being played by Leo Abelo Perry.

Fast X arrives in theaters on May 19, but make sure you’ve streamed F9 with an HBO Max subscription beforehand so you’re properly caught up. You’re also welcome to look through the lineup of other 2023 new movie releases to see what else catches your eye.

Paul Walker’s Fast & Furious and real-life families have remained close after the actor’s unexpected passing. Everyone has continued to honor Walker’s legacy, especially his daughter Meadow. Of course, her late father’s onscreen family and Fast & Furious producers have embraced her as they continued to be a part of her life, including her 2021 wedding. Recently, Meadow Walker had a sweet exchange with Fast 10’s Ludacris as they honored the late She’s All That actor.

Their sweet moment occurred after Ludacris got exciting news: he will receive a movie star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023. But the cherry-on-top for him was being announced alongside his late Fast & Furious co-star. The rap legend took to his Instagram to celebrate the moment with a 2 Fast 2 Furious throwback photo featuring him and Paul Walker. Ludacris felt the coincidence was “heaven-sent.” Check out his sweet tribute below to see what the F9 actor had to say about the special moment.

Of course, the post yielded countless comments from fans, friends, and family alike. But one commenter stuck out the most as Walker took a moment to congratulate the entertainer’s newest achievement. She left him four stars in his comments, which caught Ludacris’s eye. He immediately responded with a crown emoji. This moment wasn’t the first time the rapper and Walker’s daughter have shared a family moment over social media. Seeing the loving exchange between the rapper and Walker’s offspring reminded fans that the late action star’s legacy is still going strong years after his death.

The bond between the model and the Fast & Furious cast and crew has only grown as they still champion her late father’s legacy. Walker’s Brian O’Connor remained omnipresent in the fast car franchise despite the actor’s tragic death. His daughter made sure his philanthropy lives on through the Paul Walker Foundation, which his co-stars actively take part in. While the elder Walker may no longer be physically here, the younger Walker keeps his presence alive off-screen for the franchise. His co-stars haven’t slacked either as they, especially Vin Diesel, have shared throwback photos and sweet tributes in the late Furious 7 actor’s memory.

Expect Brian O’Connor to be mentioned in Fast 10 as the franchise finale continues to film around the world. The cast continues to grow with the addition of Oscar winner Rita Moreno as the Toretto siblings' grandmother. Moviegoers have already gotten a peek into the final movie as the cast shared hanging-out moments from the set. They will have to wait to see the final product as Fast 10 will be released on May 19, 2023.

It is unclear when either Ludacris or Paul Walker will receive their star next year. Until then, you can check out the Fast saga by subscribing to Hulu to watch the first seven films and F9. You can get an Amazon Prime subscription to watch The Fate of the Furious.

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For the better part of the past two decades, Sung Kang has been a fixture of the Fast and Furious movies (even when his character, Han Lue, was believed to be dead and gone). And, even though his time in the massive multi-billion-dollar franchise is what most know him from, Kang has had his fair share of success aside from that, with more on the way with shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+. Below is a quick breakdown of some of the best, or at least most enjoyable, movies and TV shows to feature Sung Kang…

Better Luck Tomorrow (Amazon Prime)

Justin Lin’s 2002 indie crime drama Better Luck Tomorrow, which happens to be one of the best movies on Amazon Prime, tells the story of a group of overachieving Asian-American high school students living in Orange County, California, who, when not preparing to attend Ivy League colleges, pass the time with a series of small, petty crimes. But, like any tale of teenagers sticking their toes in the murky waters of the criminal underworld, this, too, is a slippery slope for all involved.

Why it’s worth checking out: On one hand, Better Luck Tomorrow does a tremendous job of exploring Asian-American culture and showcases a great cast, including John Cho, Roger Fan, Jason Tobin, and Sung Kang. And, then there is the fact that the movie is now connected to the Fast and Furious franchise with Han Lue bridging the two. The movie also answers the question why Han is always snacking…

Stream Better Luck Tomorrow on Amazon Prime.

Rent/Buy Better Luck Tomorrow on Amazon.

Lisey’s Story (Apple TV+)

Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, the 2021 Apple TV+ limited series Lisey’s Story is a terrifying thriller that centers on Lisey Landon (Julianne Moore), a grieving widow who explores various traumatic memories connected her deceased husband, Scott Landon (Clive Owen), while also battling the evil force that haunted him in life.

Why it’s worth checking out: Lisey’s Story is a must for fans of Stephen King adaptations as well as those who enjoy horror television. Plus, it’s hard to go wrong with the Lisey’s Story cast, which includes Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Allen, Dane DeHaan, and Sung Kang as Officer Dan Boeckman, who helps protect Lisey Landon after her husband’s death.

Stream Lisey’s Story on Apple TV+.

Live Free Or Die Hard (Amazon Rental)

The 2007 action thriller Live Free or Die Hard sees franchise star John McClane (Bruce Willis) team up with a young hacker named Matt Farrell (Justin Long) take on Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), a cyber terrorist who aims to bring America’s computer infrastructure to its knees as the country celebrates Independence Day.

Why it’s worth checking out: Although not the best movie in the Die Hard franchise, the fourth installment isn’t without its merits, and pushed John McClane to his breaking point multiple times before the end credits roll. Plus, it’s the only Die Hard movie to feature Sung Kang, who appears briefly as Raj, an agent with the FBI’s cyber division.

Rent/Buy Live Free or Die Hard on Amazon.

Raya And The Last Dragon (Disney+)

The 2021 animated Disney adventure film Raya and the Last Dragon follows the titular heroine (Kelly Marie Tran) as she sets out to resurrect Sisu (Awkwafina) and stop an evil force known as the Druun in the hope of saving and uniting all of humanity.

Why it’s worth checking out: One of the most fun Disney movies in recent years, Raya and the Last Dragon has a little bit of everything: eye-catching animation, an emotional story, and a great deal of heart-stopping action. The Raya and the Last Dragon cast, which includes Sung Kang as Talon leader Dan Hai, is great from top to bottom with the likes of Sandra Oh, Gemma Chan, Benedict Wong, and Alan Tudyk, to name a few.

Stream Raya and the Last Dragon on Disney+.

Rent/Buy Raya and the Last Dragon on Amazon.

Bullet To The Head (Amazon Rental)

The 2013 action thriller Bullet to the Head follows hired killer Jimmy Bobo (Sylvester Stallone) when he joins forces with detective Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) as they attempt to track down and eliminate a common enemy: real estate developer Robert Nkomo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who has attempted to assassinate both parties on separate occasions.

Why it’s worth checking out: No one is going to say Bullet to the Head is the best Sylvester Stallone movie, but as far as recent Sly goes, there are few examples of the action star having as much fun as he does here. Over-the-top action, a rocky relationship that makes for an exciting buddy cop adventure, and plenty of demolition and destruction, make this one hell of a ride.

Rent/Buy Bullet to the Head on Amazon.

Power (Starz)

Power, the Starz crime drama that ran from 2014 to 2020 and has since spawned multiple spinoffs, tells the story of James St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), a drug dealer who wishes to escape his past and enter the world of legitimate business. This is easier said than done for the man known on the street as “Ghost” as one’s past always has a way of playing catch-up.

Why it’s worth checking out: Sung Kang shows up in Power Season 4 as U.S. Attorney John Mak, the prosecutor leading a murder case he hopes to pin on Ghost. Kang typically appears as a protagonist, so his turn in a more villainous role is a breath of fresh air.

Stream Power on Starz.

Rent/Buy Power on Amazon.

We Can Be Heroes (Netflix)

Robert Rodriguez makes great pulp action movies, but the filmmaker behind El Mariachi, From Dusk Til Dawn, and Sin City has also made multiple family-friendly features like Spy Kids, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, and most recently We Can Be Heroes. One of the best movies on Netflix that can be enjoyed by adults and children, the Sharkboy and Lavagirl sequel shows what happens when the kids of earth’s superheroes are forced to fill in for their parents who have been kidnapped.

Why it’s worth checking out: Not only is We Can Be Heroes a great way to spend a family movie night, it’s genuinely a fun and exciting adventure film that boasts an outstanding cast of child actors as well as some major stars playing their parents. This includes Christian Slater, Pedro Pascal, Sung Kang, and Taylor Dooley.

Stream We Can Be Heroes on Netflix.

The Motel (Tubi)

The 2005 coming-of-age story The Motel follows 13-year-old Ernest (Jeffrey Chyau), a fatherless boy who spends his days cleaning his family’s run-down motel until has a chance-encounter with a drifter named Sam (Sung Kang). As the bond shared by the boy and the man becomes stronger, Ernest begins to explore his dreams of becoming a writer and escaping his life at the sleazy motor inn all while finding a feather figure in Sam.

Why it’s worth checking out: Anyone wanting to see a great movie to watch starring Sung Kang that doesn’t revolve around driving cars or uncovering intricate conspiracies will certainly find something in The Motel. This low-key drama about a teenager finding himself, and a broken man finding redemption, is as inspirational as it is dramatic.

Stream The Motel on Tubi.

Rent/Buy The Motel on Amazon.

Code 8 (Netflix)

Based on the 2016 short film of the same name, Code 8 is a sci-fi action film that follows Connor Reed (Robbie Amell), a superhuman who uses his powers to help a group of criminals so that he can raise enough money to help his mother’s medication condition. Along the way, he has several clashes with police, including Agent Park (Sung Kang), a man with secrets of his own.

Why it’s worth checking out: One of the most popular movies on Netflix not long after it debuted on the streaming service in early 2020, Code 8 is the perfect mix of family drama, crime, and superhuman adventure with multiple twists and turns.

Stream Code 8 on Netflix.

Rent/Buy Code 8 on Amazon.

The Fast And Furious Movies (Peacock; Amazon Rental)

As mentioned in the introduction, Sung Kang has been a major part of the Fast and Furious franchise since his character’s introduction with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Since then, Han Lue has been a bright spot of the series and played a pivotal role even when he was supposed to be dead.

Why it’s worth checking out: It has never been easier to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order (or based on release date) now that so many are available streaming on various platforms. Luckily, a lot of the installments in the franchise involving Han Lue (Sung Kang) can be watched in the same place, making for one hell of a marathon for those wanting to get Justice for Han.

Stream The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift on Peacock.

Rent/Buy The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift on Amazon.

Stream Fast and Furious on Peacock.

Rent/Buy Fast and Furious on Amazon.

Stream Fast Five on Peacock.

Rent/Buy Fast Five on Peacock.

Rent/Buy Fast and Furious 6 on Amazon.

Rent F9 on Amazon.

Bonus: One-Off TV Appearances

Before Sung Kang found his fame and fortune with the Fast and Furious movies, he appeared on various TV shows to take on many one-off roles on series like Monk, Cold Case, The Shield, and NYPD Blue. Kang would even continue this after becoming a star, showing up on Monk once more as well as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Hawaii Five-0, and Family Guy, to name a few.

As you can see, Sung Kang has quite a career outside of the Fast and Furious franchise, though this isn’t to say he should leave the series before it wraps up with the two-part Fast and Furious 10.

With the Toretto family dynamic taking center stage in F9, Mia Toretto had to come back after being absent in The Fate of the Furious. Jordana Brewster’s return in F9 was much welcomed by the fans. While she did appear in Fast and Furious 6 and 7, she didn’t get into much of the action compared to previous appearances. Brewster seemed to have a better time filming F9, and now the actress revealed the one reason working on F9 was so much better than Fast and Furious 6 and 7.

The F9 star voiced her thoughts on filming the ninth installment during a virtual press conference (via Shock Ya). Jordana Brewster has been an integral part of the Fast and Furious franchise since the first film. For Fast and Furious 6 and Furious 7, the actress’ screen time was reduced due to commitments to other projects, which was a sore spot for the F9 star. Brewster said this about returning as Mia Toretto for the new film:

Jordana Brewster seemed rarely sad about not getting to fully participate in the previous installments. Her commitment to the Dallas reboot finally cleared up why Mia wasn’t as involved in Fast and Furious 6 and 7. Of course, her absence in The Fate of the Furious was better explained given Paul Walker’s unfortunate passing. But luckily, Brewster was brought back for F9 as a tribute to her late co-star's legacy. With that said, the actress wants in on more Fast and Furious action.

Jordana Brewster has advocated for doing more car sequences and fight scenes in Fast 10 and 11. But she isn’t the only one, as F9 co-star Michelle Rodriguez has pushed for an all-female Fast spinoff for a while now. The two actresses even mentioned wanting No Time to Die scribe Phoebe Waller-Bridge to punch up F9’s script.

Maybe the ladies will get in more of the action in the final two installments. It’s been no secret the Fast and Furious ladies have been frustrated for years over being sidelined. So hopefully the female spinoff will happen as the franchise’s future is leaning more female, according to Vin Diesel.

Fans seemed to embrace Jordana Brewster's return to the franchise. To see Mia and Dom Toretto take on their brother Jakob, check out F9 in theaters right now.

Justin Lin and the Fast & Furious film series go way back. After helming 2006’s Tokyo Drift, Lin returned to helm Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6 and now the recently-released F9. So clearly Universal Pictures likes what Lin brings to the table with this franchise, but that doesn’t mean the studio and filmmaker haven’t had disagreements. For instance, Lin revealed that he argued with Universal about the title of Fast & Furious 6.

During his appearance on the ReelBlend podcast, when host Jake Hamilton inquired about whether Fast & Furious 10 would be stylized Fas10 (as in “Fas10 your seatbelt”), Justin Lin recalled his confusion over how the studio was advertising the sixth Fast & Furious installment vs. what he’d named the movie. In Lin’s words:

Going from Fast Five to Furious 6 is certainly a logical procession, but for some reason Universal wanted to go a more straightforward route with the 2013 blockbuster. This resulted in the “spirited” arguments between Justin Lin and Universal executives, although it doesn’t sound like this bothers Lin that much anymore. Frankly, I’m more bothered by the fact that 2017’s The Fate of the Furious wasn’t stylized as The F8 of the Furious. It’s right there!

Regardless, Justin Lin noted how they “have fun” choosing what to call each new Fast & Furious chapter, which he said originated from when he talked Vin Diesel into coming back for that Tokyo Drift cameo. The two men talked about the connections between the characters, and if another Fast & Furious movie were to be made, they didn’t want to repeat themselves, instead wanting to “evolve” the franchise. Lin continued:

No spoilers here, but F9 certainly lays the groundwork for Fast & Furious 10, which will be split into two parts. As for Fast & Furious 6, while there may have been a kerfuffle concerning what to specifically call the movie, it ultimately ended up being both critically and commercially successful, paving the way for its immediate two successors to both cross the $1 billion milestone.

Should you wish to revisit Fast & Furious 6, it’s currently streaming on Peacock. F9 is now playing in theaters, and we’ll be sure to let you know when both parts of Fast & Furious 10 are given release dates, along with any other major developments.

Over the course of the past 24 years, the Fast & Furious franchise has gone from one about street-racing and boosting DVD players to a massive action brand known for its increasingly dangerous stunts and tight-knit daredevils-turned-superheroes.

You can watch all of the Fast and Furious movies available to watch on some of the best streaming services and digital rental services right now. This means you can watch everything from the franchise’s humble beginnings to the supercharged sequels. Below is a full list of all the Fast and Furious movies in order of release date and where you can watch them.

The Fast And The Furious (2001)

In what could be described as Point Break with souped-up Nissan Skylines instead of surfboards, 2001’s The Fast and the Furious follows undercover Los Angeles cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) as he tries to nab a criminal outfit with ties to the street-racing community suspected of boosting DVD players by the truckload. When an attempt to earn the respect of the king of the streets, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), blows up in his face, the eager O’Conner finds himself part of something much larger.

Stream The Fast and the Furious on Netflix.
Rent/Buy The Fast and the Furious on Amazon.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

2 Fast 2 Furious loses Dominic Toretto and the rest of the Los Angeles crew as Brian O’Conner finds himself as a major player in the Miami street-racing scene. Now an FBI agent, O’Conner goes undercover and is forced to mend a shattered relationship with his former best friend and future franchise mainstay Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) to get to the bottom of a criminal organization. Chris “Ludacris” Bridges’ Tej Parker is also introduced in this 2003 sequel.

Stream 2 Fast 2 Furious on Netflix.
Rent/Buy 2 Fast 2 Furious on Amazon.

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

The biggest diversion from the franchise yet, 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift introduces a completely new set of characters in a story centering on the high-stakes drifting world in the Japanese megacity as told through the eyes of Sean Boswell (Lucas Black). When Boswell’s need for speed leads to his mom sending him to live with his father in Tokyo, the high school troublemaker quickly finds himself in a whole new world and a new form of racing. Future franchise star Sung Kang makes his debut as Han Lue and quickly becomes a bright spot in the series.

Stream The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift on Netflix.
Rent/Buy The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift on Amazon.

Fast & Furious (2009)

Part sequel, part soft reboot, 2009’s Fast and Furious (the first in the franchise to drop “The” from the title), picks back up with Dominic Toretto as he returns to Los Angeles to hunt down those responsible for killing someone he loves (setting up a major narrative thread for the next few movies). Along the way, the one-time leader of the city’s racing scene crosses paths with Brian O’Conner, setting up a tense and fragile relationship that must be repaired through trust and an epic journey that completely revolutionizes the franchise. Gal Gadot’s Gisele Yashar makes her Fast and Furious debut in the series’ fourth installment.

Stream Fast & Furious on Max.
Rent/Buy Fast & Furious on Amazon.

Fast Five (2011)

The fifth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise, 2011’s Fast Five, really takes things to the next level with its story and over-the-top action set pieces that would eventually become the norm for the series moving forward. When Brian O’Conner and Mia Toretto break Dominic Toretto out of prison, they are forced to take a different path in life, one that leads them to Rio de Janeiro. Now a massive outfit, the Toretto gang prepares to pull off a heist, but only if Dwayne Johnson’s federal agent Luke Hobbs doesn’t get in their way.

Stream Fast Five on Netflix.
Rent/Buy Fast Five on Amazon.

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

Fast & Furious 6, which blew into theaters in 2013, follows the Toretto crew as they are given the opportunity of a lifetime from their new enemy-turned-friend Luke Hobbs: capture the deadly mercenary Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and in return, receive a full pardon. What initially seems like an easy mission proves to be anything but when a ghost of Dominic Toretto’s past comes back to haunt him. This would not be the last we would hear of the Shaw family name either.

Stream Fast & Furious 6 on Netflix.
Rent/Buy Fast & Furious 6 on Amazon.

Furious 7 (2015)

The final Fast and Furious movie to feature Paul Walker following the actor’s tragic death two years earlier, 2015’s Furious 7 is one-part loving sendoff to the franchise star and one-part logic-defying and globe-trotting adventure. When Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) comes back to get revenge for his little brother, he sets his sights on the Toretto crew as well as the powerful satellite surveillance program known as God’s Eye.

Rent/Buy Furious 7 on Amazon.

The Fate Of The Furious (2017)

Just when Dominic Toretto and company think they can sit back and relax with a bucket of ice-cold Coronas, they are brought back into the action, but this time on different sides. In the early stages of The Fate of the Furious, the mysterious cyber-criminal Cipher (Charlize Theron) blackmails Dom to betray his team and become part of her plan to enact nuclear war. Without their leader, Dom’s crew must work with unlikely allies to save their family and the world from utter destruction.

Rent/Buy The Fate of the Furious on Amazon.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

The first spinoff in the franchise, 2018’s Fast &Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw shifts its focus from Dominic Toretto and company and instead follows Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw as they attempt to stop the cybernetically enhanced super-soldier Brixton Lore (Idris Elba) from wiping out half the population with a deadly pathogen. And while it doesn’t look like we’ll ever get a sequel, this spinoff movie did give fans of the franchise some incredible action sequences.

Rent/Buy Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw on Amazon.

F9: The Fast Saga (2021)

Dominic Toretto was presented with his most personal fight yet in 2021’s F9: The Fast Saga when his long-lost brother, Jakob (John Cena), showed up and revealed he was working with an old enemy to make the team pay for their past mistakes. The action-packed sequel, which saw the return of a character long believed to be dead, also took the franchise to new heights and out of Earth’s atmosphere.

Stream F9: The Fast Saga on Peacock.
Rent/Buy F9: The Fast Saga on Amazon.

Fast X (2023)

Dom Toretto and company were forced to reckon with a ghost from their past in Fast X with the arrival of Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa), the son of Fast Five antagonist Hernan Reyes. An enemy like nothing the group had faced before, the flashy and sadistic Dante pushed everyone to their breaking point in his mission of destruction and revenge. The Fast X ending left us with some major questions for the future, including those returning stars who’ll surely be a major part of the franchise’s endgame.

Stream Fast X on Peacock.
Rent/Buy Fast X on Amazon.

Now there is nothing stopping you from catching up with the entire “Fast Saga” before the upcoming Fast & Furious 11 comes to theaters at some point in 2026.

Although it was a little under two years ago that the Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw played on the big screen, it’s been four years since the main film series’ last installment, The Fate of the Furious. Fast and Furious 9, a.k.a. F9, was once supposed to drop back in April 2020, but thanks to COVID-19 pandemic complications, the movie is now primed to come out in June. Should you be wanting to rewatch the past Fast & Furious movies to catch up before F9’s arrival, it’s been announced that they’re heading back to theaters as part of a special initiative.

Starting Friday, April 30, Universal Pictures and its theater partners (including AMC Theatres, Regal and Cinemark Theatres) will launch “Fast Fridays,” with a different Fast & Furious movie being screened on that day of the week over the course of eight weeks, in chronological order. So 2001’s The Fast & the Furious will kick off this event, and it will wrap up on June 18 with The Fate of the Furious (Hobbs & Shaw is not included in the lineup). Here’s the best part: these screenings will be free of charge.

You can head to the Fast Fridays Screenings website to learn more about obtaining tickets from one of the more than 500 participating theaters (it will ultimately expand to more than 900 theaters), but so long as you click quickly, you’ll be able to see your favorite Fast & Furious movie in theaters, be it for the first time or the first time since its original theatrical run, without paying any money. Who knows, maybe some of you will try to catch all the Fast & Furious movies playing each Friday. Regardless, with movie theaters getting back into the swing of things following a year that wreaked havoc on the industry, as well as vaccinations steadily rolling out, I imagine this event will entice plenty of people to return to their local cineplex, especially since it won’t cost them anything.

Here’s what Jim Orr, Universal’s President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution, had to say about “Fast Fridays” in the official announcement:

Whether you take advantage of “Fast Fridays” or simply decide to watch the Fast & Furious movies on home media or streaming, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to refresh your memory on past events in this universe before F9 arrives. What was once a franchise that focused on street racing and smaller-scale heists has evolved into Dominic Toretto and his crew getting into snazzy cars and other vehicles to frequently save the world. Hell, Dom himself is practically superhuman in this point, and when you factor in Hobbs & Shaw featuring the cybernetically-enhanced Brixton, the Fast & Furious saga might as well be classified as a superhero franchise alongside the MCU and DCEU.

As for what we can expect from F9, the story will follow Dominic Toretto and the other protagonists clashing with Dom and Mia’s estranged brother, Jakob Toretto, played by John Cena. Jakob has allied himself with Charlize Theron’s Cipher, although what exactly they have planned besides simple revenge remains unclear. F9 will also see the return Sung Kang’s Han Lue, who was thought to have been killed by Deckard Shaw. Behind the cameras, Justin Lin sat back in the director’s chair and co-wrote the script with Daniel Casey.

Once again, F9 will race into theaters on June 25, and following that, there are two more installments left to look forward to in the main Fast & Furious film series. Hobbs & Shaw 2 is also in development, as is a female-centric spinoff, so we’ll keep you apprised on how those projects are coming along as more news comes in.

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There is no getting around it, Sub-Zero is the most badass thing about the brutal first trailer from the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot, and that’s saying a lot considering everything that goes down (Scorpion and Kano get some props here) in the two-minute video. Seriously, everything from Sub-Zero freezing off Jax’s arms (giving us the Mortal Kombat 3 version of the iconic commando) to making a dagger out of Scorpion’s frozen blood has me all giddy like I'm playing Mortal Kombat for the first time all over again. And don’t even get me going about the way Joe Taslim’s version of the legendary and lethal ninja just wrecks dudes left and right.

But Joe Taslim's portrayal of Sub-Zero is just the latest in a long line of the stellar action movies where the Indonesian actor and martial artist has been given a chance to show off his skills. Just looking over his brief filmography you'll find titles like The Raid and The Night Comes for Us, two of the greatest action movies of the past decade. Let's take a look...

The Raid (2011)

Gareth Evans’ 2011 slugfest The Raid has a fairly simple concept — a heavily armed elite police squad heads into an apartment block to arrest a vicious crime lord — but one hell of an execution filled with hard-hitting fight scenes and intense action sequences whose impact can still be felt a decade later. Joe Taslim plays Jaka, the police sergeant that leads the slow and deadly march to the top of the slum and remains hellbent on completing the mission even with Mad Dog (Yahan Ruhian) standing in his way. This results in one of the most brutal fights of the movie and pretty much all movies in recent memory. Seriously, check it out.

Rent The Raid on Amazon here.

The Night Comes For Us (2018)

Joe Taslim’s Ito doesn’t turn any limbs into blocks of ice The Night Comes for Us, but the enforcer in the South East Asian Triad breaks his fair share of arms, legs, and even backs in the 2018 action thriller. After saving a young survivor from a massacre and turning his gun on his former partners, Ito is forced to go on the run to save the young girl’s life and prolong what’s left of his. At times, Ito comes off as a loving and caring guardian trying to help a young girl find peace in the world and then at times a sadistic killer, especially during the warehouse fight scene with its pool balls, crowbars, and the shotgun blasts to the face. In case you were wondering, this movies brings another meaning to the word brutal…

Stream The Night Comes For Us on Netflix here.

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

The Fast & Furious franchise has featured its fair share of skilled fighters and martial artists over the years, but one of the most impressive is Joe Taslim’s Jah from Fast & Furious 6. In the 2013 action spectacle, one of Owen Shaw’s (Luke Evans) most trusted henchmen and assassins pops up from time to time to attempt to thwart Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and crew, which includes him taking on not only two members of the crew but also three London police officers at Waterloo station. The combination of daring parkour maneuvers and an intricate fighting style help turn a run-of-the-mill chase sequence into one of the best sections of the entire movie.

Stream it on Peacock here.

Rent it here.

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Much like in Fast & Furious 6, Joe Taslim took on the role of a henchman and second-in-command to the villain in Star Trek Beyond, who is played Idris Elba (who would go on to appear in the Fast & Furious franchise a few years later). Portraying Manas, a former Starfleet officer who transformed into an alien being along with the rest of his crew, Taslim continues to do what he does best here and takes part in some of the best fight scenes of the movie. And while Manas’ one-on-one with Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) isn’t as raw or visceral as some of his previous on-screen fights, it’s still impressive considering all those prosthetics both actors were wearing.

Stream Star Trek Beyond on Amazon here.

Rent it here.

Dead Mine (2012)

Haven’t heard of Dead Mine? Prepare for some insanity. The 2012 horror film follows a group of mercenaries hired by the son of a millionaire to explore an abandoned Japanese military bunker for treasure. Once they reach their goal, however, the group becomes trapped in the complex with subjects from inhumane human experiments that turned prisoners of war into superhuman Samurai and other creatures that look a lot like the war boys in Mad Max: Fury Road. And while Joe Taslim doesn’t get as many fight scenes with his portrayal of Joko, there’s one scene in particular that makes him look like quite the badass.

Stream Dead Mine on Amazon with XLTV here.

The Swordsman (2020)

Th 2020 South Korean period piece The Swordsman follows Tae-yul (Jang Hyuk), one of the best swordsmen in the province of Joseon as takes on the ruthless Gurutai (Joe Taslim) to free his daughter who was seeking a treatment for her father’s failing eyesight. Not as fast-moving as he is in movies like The Raid or The Night Comes for Us, Taslim’s portrayal of the Qing imperial family member is just as ruthless and deadly as anything else he’s played in the past. And on top of that, he’s not too bad when it comes to fighting with a sword, something that will come in handy in Mortal Kombat.

Stream it on Hoopla here.

Rent it here.

Warrior (Cinemax Series) (2019 - 2020)

The 2019 Cinemax series Warrior, which was based on a treatment written by Bruce Lee, follows Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), a Chinese martial artist who travels to late-19th Century San Francisco in hopes of finding his long lost sister who was sold to a tong (criminal organization) years earlier. In addition to being tasked with rescuing his sister, Ah Sahm must take part in a series of underground fights, where he encounters Li Yong (Joe Taslim), an enforcer in the gang which has the hero’s sister held captive. Li Young, with his brutal displays of strength, speed, and willpower, is brought to life through the fierce and sometimes pained performance by Taslim.

Stream it on HBO Max here.

If you're not an HBO Max subscriber, you can sign up here*. *

All in all, Joe Taslim is well-suited to take on the role of Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat, as his impressive track record shows. It’s hard to say just how much depth we’ll see from the masked fighter when the movie hits theaters and HBO Max on April 16, but at least we’ll get to see Sub Zero break arms and turn blood into knives.

Most would think that, in a series as fast paced and action packed as The Fast and the Furious saga is, there would be a pretty easy to follow story that goes along with it all. Well, it’s easy if you get to look at it all in hindsight, as watching the hard driving plot unfold in the order the films were released leads to a bit of a headache. 

As such, there’s a bit of creative timeline thinking that needs to be laid out, which has no bearing on the status of this franchise as the home to some of the best action movies. Living life a quarter of a mile at a time leads to some interesting story hiccups, especially when the Fast saga requires audiences to do some mental gymnastics to make it make sense. 

We’ve covered some previous ground on this subject matter with our guide of how to watch The Fast and the Furious movies in either release order or story chronology. With the 2023 new movie release Fast X now hitting its home entertainment window, we’re going to take a look at the entire story, piecing events together where they belong. Which has become even more complicated to keep track of with each additional film.

The Toretto Family Flashbacks In F9

Release Year: 2021
Year Of Events: 1989, 199X

Damn that Toretto family and their extensive backstory. Acting as the most temporally active entry in the Fast Saga, the most recent film F9 jumps into the well of the past to flesh out a long standing feud between Dom and his half-brother Jakob (John Cena). Two flashbacks see the Toretto boys squabbling over the meaning of family and what it feels like to be left behind, starting in 1989 - when they see their father killed during a race. 

After Dom goes to jail for almost killing the man he feels is responsible, his release from jail in the ‘90s saw him butting heads with Jakob yet again. One race fuels the rivalry that the two will see burn throughout the franchise, as the loser swears to leave town for good. At this point, with Jakob out of the picture, Dom becomes the racing king who would turn to thievery not too long after.

The Fast And The Furious

Year Of Release: 2001
Year Of Events: 2004

The Fast and the Furious was the (cinematic) start of it all. In a world where there were no smartphones, just people living in the moment, vibing, and stealing huge amounts of DVD players. There’s no confusion where this film lies, as Vin Diesel and Paul Walker’s Dominic “Dom” Toretto and Brian O’Conner meet for the first time.

Other franchise fixtures introduced are Michelle Rodriguez’ Letty Ortiz, as well as Jordana Brewster’s Mia Toretto. While it’s not explicitly mentioned, some math has been done to estimate that 2004 is the timestamp on the franchise’s origins. That might be a bit confusing, but it’ll all be explained soon enough.

2 Fast 2 Furious

Release Year: 2003
Year Of Events: TBD

We’re still on a pretty straight and narrow timeline when we get to 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious, but there’s no specific year as to when this picture actually occurs in The Fast and Furious sequel canon. The greatest contribution is that we’re introduced to Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej Parker (Chris Bridges), both of whom become more important in a couple of movies. 

But even then, references to these events are few and far between, making the exact timing a nightmare to pin down. Another interesting note: Eva Mendes’ character, Monica Fuentes, technically appears again in Fast Five’s post-credits sequence, but how she factors into things is still a bit of a question, as she hasn’t been seen again since.

Fast & Furious

Release Year: 2009
Year Of Events: 2009

Ok, this is where things start to get complicated. In release order, 2003’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is supposed to go here. However, if you’re tracking the story’s implied timeline, then 2009’s Fast & Furious is the actual third installment in the Fast saga story.

Taking place five years after the end of The Fast and the Furious, Dom and Brian’s reunion is technically set in the “present day,” meaning 2009 starts a three movie run of prequels that not only see Han Lue (Sung Kang) alive and well, but already a part of Dom’s team, until his death later down the road. That’s not the only wrench Fast & Furious throws into the gears, as Letty’s death in the franchise is dated “May 30, 2009,” per the timeline noted by the Fast and Furious wiki on Fandom.

With that in mind, this is where the theory that The Fast and the Furious takes place in 2004, instead of the assumed contemporary setting of 2001, comes into play. If we’re to take Letty’s tombstone as the smoking gun, then 2009 is when this movie should take place; meaning that, for our purposes, we’ll be siding with the 2004 date for the rest of this timeline Buckle up folks, because it’s about to get even more interesting with the next entry in the series.

Fast Five

Release Year: 2011
Year Of Events: 2011

This is it: the big one, the movie that folds Roman Pearce and Tej into the main storyline of The Fast and the Furious series! Fast Five is considered a huge lynchpin to the series, as it also introduces DSS Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) into the world of the Fast saga.

While it was released in 2011, this fifth film in the release order is the fourth installment in story order, and should take place in the contemporary setting of 2011. This implies that despite the film opening with Dom’s “release” from prison at the end of Fast & Furious, there’s a two year time jump between that moment and the action proper.

Dante Reyes' Flashbacks In Fast X

Release Year: 2023
Year Of Events: 2011

Time has once again been rewritten, Fast familia. Just as F9 introduced an entire new run of Toretto family drama, Fast X has given Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) and his villainous family their own updated timeline. And, a whole quest for revenge can be traced straight back to the fateful vault chase that saw Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almieda) being sent straight to the afterlife. 

Hernan’s death was revealed to be the catalyst that brought both Dante and secret baddie/head of The Agency Aimes (Alan Ritchson) together as twin threats. Both men were being brought into the Reyes crime family as key parties to continue its operation, just as Dom and company disrupted that process in rather lethal fashion. Also, for you Fast X fans, this is a very important timeframe to keep in mind when figuring out where the ninth Fast Saga sequel factors into things. 

Fast & Furious 6

Release Year: 2013
Year Of Events: 2013

Save for the huge example of time displacement we’re going to discuss with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’s story order shift, Fast & Furious 6 keeps the series on a contemporary path. It’s also the start of a trilogy of films that directly deals with the “death” of Han Lue, at the hands of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham.) A supposed act of vengeance after the Toretto gang puts Deckard’s brother Owen (Luke Evans) into a coma, this act is the thread that ties this film, and the next two, in a very tight span of occurrence.

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift

Release Year: 2006
Year Of Events: 2014

The story of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is, allegedly, supposed to take place in 2014. It doesn’t matter all that much, as the story of Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) and his introduction to both Han Lue and Dominic Toretto are all that cross over into the series at large. 

Tokyo Drift is the film where Han’s “death” actually occurs, only for that moment to later be retconned to be shown as a consequence of Fast & Furious 6’s big showdown, as well as part of the campaign of vengeance Deckard Shaw would engage in during Furious 7. Of course, Han’s Fast and Furious history wouldn’t end there, as his death would be retconned through some timeline trickery, as well as his resurrection in F9.

Han Lue's Flashbacks In F9

Release Year: 2021
Year Of Events: 2014

Originally, Han Lue was killed by Deckard Shaw at the end of The Fast and the Furious Presents: Tokyo Drift, and that was that. With future Fast movies pushing that entry further along in the timeline, it feels inevitable that a new retcon was waiting in the wings. 

With “Justice for Han” becoming a frequent cry, and Jason Statham’s face turn in the Fast Saga needing explanation, F9 took up that task. Much as the Toretto family was expanded with new lore, Han was given a new mission as part of The Agency. Thanks to this extended sequence, Han Lue is revealed to have saved Elle (Anna Sawai), and with her, Project Ares.

The “death of Han” turned out to be a smoke screen that hid his continued Agency mission to protect this young woman. While Deckard had gone rogue, and was absolutely trying to kill Han, Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) helped turn this unfortunate event into an opportunity. Which is how Han was allowed to operate in the shadows between this point and F9; and why making up with Deckard wasn’t that hard in Fast X. 

Furious 7

Release Year: 2015
Year Of Events: 2014

Are you tired of seeing Deckard Shaw kill Han? Well, too bad, because Furious 7 is going to show you that moment again. Looped into the story of this particular entry, we see that Deckard kills Han just as Brian O’Connor is about to escape a particularly explosive fate, set up by the walking and breathing Shaw brother. So that fact ties this movie into the 2014 timeframe, making Tokyo Drift’s Sean Boswell the oldest teenager to have ever existed since Dick Clark himself.

The Fate Of The Furious

Release Year: 2017
Year Of Events: 2014-2015 (?)

From this point in The Fast and the Furious timeline, the Fast saga is a contemporary affair yet again. The Fate of the Furious is done with showing the death of Han Lue, and the movies have caught up with the clock of the world, seeing the present day enjoying all of the vehicular mayhem that Dominic’s “family” could muster.

While there are suggestions that this film takes place in a contemporary 2017 setting, the fact that Dom’s baby with former girlfriend/DSS agent Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky) was conceived pretty close to the time he found out Letty was still alive pegs this film in a window of time closer to 2014-2015. Little Marcos/Brian’s age in The Fate of the Furious backs this theory up pretty well, as he’s still small enough to fit in an easy to juggle car seat; just ask Deckard Shaw.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Release Year: 2019
Year Of Events: 2019

Unless there are any more objections, retcons, or questionable decisions in The Fast and the Furious timeline, it’s to be assumed that Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw takes place in its contemporary release year of 2019. Not satisfied with getting into trouble with the Toretto family, Hobbs & Shaw beat Brixton, aka “Black Superman,” like a Cherokee drum, after becoming pretty good friends in The Fate of the Furious. 

We have no clue when, or if, we’ll be seeing this duo again on screen together. Though Deckard Shaw’s appearance at the end of F9 does serve to further confuse the timeline. Especially if F9 is supposed to take place after this entry.

F9 (Excluding Flashbacks) 

Release Year: 2021
Year Of Events: 2019

With the Toretto family history flashbacks aside, the bulk of F9 is supposedly set two years after The Fate of the Furious. Holding true to the conception/aging of little Brian, that means that this entry should slot into either 2016 or 2017; but that’s another best guess. Again, as we’ve seen in the case of Sean Boswell and Han Lue, age progression is unpredictable in the Fast and Furious universe. 

Cipher’s return, Jakob Toretto’s involvement, and Deckard Shaw’s post-credits scene are all complicating factors in trying to figure out when F9 takes place in the timeline.Which, yet again, proves why the timeline that is The Fast and the Furious saga is a ball of loose yarn, gently tied together enough to make some sort of sense. 

Once again, the Grim Reaper has lent a hand in keeping the Fast and Furious timeline somewhat consistent. With an estimated 30 year passage of time between Jack Torretto’s death and F9’s events, that would peg this episode as taking place in 2019. That assumption is further backed by the details we’re about to discuss in the next chapter, which doubles down on this assumed chronology.

Fast X (Excluding Flashbacks)

Release Year: 2023
Year Of Events: 2021

Much like the Saw franchise, the Fast Saga continues to dig deeper into the past while building its future. Fast X is the second film to do just that, and with new clues from this entry in the timeline, we may have cracked where F9 is supposed to slot into the overall picture. 

In this tale of Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) and his quest for revenge, it’s mentioned that Fast Five’s heist took place roughly 10 years ago. With that benchmark in place, Fast X is supposed to happen in 2021, which puts F9 in that 2019 timeframe we specified above.

The timeline only looks to become even more confusing and twisty, thanks to Fast X’s mid-credits scene. Reintroducing Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) into the fold, we’re not sure where that moment will technically fit into Fast Saga canon. You can blame the existence of that question on Deckard Shaw’s F9 post-credits scene taking place in the middle of the 2023 installment’s adventures. 

In the past twenty years, The Fast and The Furious has gone from being a critically-derided, C-rate streetcar racing flick to one of the most profitable, critically acclaimed action franchises of the early 21st century. That's certainly no an easy feat. While a number of factors played into the franchise's rousing success, part of its appeal came, quite simply, from being both fast and, indeed, furious. Yes, the franchise had expectations to meet, and it often succeeded in one specific regard. It kept things fast, and it kept things furious — though, looking back on the Fast & Furious movies, it's apparent that, sometimes, it could be a little more fast than furious, and visa versa. That begs the question, which one of these movies is the most fast and furious?

Without further ado, let's take a look at just how fast and how furious the Fast & Furious movies could get, ranked from the least to most. It's an exceptionally packed film franchise, and it all leads up to this summer's Fast & Furious 9, i.e. F9, which roars into theaters on May 22nd. The "Fast" score is based on the car racing and chasing elements of the film. For "Furious," we're looking at fight sequences and other action-packed moments that take place off the road and out of vehicles.

9. The Fast And The Furious (2001)

• Fast Score: 6
• Furious Score: 4

It's the movie that started a whole franchise. Who knew when The Fast and the Furious came out in 2001 that it would become most one of the most defining film franchises in early 21st century cinema? This series started humbly as a blatant knock-off of Point Break but with fast cars, and while it doesn't quite get as extreme as any of the sequels that followed, it does get pretty fast. There are a lot of street races to be found, since that was the main draw here. Although, besides Paul Walker's Brian O'Connor's desire to stop the bad guys, this original doesn't get very furious — not yet, at least. Of course, as things got more intense as the series moved forward, the car-racing films had more opportunities to live up to their name. Total F&F score: 10/20

8. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

• Fast Score: 7
• Furious Score: 3

This is a classic example of the imbalance between being fast and being furious. While 2 Fast 2 Furious is most certainly fast, it doesn't quite live up to the second half of its title. For all its fast-paced car chase sequences and goofy, over-the-top racing antics, including a climatic chase sequence involving a lot of cop cars and plenty of vehicular damage, it doesn't get very furious in comparison. There aren't too many fights; they mostly keep the action between the high-speed racing and car chases. While it's by no means calm, to be clear, 2 Fast 2 Furious doesn't have enough furious emotions to warrant being called that "furious," let alone "too furious." Nevertheless, this high-octane driving sequel is definitely fast. Total F&F Score: 10/20

7. Fast & Furious (2009)

• Fast Score: 7
• Furious Score: 5

Bringing back the four leads from the original movie for another action-filled installment, Fast & Furious isn't as well-received nor is it as memorable as the sequels that follow, but it does get pretty fast. There are a number of action sequences and high-speed driving scenes abound, including a rescue sequences on a rocky terrain, that certainly drive up the fast factor, although it doesn't have as many furious scenes in comparison, with the exception of a fight scene between Paul Walker's Brian and Vin Diesel's Dom. In short, it was the drive-by point until we would get to the more heavy-duty sequels, and the fast moments and the furious moments don't stand out as much as they do in the first two films. As it stands, while it's safe to say Fast & Furious brings fast-paced moments throughout, the sequel doesn't nearly get as furious as you'd expect from its title. Total F&F Score: 12/20

6. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

• Fast Score: 8
• Furious Score: 5

While it doesn't get as much love as some of the other installments in the fast-moving franchise, which is a shame since it's probably one of the more underrated films in the series, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is pretty good about being both fast throughout its fast-paced runtime. Notably, in its sideways-driving cars and action-packed action sequences, it keeps things moving. While it's not quite as furious comparatively, the unjust death of one beloved character does fuel burning furious feelings, which gives the third act emotional gravitas as its races towards the high-adrenaline climax. Total F&F Score: 13/20

5. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

• Fast Score: 5
• Furious Score: 9

Similar to how 2 Fast 2 Furious is much more fast than furious, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is much more furious than fast. While there are a few fast-paced action sequences, the spin-off action-comedy is often centered around our two title characters, who are positively furious with one another. In fact, Hobbs & Shaw is based on two characters who, after despising each other for two previous films, must eventually put aside their differences in order to work with each other (assuming that they can, of course). When these two buff dudes team-up, a whole lot of furious fighting ensues from there. While The Rock/Jason Statham spin-off can be fast in key moments, the furious meter on Hobbs & Shaw is nearly off-the-charts. Total F&F Score: 14/20

4. Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

• Fast Score: 8
• Furious Score: 6

Following the critical surprise success of Fast Five, proving the action-franchise had serious potential to be a critical darling in addition to being a box office draw, Fast & Furious 6 had some serious expectations, and it mostly met them. Indeed, the action needed to be bigger and more intense, and it needed to bring out the emotions as well, which it does in frequent rotation. Thankfully, the action is highly thrilling, notably with a rousing highway chase sequence that defies all known laws of gravity. Once again, we find ourselves with a sequel that is more fast than furious (we take it you noticed this trend?), but it gets plenty fast and it also gets plenty furious as well as it races towards another satisfying new installment. Total F&F Score: /20

2. Furious 7 (2015)

• Fast Score: 8
• Furious Score: 6

Furious 7 is often considered one of the best movies in the Fast & Furious franchise, not the least of which comes from its emotional ending. Indeed, the tragic circumstances of Paul Walker's death gives the movie a sense of melancholy throughout, which is often affecting but doesn't making it quite so furious. That said, there are furious moments to be found, notably with The Rock engaging in a fist fight with Jason Statham and Vin Diesel having his own combat moment in a parking lot. Likewise, the movie is filled with high-speed action sequences throughout, which certainly makes it fast. But when it comes time to end the film, Furious 7 slows down appropriately as it's filled with bittersweet feelings of tender love and somber remembrance. Total F&F Score: 14/20

3. The Fate Of The Furious (2017)

• Fast Score: 7
• Furious Score: 8

While it has its sharp critics (not me among them), The Fate of the Furious is ultimately pretty good about being both fast and furious. It features a good number of fast-moving action sequences, CG-addled though they might be, and there's a lot of furious moments as well, not the least of which results from the growing feud between Vin Diesel and The Rock happening off-screen in the well-reported "candy ass" debacle of 2016. This seven sequel also features the rivalry between The Rock's Hobbs and Jason Statham's Shaw, which would foster its own spin-off movie in an effort from The Rock to distance himself from working with Diesel again. Unless, of course, this furious co-stars can eventually find a way to work together in the near future. Total F&F Score: 15/20

1. Fast Five (2011)

• Fast Score: 10
• Furious Score: 7

In a surprise turn of events, Fast Five became an unexpected critical hit in addition to being a box office favorite but bringing the characters of the past four installments together to make a thrilling heist picture with more fast-moving vehicles. The results were astoundingly successful, resulting in what could easily be considered the fastest movie in the Fast & Furious film franchise. There are no shortage of action-packed moments, particularly in its high adrenaline third act, which really put the petal to the medal and give audiences a game-changer of a sequel. While it doesn't have quite as many combat moments to justify being considered very furious, there's little doubt this fourth Fast & Furious sequel delivered the good — in fast fashion too. Total F&F Score: 17/20

As it is made apparent here, the Fast & Furious franchise is better at being fast than it is furious. While the later installments have definitely gone out of their way to keep the furious factor in check, it has sometimes come at the sacrifice of being fast, which was where the series traditionally excelled. In any case, when it comes time for Fast & Furious 9 to make its way into theaters this summer, we're hoping that the newest action-packed installment is able to keep things both fast and furious in equal measure. If not, there's always the tenth to look forward to later on. Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of how ultimately "fast" and "furious" these Fast & Furious films can be? Let us know in the comments!

He's back! Fans were thrilled at the surprise return of Han Lue at the end of the first F9 trailer, but no one was more excited than Fast and Furious actor Sung Kang. We thought Han was dead, killed by none other than Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw, as revealed in Justin Lin's previous Fast movie, Fast & Furious 6.

Since Han's death, fans have been calling for #JusticeForHan. Sung Kang opened up on the movement to bring him back and how it feels to be back. He also teased a little bit about what we can expect from Han's return in F9.

That's what Sung Kang told the L.A. Times before his appearance at the January 31 trailer concert event in Miami.

As for how he and director Justin Lin approached bringing back Han in F9, here's what Sung Kang was willing to tease:

Sung Kang wouldn't reveal the big question of HOW Han is back, but he did tell the L.A. Times that everything ties back to the Fast franchise's theme of "family."

Agreed! And speaking of justice, Sung Kang initially didn't seem to think anything would come of #JusticeForHan. Then there was the Shaw twist:

Yeah, bringing Shaw into the family after what he did to Han never sat right with fans. Hobbs & Shaw had a throwaway line where Shaw said, "There’s things I’ve done that I have to make amends for." Screenwriter Chris Morgan told the L.A. Times, "That is specifically referring to Han." That wasn't enough for fans, but Morgan did tease more to come with this response to the #JusticeForHan movement:

Maybe fans won't want justice for Han if Han is alive and well? That twist will have to be explained -- and hopefully not in a way that's too bonkers. Then again, this is a franchise that just held a trailer premiere concert event in Miami, so "bonkers" is pretty much its brand.

Director Justin Lin already got fans primed for #JusticeForHan when he was spotted wearing a T-shirt with the slogan while on the Fast and Furious 9 set. After the trailer came out to reveal Han's surprise return, he explained why F9 is bringing back Han. Here's one part of his response:

Grow and evolve -- do you think they are going to try to find some way to get Shaw and Han on the same side, through a tie of family? The F9 trailer didn't just reveal Han's return, it also introduced John Cena's new character as Jakob Toretto, brother of Dominic Toretto (and Mia too, or...?). Apparently Dom and Jakob have bad blood and I guess we'll find out why.

F9 is also bringing back The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift's Lucas Black as Sean Boswell. Black posted a little video on Instagram, noting, "It was great to reunite with Justin Lin and Sung Kang."

F9 also gave Han his own poster, which Sung Kang shared on Instagram with #JusticeForHan. Mia Toretto actress Jordana Brewster also shared the poster, with the tagline "Justice Is Coming"...

Sung Kang shared a comment on Jordana Brewster's post:

It sounds cheesy to keep calling the Fast and Furious stars a family, but they do seem to act that way. (They even fight like family when they have their feuds, then try to make up later.)

I'm curious to know how Han is returning, but I'm also thinking that mystery won't be solved until F9 hits theaters on May 22, 2020.

The Fast and the Furious has never been what you might call, serious. Even before the movies were about outrunning submarines and draging bank safes behind muscle cars, the movies were about street racers who were also stealing DVD players off trucks. These movies have always been a little silly. Hell, since the franchise really embraced its over the top nature its found even more success, with the most recent films clearing the billion dollar mark at the global box office, but I'm afraid that with the ninth entry n the series, The Fast and the Furious may have finally gone too far. The teaser trailer released earlier this week revealed something that simply cannot stand.

No, it's not that "quarter mile a time" Dominic Toretto has settled down and become...a dad. It's the title. Something has got to be done about the titles in this franchise.

The name of the ninth installment in the storied Fast and Furious series is...F9. No, that's not short for something. It's not Fast 9. It's not Furious 9. It's not Fast & Furious 9. It's not even The Fnine of the Furious. It's really just F9. Like that button your keyboard that you never use. I'm not sure why i expected anything less, of all the heists this franchise has pulled off, nothing has been quite as brazen as the way it titles its films.

The Fast and the Furious

The first film in the series is literally the only one that's title isn't at least a little bit ridiculous. It's over the top and bombastic, to be sure, but that's part of the point. The movie is about street racers being both fast, and also furious, because they're macho dudes so they're angry all the time.. At least it tells you what the movie is about. It's really the only time that the title doesn't try to be too cute by half. The only problem with it is that because the all the movies that followed it went completely bonkers with naming, it's less clear what you're even getting. My digital copy of the film on Movies Anywhere actually labels it The Fast and the Furious: The Original because it has to. Otherwise, new viewers won't know which movie is the first one. You certainly can't tell from the titles.

2 Fast 2 Furious

2 Fast 2 Furious has to be the result of a screenwriter throwing in a funny working title at the beginning of the writing process, with every intention of replacing it once the script is complete. Unfortunately, it seems everybody just got busy and never went back to replace the title page and then the marketing department spent a lot of money and it was all too late. Or should I say 2 late. It's the sequel, which means that it needs to be more fast and more furious than the original, but it's also part two (groan). It's far from the only series to throw the number two in place of another form of the word. Has it ever worked? Somebody please tell Coming 2 America this while there's still time.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift has become the punchline of the franchise from a title perspective. It's very much an outlier, without either of the main characters from the first two movies. Tokyo Drift has become a joke, a phrase you throw on the end of any newly proposed movie sequel if somebody else beat you to using Electric Boogaloo. But you know what, it's actually the second least ridiculous title in the franchise. It's a movie that takes place in Japan and it focuses on drift racing. At least it tells you what it is, and without trying to be cute about it.

Fast & Furious

Part four is when things really start to go off the rails. The official title of this movie is really Fast & Furious. It's the same title as the first movie, just without the definite articles. This was probably done because it was the first movie since the first one to bring back all of the original cast members, so they wanted to remind people of that film, but all it really does is confuse things. Is this the first one, or is the other one with the nearly identical title the first one? The franchise maybe could have gotten away with using this title for the last installment, as a sort of book end, but here, it's just nothing.

Fast 5

For a lot of fans, Fast 5 is where this franchise really got traction (racing joke). Whether it was simply the adding of Dwayne Johnson to the cast, or the general feeling that the series had decided to stop pretending it wasn't basically a live-action cartoon, who knows? The title certainly helped. The franchise has been around for a while now. We all know what is is, so we can shorthand it, Fast 5. It's even got alliteration. If future films just followed the lead of this one, we'd be fine. 

Narrator: They did not.

Fast & Furious 6

I don't even know what to call the sixth movie in the series because the movie itself doesn't even know what it's called. In the lead up to the release of the film all the material was calling it Fast & Furious 6. That's the title we saw in trailers and on posters. It seemed so simple, the sixth movie is actually just called Fast & Furious 6? What's the catch? The catch is that when you sat down to actually watch the movie, the title that flashed on screen called the movie Furious 6. I'm sure there were discussions about what to call it, and Furious 6 following Fast 5, isn't a terrible idea, but apparently the marketing team and the graphics company building the opening titles got different memos.

Furious 7

Maybe because part six hadn't officially been called Furious 6, it was decided that part seven could go ahead and use that name. Certainly, calling two movies in a row anything vaguely similar is simply not an option in this franchise. The one thing this did seem to do was maybe give the impression that odd numbered films in this series would have vaguely sane titles. So much for that idea.

The Fate of the Furious

You see, it's good because the word Fate and the marketing hashtag F8 sound the same, and this is the eighth movie in the franchise (sob!) I'm honestly shocked they didn't actually title the film The F8 of the Furious. I have to believe somebody wanted that title and this was the fallback. I mean, it wasn't ever planned to be the last movie in the series, so this wasn't going to be anybody's fate.

F9

And that brings us here. Apparently the F8 hashtag thing worked so well, they just decided to cut out the middleman and literally name the new movie F9. I'm not even sure how to pronounce this. Are we really supposed to say F-9, or is in like Fate and we're calling it Fnine? Did somebody decide that The Fate of the Furious simply had two many characters, so we're over correcting? Maybe there's a subtitle that we'll learn when we see the trailer that will make this seem less insane.

And there's going to be at least one more of these things. What in the world do you call the tenth Fast & Furious movie when this is what you've done with the previous nine? There is literally no telling what we're in for.

With eight movies in the franchise and a brand new spinoff doing so well in theaters that more are likely on the way, the Fast and Furious series has become incredibly popular with audiences. The movies make a billion dollars a pop and with each ensuing entry the stakes and the stunts only get raised.

While the first Fast and Furious movie was a pretty straightforward movie about illegal street racing, things have gotten progressively out of hand since then. The highlight of each film is, of course, the stunt-driving action, but it's possible that the need to continually impress the audience has resulted in the franchise losing pretty much all touch with reality. Not that this is a problem or, of course, that it was ever actually aiming to be in touch with reality to start with. While normally, we'd do a nice, well-rounded, top ten here, there have only nine Fast & Furious movies, so I've taken the craziest moment from each film, and ranked them accordingly. Here are the most exaggerated, insane, and just plain bonkers moments from the Fast and Furious franchise.

9. The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift - "Winner Gets Me"

Nobody would accuse the Fast and Furious franchise of being the most culturally progressive movie franchise in history. The representation of women in the series has sometimes been a little problematic and even the women who are in the movies are aware of that, but the franchise hit a low point with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Two school rivals get into it with the trash talk and they decide to settle it with a race. The stakes? The girlfriend of one competitor, who is maybe interested in the other, makes herself the prize. Moments like this pop up in a lot of movies throughout history, but Tokyo Drift is from 2006, surely even then we were beyond this. The moment has nothing to do with insane stunts or an utter disregard for physics, but it's just as laugh-out-loud hilarious. But bet you haven't forgotten it.

8. The Fast and the Furious - The World's Longest Quarter Mile

In the grand scheme of things, the original The Fast and the Furious is downright sane. It has street racers performing grand theft at high speed, but whatever. However, the movie does get a little more unbelievable at the end. If only because the final race between Dom and Brian is supposed to be only a quarter of a mile long, and yet, it takes these two street racers, who are absolutely flooring it, a good two minutes to travel that quarter mile.

If they were really only going a quarter mile they would have crossed the tracks without ever noticing the train was coming. At the speed they actually appear to be going they should have both driven into the side of the train.

7. 2 Fast 2 Furious - Breaking Into Impound

The first sequel in the franchise is already full of outlandish moments. 2 Fast 2 Furious' The bridge jump where Brian's car goes over another car while they're both in midair, and the finale jump onto a yacht with a Camero, are both completely implausible if not outright impossible, but the moment from the movie that I can't stop looking at is a very different scene.

Early in the movie Brian and his buddy Roman break into a police impound yard to steal a package from an impounded car. How do they break in? They just crash through the front gate. On a police impound lot. There's clearly a large bollard stuck in the ground between the two halves of the gate, and yet, it's apparently not actually driven into the ground, because if it were, it would have ended up stuck in the middle of Brian's engine block.

6. Fast And Furious - Tanker Heist

The opening of Fast and Furious is probably the highlight of the movie. The team robs a tanker truck of its cargo by hitching up their own trucks and basically just driving away, hopefully without the driver knowing what is happening.

While the exact speed that all this is happening at is unclear, the tanker is certainly capable of freeway speeds and isn't going slow. This becomes a problem as Dom's team has to drive their trucks backwards in order to latch on. Most vehicles aren't actually capable of going all that fast backwards. Add to this the precision required to keep from causing a massive accident if the tanker accidentally jackknifes the trucks that are attached to it, and the whole this is just too silly to believe.

5. Furious 7 - House Explosion

I had several candidates for the most ridiculous moment from Furious 7, jumping a car between two skyscrapers was certainly up there, but, honestly, by the time we get there, so many crazy things have happened in the film. Instead, I'm going with a much simpler moment: The destruction of Dom's house.

Think about the pinpoint accuracy that would be required to place a bomb in a shipping box, then put it in just the right spot on Dom's front porch, so as to destroy his house completely, and yet, do essentially no damage to the surrounding buildings. Nobody else's house catches fire from the explosion. Nobody else is apparently hurt. If was awfully nice of the villain to direct the explosion in such a way to prevent collateral damage. Maybe that's why Jason Statham gets to be a good guy now.

4. The Fate Of The Furious - Torpedo Diversion

We might be numb to the insanity of your average Fast and Furious movie by the end, but sometimes the end then goes and does something so off-the-charts bonkers that it still blows you away. The Fate of the Furious decided that the tank of Fast and Furious 7 wasn't nearly impressive enough, as this movie has the family take on a submarine.

Of course, things get even crazier when said submarine fires a torpedo at our heroes, and Dwayne Johnson then takes it upon himself to physically divert the torpedo along its trajectory, by simply driving alongside it and pushing it away (because all this is happening on top of a layer of ice, you see).

3. Fast Five - Bus Crash

While the first four Fast and Furious movies have some ridiculous moments, it was really in Fast Five that the franchise realized it could do so much more if it didn't even try to pretend to be serious. It's actually the reason this is probably still the best movie in the franchise.

While it's easy to look toward the safe heist, where two muscle cars drag a bank vault through the streets, as the most ridiculous part of this movie, no moment is so out of control hilarious as when Brian, driving Dom's car, stops short in front of a prison bus transport, and, instead of being run over as he should, he causes the bus to flip, completely over his car. Somehow, this was the plan and he didn't kill Dom, himself, or anybody else in the bus.

2. Hobbs & Shaw - The Rock Pulls Down a Helicopter

You don't actually need to have seen the new Fast and Furious spinoff to know what insane shit this movie gets up to. The studio used it to sell the movie. The trailer for the movie itself includes a sequence where Dwayne Johnson lassos a helicopter with a chain and then attempts to pull it down with his bare hands.

While it turns out Dwayne Johnson only holds on to the chain attached to the helicopter for a brief moment, that moment is probably still honestly enough to rip the man's arm off. Outlandish. Perfect for #2.

1. Fast and Furious 6 - This Physics-Defying Jump

If you've seen the movie, you know exactly what I'm referring to here. There's nothing else to call it. The finale sequence of Fast and Furious 6, which includes Luke Evans driving an actual tank down the freeway, would probably have made this list anyway, but there's a single a moment in this final chase where Dominic Torreto jumps out of the window of the car he is driving, flies through the air, and catches Letty, who has been thrown from the previously mentioned tank and is headed for the ravine below the divided freeway.

He catches her, his momentum somehow completely overpowers hers, pushing them both to safety, and somehow, when they both crash into the windshield of another car, neither of them is killed by the impact alone.

The Fast and Furious movies are nuts. They're full of the improbable, the impossible, and the absolutely ludicrous. But then again, if they weren't, we probably wouldn't love them nearly as much.

The Fast and Furious franchise is one of the most popular franchises in Hollywood, and it doesn't take long into one movie to understand why. Big budgets are blown on fast cars, heart-pounding action and exotic locales, and each installment seems to be even bigger than the last. We're even at a point where spinoffs are happening, as Hobbs and Shaw is set to premiere later this summer.

When a franchise is so successful and as loved as the Fast and Furious, fans look past or forget some of the weird things that happen in these films. I'm not saying they're bad, stupid or even problematic, but it's safe to say there's a lot that happens regularly in this cinematic universe audiences tend to accept even though that's not how things fly in real life. There are plenty of examples, but here are some big ones that stand out.

Fast And Furious Characters Regularly Exhibit Insane Feats Of Strength

It's kind of funny that Hobbs and Shaw will introduce strength-enhancing suits to the Fast and Furious franchise, as the movies have already established one doesn't need one to exhibit superhuman strength. Like, remember that time when Dom lifted a car in Furious 7 so Brian could get underneath it? What about when Hobbs obliterated an interrogation room throwing a criminal through walls and the ceiling?

Hobbs actual exhibits superhuman strength a lot, as Fast and Furious has gone to some pretty extreme lengths to show he's strong. Flexing his broken arm out of a cast was pretty damn impressive, but what about when he used his concrete cell wall as a punching bag while he was in prison in The Fate of the Furious? He did absolutely no damage to his hands, and even managed to run through a horde of prison guards shortly after.

The Characters Converse In Separate Cars And Shouldn't Be Able To Hear Each Other

This weirdness is primarily seen in the early Fast and Furious franchise, and seemed to stop around Fast & Furious 6 when someone thought to give the characters walkie talkies. Before that, however, one will regularly notice characters taunting each other and engaging in dialogue during a race, despite the fact that there's no established way either one can hear each other.

Now, one may say "well they used Bluetooth," and that's something I tried to justify until I found out Bluetooth wasn't a standardized feature in cars until 2010. Now, no doubt Dom and crew had the wits and know-how to get a hold of the tech and get it installed, but then we have to assume each mission/race started with everyone getting together for some massive three-way call situation just to talk shit. Again, it's not unbelievable, but not realistic.

A Chunk Of International Incidents Can Be Solved With Expensive Cars

The Fast and Furious universe has seen its fair share of disasters that Dom and his crew weren't up to the task for, I'm sure, but to think that they've been needed for so many jobs these past two decades is just insane. At what point does a villain just dedicate their time to creating a fortress that can't be accessed by vehicles?

Granted, that's a pretty tough task considering the franchise has had its heroes drive across skyscrapers, over ice and through forests. Hell, they've even air-dropped into locations, so unless the villain is hanging out on some densely forested remote island, Dom and his crew has a good shot at being tasked with taking them down. Cars are a big part of this franchise, of course, but is there ever going to be a situation where they can't use them?

The Casualties In Fast And Furious Films Are Numerous

One thing The Fast and Furious films often skirt around is that as successful as Dominic Toretto and his crew often are, they tend to leave quite the body count in their wake. Bad guys are a given, and while we don't know much about the faceless minions that hang out with dastardly villains like Owen Shaw, we can assume they deserve it.

But like, what about the scores of police officers and special agents that have their cars destroyed in the early films? Are we to assume they walked away like Dom and Jason Statham's Shaw did when they rammed each head on going top speed during a game of chicken? For as many bad guys as these characters have killed, a close eye may notice they've inadvertently killed quite a few innocent bystanders as well with little acknowledgement after the fact.

Jumping Into Moving Cars Apparently Always Works

By this point in the franchise, nearly every character in the Fast and Furious movies has had to jump from one moving object into a car. It's typically a vital situation of life or death, and to the credit of the characters, there's little reason not to considering they all have a 100% success rate in performing the action.

In case it needs to be said, jumping into a car is an incredibly dangerous feat, and probably shouldn't be the go-to option for anyone needing to escape a vehicle/locomotive/giant plane. In fact, there's a couple times in the movies where a simple tuck and roll to the ground may have been the better call. It certainly would've been when O'Conner dove from that train into Dom's car, which then drove off a cliff into the river below.

People Constantly Joke About Roman's Big Head, Which Is Pretty Average

Tyrese Gibson's Roman is often the butt of the joke throughout a lot of The Fast And Furious movies, and is frequently insulted by other members of the crew. Around Fast Five, Tej made fun of him for having a big head, and that's an insult that's interchangeably been brought up between jokes about his stupidity or cowardice.

Here's the thing though, Roman's head is very clearly the same size as many of the other characters in the Fast and Furious world. So either everyone else has a big head that everyone else chooses to ignore, or everyone has a normal sized head and the whole big-headed insults are lame disses that don't even make sense. Audiences can decide for themselves which is true, but let's maybe ease up on calling Roman big head in future movies.

Characters Are Frequently Experts At Whatever They Need To Be For A Situation

Remember when Tej used to organize street races in Miami, and now he's a tech expert/safe cracker/martial artist? Hey, respect to him for being so diverse in his skill set, but he's a classic example of how characters in Dom's crew all have one specific skill, until a scene comes up where the expert is occupied and whoever is there has to do it.

Everyone is a capable fighter, marksman, driver and perhaps with the exception of hacking, everything else that any other character is known for. They're all essentially miniature Dominic Torettos, with Dom of course being the ultimate Dominic Toretto. It's handy considering it means most every member is capable of having their own spinoff, and remarkably convenient considering these seemingly normal people are all so damn talented.

Fast And Furious 9: What We Know So Far

Are there any other weird things about The Fast and Furious franchise that need to be called out? Mention it in the comments below and continue to stick with CinemaBlend for all the latest news in movies and television.

Warning: SPOILERS for the Fast and Furious movies are in play. Just in case you haven’t seen them, you can read the order of how the films play out chronologically, and then come back later once you’ve experienced the series in its entirety.

We’re in an interesting juncture in the Fast and Furious franchise, as we won’t be seeing the ninth film in the series proper until next year. This is despite the fact that The Fate of the Furious was unleashed upon the world in 2017, and while we’re all on board with good things coming to those who wait, we’re anxious to see what happens next.

That being said, there is some excitement on the horizon in the world of this supercharged franchise, as Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw will be holding court in their own blockbuster spin-off, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw. And while you probably won’t need to see the films that came before this one in the series proper to truly enjoy it, it’s a long wait until August, and it certainly couldn’t hurt.

It also doesn’t help that the titles to the Fast and Furious films don’t exactly spell out the proper viewing order. So once and for all, in the name of franchise fans new and old, we’d like to nail down the correct order for your next Fast and Furious movie binge. Buckle up, because not only is it time for driving puns, it’s time to live your life in the name of family, a quarter mile at a time. Let's start off by laying out the Fast and Furious movies in order of how they were released.

The Fast And The Furious (2001)

The starting line for the franchise, The Fast and the Furious was inspired by real life street races and a Vice article that covered their existence. This might come as a shock to people who tend to remember the more recent films better, but Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner and Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto started out as adversaries on opposite sides of the law.

Brian at this point is an undercover cop who's trying to send Dom and his family up the river through an extensive sting operation. However, by the end of the film, both are brothers in arms and ready to start an entire franchise of action. At least, that was the eventual intent, as there would be two sequels that would try to redefine the formula of the series without Vin Diesel’s contributions.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

With the focus put on Brian O’Conner this time out, Paul Walker was the central lead for 2 Fast 2 Furious. As such, there was a need to explore a new setting with Miami, as well as introduce a couple new characters to aid in his investigation of a local drug lord. Which, of course, involves some fast street racing through various Florida based locations.

The second of the Fast and Furious movies, 2 Fast 2 Furious introduced two characters that would eventually return to the series fold down the line: Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce, and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges’ Tej Parker. They won’t be seen for a couple more films though, as another huge shift is about to take place in the Fast and Furious universe.

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

As if 2 Fast 2 Furious’ problem of having a lack of Vin Diesel wasn’t bad enough, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift lacked any significant participation from any of the series’ lead actors. This prompted an entirely new story to be told, through even more new characters. Introducing Lucas Black’s Sean Boswell and Sung Kang’s Han Lue into the series, the film tells the story of Sean being forced to move to Tokyo after getting into some legal trouble with some fast cars back in the U.S.

With Sean’s introduction to drift racing on the streets of Tokyo, the fast paced excitement of Fast and Furious franchise history had finally gone global, introducing new characters that would return later down the line in the series’ history. Han would become an especially crucial member to the team in subsequent films, despite his character meeting a fiery death in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. And while it wasn’t a significant role, Vin Diesel does return as Dom at the very end of the film, tying this installment even tighter to series continuity, as well as presenting another chronological problem.

Fast And Furious (2009)

Eight years after the original adventures of The Fast and the Furious, the franchise started to hit the stride that it currently enjoys with its run of films. Pretty much the entire original cast of that first film is back, though the plot of this fourth film, strangely titled Fast and Furious, sees the death of Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty kick off a quest for vengeance on the part of Dom and Brian.

Bringing back Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster for the first time since they starred in The Fast and the Furious, Sung Kang’s Han Lue is folded into the overarching group in Fast and Furious, with Gal Gadot also being brought in as Gisele, one of Dom’s substitute love interests while Letty is out of the picture. From this point on, while some characters would shift in and out of the group, the core cast of Diesel, Walker and Brewster would remain for a while, with some new friends to be added along the way.

Fast Five (2011)

After tangling with drug cartels and organized crime through the power of street racing for four straight films, the Fast and Furious movies were about to take a hard left into the heist genre. Dom, Brian, and the gang would solidify into a cohesive unit, tying together even more of the series’ rogues gallery into the team on Fast Five’s mission to rob a Brazilian crime lord blind.

Returning to the group in Fast Five are Han Lue, as well as Tyrese Gibson’s Roman, Chris Bridges’ Tej and Gal Gadot’s Gisele; and in the role of Dom’s latest romantic person of interest was Elsa Pataky’s Elena. But perhaps the greatest addition this time out was in the film’s law bound antagonist and later ally to the Toretto family team, DSS agent Luke Hobbs. With Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson making an explosive entry into the series with this film, things would truly never be the same.

Fast And Furious 6 (2013)

Remember how Letty supposedly died two films back? Surprise, she’s still alive! Michelle Rodriguez returned in Fast and Furious 6 as an associate to the film’s villain, ex-MI6 agent-turned heel Owen Shaw. Played by Luke Evans, Owen’s inclusion would allow the Fast and Furious movies to tap a new vein of antagonists that would turn teammates with the Shaw family.

Fast and Furious 6 also continued the series’ evolution from a street racing franchise into one that involved high-tech espionage and big ticket thievery. Needless to say, Dom, Brian and Mia all return, as well as Roman, Tej, Han and Hobbs. Though the mid-credits sequence of this film does put Han’s story to a final end, as his fatal accident is refolded into canon with a new assailant responsible for his death: Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, looking for revenge after the team’s foiling of Owen’s plot in Fast and Furious 6.

Furious 7 (2015)

Properly introducing the character of Deckard Shaw into the Fast and Furious series, Furious 7 saw the brother of the now comatose Owen Shaw coming not only vengeance, but also for a rather shady piece of technology that could be a surveillance nightmare if in the wrong hands. For the last time, we see poor Han’s death through a fiery wreck, and for the first time we see Kurt Russell’s cool as ice DSS handler, code-named Mr. Nobody.

Furious 7 also ties up some loose ends with the re-introduction of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’s Sean Boswell, setting him up for further films down the line of the franchise. Sadly, this would also be the final appearance of Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner, as Walker's untimely death in an automobile accident prompted those behind the series’ story to retire the character at the end of this film.

The Fate Of The Furious (2017)

The last film in the line of proper entries to the Fast and Furious franchise, The Fate of the Furious sees Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto breaking bad, under the influence of Charlize Theron’s new baddie Cipher. Apparently the mastermind behind turning Owen Shaw in Fast and Furious 6, her efforts have been behind each major threat through the last two films, with her aim being to cause irrevocable global chaos.

Returning to fight alongside the rest of Dom’s team are Dwayne Johnson’s DSS Agent Luke Hobbs, as well as Jason Statham’s controversial addition to the hero roster, Deckard Shaw; the two members of the Fast and Furious movie team that would go on to have their own spinoff in this summer’s Hobbs and Shaw. While Dom does return to the side of good, it comes at the cost of Elsa Pataky’s Elena, who is killed in the line of duty by Cipher.

With the full rundown of the Fast and Furious movies now complete, it’s time to think real hard about what order to watch them in. Because believe it or not, with one quick alteration, the story makes so much more sense in the long run. even if the real world timing doesn’t exactly work out in its favor.

The Right Order To Watch The Fast And Furious Movies In

If you want to experience the Fast and Furious movies in the right order, there’s only one movie that needs to be shifted in place. While technically running as the third film in the chronological order, you can take The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift and slot it in before Furious 7 in your watching order. This not only puts Han’s death into proper context, it also leads straight into the seventh film’s integration of the event into its own storyline.

Alternatively, if you really wanted to, you could drop the film out of your watching order altogether. Not only would this leave Lucas Black’s Sean Boswell with a clean slate for his eventual return to the Fast and Furious movies, it wouldn’t impact the storyline all that much as all the vital components are already wound into the series’ narrative through Fast and Furious 6 and Furious 7’s storylines.

We hope that this crash course in Fast and Furious history has helped you figure out which order to watch the franchise in, as well as the correct order in terms of chronological release. Who knows, you might be quizzed on the titles and their running orders at a bar quiz in the near future. Or a friend might trust you to set them straight on how The Fast and the Furious started it all, but it took the film three sequels to get Fast and Furious.

The point is, the information you need to navigate this high velocity thrill ride of a franchise is right at your fingertips, and now you’ll never need to worry about whether or not you’re watching the Fast and Furious movies correctly.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking forward to Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, you’ll only have to wait until August 2 to see that particular end result. Though should you want to get some action into your movie watching lineup before then, take a look at our 2019 release schedule to see what else is waiting on the road to August.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains massive spoilers for The Fate of the Furious. If you have not yet seen the film, please bookmark this page, and return to it after your screening!

In case you haven't heard, there is a certain word that has been used for many years to explain the key theme of the Fast and Furious movies: family. No matter how big the action gets, or how many countries the lead ensemble travels to, the core of the films is meant to be Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) willing to put everything on the line for those closest to him. In the latest chapter of the series, The Fate of the Furious, this idea is directly challenged, but not only because Dom finds himself nearly killing all of people he loves. It's also because the film bafflingly pretends that Sung Kang's Han Seoul-Oh -- a key character in four of the sequels -- never existed.

With the exception of the Vin Diesel cameo, Han spent a long time as the primary link between the events of The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift and the rest of the franchise -- but that was also a period he spent as a "doomed" character. Han actually dies during the events of the third chapter in the series, but because that narrative was set after the events of Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fast & Furious 6, he was given time on screen to become a central member of Dominic Toretto's family. You'd think that all this history would mean something to the group, but it doesn't seem that way watching The Fate of the Furious, given that Dom never for a moment hesitates about teaming up with Han's killer, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham).

While the eighth Fast & Furious movie highlights its "Han problem," it's actually an issue that has been with the franchise since Furious 7. With Deckard killing Han being featured at the very end of Fast & Furious 6, the aftermath is left to be dealt with by the next film... but it doesn't really do a satisfactory job. There is a funeral sequence with the "family" members in attendance, but once that is over and done with, the film hastily moves forward with its international adventure and never looks back. Certainly one factor playing into this choice must have been the death of Paul Walker -- which required Furious 7 to dedicate its ending as a send-off for Brian, but the issue gets much, much worse in The Fate of the Furious.

From a macro perspective, it's bad enough that Han isn't mentioned by name once in The Fate of the Furious' 136 minute runtime, but the narrative progression makes things a whole lot worse. When Deckard Shaw is introduced in the new movie, it is as an antagonist... but only because of the throw down between him and Dwayne Johnson's Luke Hobbs in the previous movie. Hobbs is plenty and understandably pissed that Shaw nearly killed both himself and his partner, and has a chip on his shoulder throughout the movie as a result (mind you his personal issues don't really involve Han) -- but the same can't be said for any other member of the main cast. Not only is there extremely limited protest from Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges), or Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), but Dom formulates an entire plan around getting Shaw to help out with his personal mission. How did all of these people completely forget that the guy killed one of their best friends?

The Fate of the Furious really rubs it in with the last scene of the film, as Han's killer not only shows up for a family dinner, but does so carrying what has been established as the one thing in the world that can get Dom to betray all of his values. It's a set-up that presumably will allow Deckard Shaw to join the ensemble in their next adventure, but it's hard to see how the franchise does that without coming across as incredibly hypocritical. When we spoke with producer Neal Moritz about it recently, he had this to say:

Even if it is brought up in whatever the ninth movie is called, how do introduce the topic without it being incredibly awkward following The Fate of the Furious? Shaw will have every right to call out Dom as a phony for everything he did in the previous adventure, and it will still come across like Dom suddenly remembers how Han died. It's easy to see the appeal of having Jason Statham as a key member of the franchise going forward, but the series has also used him to dig a seriously big whole for itself.

The Fast & Furious franchise has become increasingly more insane as time goes on. Each successive film has tried to outdo its predecessor, but in doing so, they've simply built one ridiculous moment on top of another. It's no wonder that people are fully expecting Fast & Furious in Space! It's just about the only thing they could do to top the most recent stunts the series has pulled.

To list every ridiculous thing the Fast & Furious franchise has done over the years would mean we'd be here for a week. We simply don't have that sort of time, so we'll be focusing on the highlights of each film in the franchise. These moments aren't always the big stunt moments, and in a couple cases, they're not stunts at all. Not every ridiculous moment requires a high-speed car.

Stealing Gas From a Moving Truck

In Fast & Furious, the film opens with our outlaw heroes stealing gas from a moving tanker truck. This would probably just fall into just the "normal" ridiculous category, except that, in order to steal the tanks, they have to lock into the trailer hitch by dropping a hook perfectly into place from a moving car. Bullshit. Not only do they do this once, but they do it twice, perfectly. Even if we were to buy that precision, the idea that the truck driver wouldn't notice the weight that he's no longer hauling is insane.

Car vs. Boat

Most of the times that cars jump from point A to point B in these movies, its ridiculous. However, the jump onto a yacht with a car in 2 Fast 2 Furious is just that much more insane because it's jumping onto a moving target. The jump itself is crazy, but the idea that Brian would hit his target is just too improbable. One has to take into account the boat's speed, which must remain constant, factor in the car's speed, the angle of the jump and be sure that the boat will be in the place it needs to be when the car gets there. We have no evidence that anybody in these films is a math genius, but that jump would require one.

Everyone Carries Exactly $2,000 in Cash

The very first thing I noticed watching the first movie is that betting on street racing is easy. The city of Los Angeles has apparently standardized all bets to $2,000. It would be one thing if we were talking about a regularly scheduled street race with a normal buy-in but even when people do impromptu side-bets, they all have the exact amount of money necessary with a rubber band wrapped around it, and in the first movie that is always two grand. I suppose it's better than spending screen time counting out hundreds.

The Vault Chase

I'm no expert in cars. I have no idea what sorts of engines Brian and Dom's cars are supposed to have in Fast Five that gives the two cars the ability to pull a vault out of a wall and go cruising with it. I'll assume that such a move with the cars is at least theoretically possible. I'll assume that since the vault in question is supposed to be incredibly tough to break into that this means it is incredibly sturdy. There is a weak link in this equation though, and it's the cables. In addition to simply being hooked onto the side of the vault, the cables then proceed to crash into every damn thing on the road. While the vault gets swapped halfway through the chase, the same cables are used throughout. At some point, they would fail.

The World's Longest Quarter Mile

The finale of the first Fast and Furious race is a quarter mile drag between the two leads of the film. Dom challenges Brian to a quarter mile race from a particular stop light to a set of train tracks. When the light turns green, both men burn rubber from the start. After they've started racing, the railroad crossing lights start to flash. Lights which start long before any train would ever arrive there, and yet, both cars just barely make it across the tracks before the train kills them. It was only a quarter mile. A soccer mom in a minivan could have beaten that train if she felt it necessary.

A Girl Makes Herself A Prize

As the movie that is actually the most purely about racing in the franchise, and thus has less physics-defying B.S. going on, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift actually has less utterly ridiculous stuff happening. However, since we don't want to leave it off this list entirely, we're going to give that prize to this silly high school girl who decides to offer herself as a prize to the winner of a race. Who in the blue hell does that? We were totally expecting "Douchbag Boyfriend #1" to pull that move, as that's what usually happens in movies at moments like this. It's possibly the most unbelievable moment in the entire movie.

The Bus Flip

Fast Five opens up in the exact same place where the previous film closes, with Brian and his family taking down a prison transport bus in order to get Dom out. They succeed at doing it, but at the expense of the bus crashing and rolling multiple times down the road like a massive rolling pin. The only thing that saves Brian is that he is able to somehow time his speed so that when the bus makes a completely random and unprecedented bounce high in the air, his car can get underneath. Physics doesn't work that way.

This Fucking Jump

Nope. No. Fuck that noise.

One woman jumps from a moving tank. Then a guy throws his car into a wall in a way that allegedly gives him the momentum needed to jump across a gap in the freeway and catch the woman mid-air. Then they both crash into a windshield and somehow nobody dies. This is the single silliest thing that has ever happened in this franchise. It's so ridiculous that you get thrown out of the movie and don't even get to enjoy the spectacle of it.

House Explosion

We really need to hand it to Deckard Shaw. He's a considerate murderer. The explosive set on Dom's doorstep is perfectly designed to completely destroy Dom's house while leaving the surrounding neighborhood untouched. Dom's neighbor's house doesn't so much as catch fire, even though it's closer to the explosion than the workshop on the other side of the house which burns. This must have required careful calculation and also bomb placement. And since we know Deckard was in Tokyo at the time, then he must have had an accomplice place the bomb. Did anybody catch him? We need answers!

Brotherhood. Bravery. Car crashes. Courage. Fist fights. Family. The Fast and Furious franchise has been fueled by a number of fascinating components over the years, helping the engine-revving series to sustain incredible levels of energy for the past 16 years. Familiar faces have come and gone in the silver-screen's most action-packed soap opera, but the core group -- the "Family" -- has always found a way to stay together, to ride as one from each adventure to the next.

Tragically, that ride changed direction with the release of James Wan's Furious 7. As we all know, founding Fast & Furious father Paul Walker lost his life during the filming of the seventh Fast film. And while Wan was able to figure out a way to finish the movie, the Fast universe had to find new ways to movie forward. And that's where we are at now.

The Fate of the Furious continues the story after Furious 7, following Hobbs (The Rock), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and their team as they contend with a rogue Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel). I am updating our list of official Fast & Furious rankings, and I'm including Fate, so we will update its box office standings as time rolls on. The Fate of the Furious is said to start a new trilogy of films, so we expect this ranking list to grow and evolve over time. For now, this is where we think every Fast & Furious movie falls in line.

8. Fast & Furious

Released: April 3, 2009

RT Score: 28% Fresh

Global Box Office: $363 million

The fourth film in the Fast & Furious franchise could have sent the entire series down the drain. While earlier chapters like 2 Fast 2 Furious succumbed to camp, they at least could be chalked up as colorfully entertaining distractions. Justin Lin's Fast & Furious thought it had the distinct advantage of luring Vin Diesel back into the fold, but it forgot to give Dom (Vin Diesel) and O'Conner (Paul Walker) anything fun to play with. The opening sequence involving high-speed fuel tankers is memorably exhilarating, but the rest of the plot -- involving a somber drug runner (Robert Miano) and a race across the Mexican border -- is muddled and dull by Furious standards. No matter how many Fast movies they end up making, this likely will always be the series' lowest point. (We hope, anyway.)

7. 2 Fast 2 Furious

Released: June 6, 2003

RT Score: 36% Fresh

Global Box Office: $236 million

Easily the best title in the bunch, but not one of the best movies. John Singleton's 2 Fast 2 Furious shows what happens when producers mistakenly try to extend a popular brand but are unable to lure everyone back for a sequel. Paul Walker happily reprises his role of exiled law enforcement agent Brian O'Conner. Diesel, however, wanted to do other things. A different director, a shift to Miami, and only half of the macho combination that helped power the first movie led to diminished returns. However, 2 Fast gets credit for introducing both Tyrese and Ludacris -- new actors and crazy characters who would become integral to the franchise's future success. But that's about it.

6. The Fate of the Furious

Released: April 14, 2017

RT Score: 78% Fresh

Global Box Office: TBD

Yep, this is where F. Gary Gray's The Fate of the Furious falls, in my humble opinion. And there are a number of reasons why, but I don't want to ruin your experience with spoilers. So I'll leave it to this. Even by the exaggerated standards of the Fast & Furious franchise -- a series that allowed one of its characters to LEAP through multiple skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi -- the action set pieces and soap opera plot twists on display in Fate are cartoonish and silly. Splitting up the team was a mistake. Vin Diesel doesn't have enough range to capture the emotional turmoil of a rogue Dom. And most of the Jason Statham highlights look like recycled footage from a Crank or Transporter sequel. (You'll understand when you see them.) Because Fast & Furious operates like the Bond movies now, the next film easily could rebound. But there are far better movies that this in the anthology (as you will see).

5. Fast & Furious 6

Released: May 24, 2013

RT Score: 69% Fresh

Global Box Office: $788 million

Bigger isn't always better, which seems to be the lesson learned by Justin Lin as he tried to top the organic insanity of his incredible Fast Five. Furious 6 marks the point where the franchise finally embraces its roots as a long-running soap-opera story, with familiar characters coming back from the dead (Michelle Rodriguez returns as Letty, leading the gang to London to find out why she's back) and forbidden romances powering unnecessary sidebar plots. If anything, Furious 6 is remembered for the ludicrously long action finale on an airport runway that must stretch for miles. But the plot isn't memorable, The Rock is underused, and even a face-off between Dom's gang and a tank didn't have the stunt-sequence impact director Lin might have hoped for. This marks Lin's last turn in the Furious director's chair (for now).

4. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Released: June 16, 2006

RT Score: 37% Fresh

Global Box Office: $158 million

Tokyo Drift is a strange anomaly in Fast & Furious lore. At the time, it was a total reboot -- an effort to take the fast-cars motif of the original film and transfer it to an international location, with new characters (played by Lucas Black, Bow Wow and Sung Kang) following a different and seemingly unrelated story. But then Dom (Vin Diesel) showed up at the end of this movie. And Han (Kang) started contributing to subsequent Fast films -- even though, spoiler, he dies in a fiery wreck in this chapter. How was all of this possible? Answers eventually followed. Still, we couldn't dismiss Tokyo Drift as one-off junk, primarily because it had tons of attitude and admittedly ridiculous but energetic race car sequences... something fans of the series were clamoring for at the time. But the film's box-office disappointments convinced producers to throw dollars at Diesel and Walker to return -- and by the time the Drift timeline caught back up with Dom at the end of Furious 6, we realized just how important to the mythology this chapter ended up being. Plus, the race on the mountain is just badass.

3. The Fast and the Furious

Released: June 22, 2001

RT Score: 53% Fresh

Global Box Office: $207 million

I hear you. It's first in the series! How can it rank third?! Yes, the original gets huge bonus points for being first, as well as for establishing the blueprint that would power all subsequent movies. If you go back into each Fast & Furious movie as a standalone exercise, they all have the DNA of Rob Cohen's muscle-cars-and-crime thriller that supercharged summer audiences with his freestyling action sequences and incredible, bro-mantic cast chemistry. If Cohen doesn't go with Walker and Diesel in the original film, there's no way we're still talking about Fast 16 years later. However, the film might not hold up quite as strong as you remember -- it has a deep, cheesy 90s vibe despite its 2001 release date. And subsequent sequels improved on the formula. Still, it's the strong foundation upon which this series is built, and The Fast and the Furious deserves all the credit for kickstarting the fun.

2. Furious 7

Released: April 3, 2015

RT Score: 79% Fresh

Global Box Office: $1.5 billion

This movie shouldn't exist, let alone be as satisfying as it ended up being. As you know, Paul Walker died during the filming of this movie. Not on set, but still, in the middle of production. And the reality of the situation should have stopped the franchise in its tracks. The Fast & Furious series is all about family, and Walker was a Founding Father. But Vin Diesel fought to push on, and James Wan -- through the magic of movie making -- figured out a way to complete the movie and ALSO give Walker's character Brian some closure. Paul Walker aside, Furious 7 also wins huge points for bringing a spectacular villain into the fold with Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. It has brilliant set pieces, including a multi-car rescue mission (which begins with parachuting hot rods) and the aforementioned Abu Dhabi skyscraper jump. Furious 7 understands what works in a Fast movie, and performs all of it to the best of its ability. There's a reason this one crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box.

1. Fast Five

Released: April 29, 2011

RT Score: 77% Fresh

Global Box Office: $626 million

The best of the Fast & Furious bunch. The most pure, tough, macho, unapologetic installment of the franchise, and the one that you could bring ANYONE to -- regardless of how they felt about these movies -- and guarantee that they would have the time of their lives. The biggest reason for the unbridled success of Fast Five is the addition of "Franchise Viagra" Dwayne Johnson, who was the perfect foil to Dom, serving as the unstoppable force that runs right into Vin Diesel's immovable object. When they clash, it's like watching two Greek Gods going toe-to-toe. We all win. But the movie had the best pacing, the most eye-popping action sequences (the bank vault scene near the end of the film might be the coolest in the whole series), and I think every Fast film released in the post-Five era will be chasing the high that director Justin Lin injected directly into the veins of this already incredible series.

This poll is no longer available.

If you were to go back in time to 2001 and tell your past self that The Fast And The Furious movies would still be around almost two decades after the first film hit, your past would probably laugh. Admittedly, the first couple films were a bit rough, and definitely didn’t signal becoming the box office juggernaut that the series is now. Yet here we are, 14 years and seven films later, still begging for more.

With Furious 7 hitting theaters this weekend, now’s the perfect time to buckle up and rev up 10 memorable moments of high flying, adrenaline pumping, badassed vehicular carnage. These are the moments that we’ve raved about over the past 14 years, and they’re probably going to be the moments we’re talking about 14 years from now. They've got the coolest cars, the fastest speeds and the most danger behind them...

10. Dom Races A Train, Wins, Then Loses

Let’s get the harsh truth out of the way: as cool as The Fast And The Furious was, it was a very rough draft of the formula that the films successfully employ today. However, just because the car action was limited in the initial street racing format, doesn’t mean there weren’t some impressively close calls in the early days. The train race is one of those moments that built the Fast And Furious series’ reputation for speedy stunts, and Dom’s wipeout is just the destructive cherry on top.

9. Brian And Roman Catch A Ferry

While 2 Fast 2 Furious lost Vin Diesel’s Dom, it gained Tyrese Gibson’s Roman in his place. Along with the smooth talking egoist came a new found taste for outdoing the action of the past film’s intense street racing. It was a challenge that the film gladly accepted, as the climax featured a race between Brian and villain Carter Verone. While cars may not do their best work on the water, they sure as hell can fly if you know how to drive them.

8. Dom And Brian Exit A Burning Train, Skydive Off A Cliff

While trying to rip off three cars from the associate of a drug dealer, Dom and Brian hit one of their infamous snags in the plan at the beginning of Fast Five. With an armed lunatic on one end, a burning truck on the other, and a bridge rapidly approaching, Brian’s options for escape are limited. That is, until Dom jumps into action and rescues his best friend the only way he knows how… by gunning the engine and knowing how to time a jump.

7. Two Racers Drift Their Way Down A Mountain

While most fans of the franchise will easily dismiss The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift as the film they kind of discredit in the official canon, there are just as many who are ready to defend the under loved gem that kept the series in the game when both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker didn't headline the film. Just as The Fast And The Furious made street racing hot again, The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift made its audiences really want to learn how to drift… albeit, minus the harrowing cliffs seen in the sequence above.

6. Dom Races Out of the Nose of a Burning Plane

If there's any image that sums up Dominic Torretto and his tenacity to prevail, it's definitely this moment in Fast And Furious 6. After kicking Owen Shaw out of a crippled C130, it starts to look like Dom's done for as his options for escape are limited. Never fear, for this iron giant of racers and thieves has a plan after all, and it all hinges on the answer to one question: is it cooler to drive out the back of a burning aircraft, or to burst through the nose cone in spectacular fashion?

5. Dom Rescues Letty, An Exploding Tanker

When opening a film like Fast And Furious, you need a moment that’s going to really grab the audience. After a rousing oil tanker chase that puts Letty in massive danger, Dom rescues his lady love while putting them both between a rock and a hot place. With a fiery wreck barreling down on them, Dom thinks fast and times their escape just right. And by just right, we mean his car passes right under the wreck with the right amount of clearance to save their skins with only minimal roasting.

4. Skydiving, In Order To Catch A Speeding Bus

Is it too early to throw in some Furious 7 action into a series spanning countdown? Depending on who you talk to, it is. However, after seeing the latest entry into the almost two decades long/seven entries strong series, it's amazing that the franchise has the action and excitement of a much younger property. As if skydiving in a series of high end automobiles wasn't thrilling enough, the whole sequence turns into a road chase between Dom's team and a bunch of terrorist mercenaries. Still think it's too early to include the new stuff?

3. The Gang Attacks a Tank, As One Does

After the safe chase antics of Fast Five, how in the world was Fast And Furious 6 ever going to continue ramping up the stakes for us folks in the seats? Justin Lin took the advice of history itself and waged a war against his previous film with superior firepower. Lin’s weapon of choice this time around was a stolen tank, piloted by Luke Evans’ ex-military baddie Owen Shaw. After doing a fair amount of damage, the tank falls prey to a hastily improvised anchor and not only triggers an awesome car stunt, it also sets up an awesome mid-air catch between Dom and Letty.

2. Building to Building to Building in Dubai

The best damned stunt in the entirety of Furious 7 has to be, without a doubt, the tower jump sequence with the Lykan Hypersport jumping between three different towers with two high speed jumps. In a fun nod to the previously mentioned moment from 2 Fast 2 Furious, it's Brian's turn to freak out as Dom not only makes a temporary truce with his deep love for American muscle, he jumps those towers like a madman. Yet with its over the top moment of action, the Furious 7 sequence manages to thrill and impress instead of inspire a big old face palm.

1. Safe Driving With Brian and Dom

Could the top spot have gone to any other sequence in Fast And Furious history? Honestly, Fast Five redesigned the franchise into a hybrid of Ocean's Eleven thievery, Mission Impossible stunt work, and the flash and panache that made The Fast And The Furious such a long lasting franchise to begin with. Admit it: the moment the safe chase started, your jaw hit the floor and you were hooked. It's what's kept the franchise alive, and it's what's going to bring Furious 7 to glory this weekend. And it all wouldn't have been possible without this insane moment of wonder.

Torrents. A lot of people use them to watch what they wanna watch, and no one can really explain how they work. Science is the guess. Or magic. Perhaps an Asgardian combination of the two. You need certain programs. Maybe you need a tinfoil hat. Maybe your computer needs to be on steroids. Specifically the kind that baseball players use to hit home runs. Torrents. They are a mystery, one that allowed approximately 8.4 million viewers to watch The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey this year for free.

Torrent Freak's analysis of the year’s movie downloads and proclaims the first installment of Peter Jackson’s latest fantasy epic the year’s most torrented movie. All around the world, deft movie pirates able to procure computer steroids allowed themselves the victory of sitting at home and falling asleep as dwarves throw dishes and sing, elves march up and down impossible peaks in real-time, and a dragon winks at the audience. What technological conquistadors you are, ladies and gentlemen.

The bulk of the year’s most-downloaded movies (specifically through torrents, and not by some other magic like alchemy or Megaupload) are Oscar winners from 2012, including Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook. Aside from that, well, pirates have the same boring tastes as the mainstream. The Fast And The Furious 6 made almost $800 million worldwide, yet 7.9 million downloaders proclaimed they had to have it now, depriving Vin Diesel of the opportunity to buy more roleplaying dolls. Iron Man 3, the year’s biggest movie, was only its fourth-most downloaded film. Likely because Marvel is now housed with Disney, and you really don’t want to mess with the Mouse House.

At least we all know why you didn’t see Gangster Squad in theaters: you were too busy waiting for it to finish downloading. It’s the only real box office flop on the list, the year’s seventh biggest download with 7.2 million copies granted to Giovanni Ribisi’s rabid fan club. There is an awful lot of downloads and missed profit on this list, though when you make something like The Hangover Part III, perhaps you should expect that 6.9 million don’t want to pay for it. The movie industry just completed their strongest year to date, with $11 billion in receipts. They can afford a few computer wizards with handy access to wi-fi, little desire to spend on forgettable blockbusters like Star Trek Into Darkness (7.4 million downloads), and a great deal of disdain for the economics of moviemaking. Maybe, just maybe, these guys were pirating the big blockbusters in order to save their money for the latest independent film.

This isn’t a fine science. The article only compiles the use of torrents, which doesn’t include streaming sites and more conventional file-sharing sites and methods, like telekinesis, hard copy forgery, and time travel. There are a lot of movies being watched for free out there. Piracy is illegal. And there are some great movies out there. Pirate The Hobbit all you want (until the authorities come, because clearly someone knows you’re using BitTorrent, you wizard), but it’s best to try frequenting your local arthouse theater, or finding rare gems on Netflix. Good luck.

It’s undoubtedly strange seeing commercials for the DVD release of Fast & Furious 6. The loss of series co-star Paul Walker is still so fresh, and there’s still so much uncertainty surrounding the franchise’s next steps. But something good is going to come out of the Dec. 10 release of Fast 6 on DVD.

Universal has announced (via THR) that part of the proceeds from sales of Justin Lin’s movie will go to Walker’s nonprofit organization, Reach Out Worldwide. The organization consists mainly of first-responder skill teams who aid devastated areas in post-disaster situations. You can learn more about them on their official site. They also have been uploading videos of Walker in action in the wake of the actor’s untimely death.

What an amazing side of Walker that too few people likely knew about. Any help that can go to this organization in light of what happened to Walker will be appreciated. Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley added:

Fast 6 already earned a massive $788.6 million in worldwide ticket sales. But the future of the series, at the moment, lies in limbo. The most recent report actually went so far as to suggest that the entire production could be "scrapped" and started over, so as to account for the loss of Walker and his integral character, Brian O’Conner. Such a move would no doubt affect the movie’s planned July 11, 2014 release date. With each passing day, that date seems more and more unlikely.

As you wait for the latest F&F 7 news, show support for Walker, and for Reach Out WorldWide. Give a copy of Fast 6 to a friend or family member this holiday season, knowing that some of the money you cough up goes to a greater good.

Throughout the last couple of films, the Fast & Furious movies have really hit a stride. Last spring, the sixth film in the franchise hit the market. May was actually quite a while ago, and you’d think the film might be available on DVD and Blu-ray already, but Universal Studios Home Entertainment won’t be releasing Fast & Furious 6 onto Blu-ray or DVD until December 10. Alternatively, fans who are super invested in nabbing a copy of the film will be able to purchase it on Digital HD beginning on November 19. Fans can also purchase a pretty sweet steelbook Blu-ray set for the film, pictured below.

The sixth film in the franchise is congested with famous names and faces. Fast & Furious 6 stars franchise veterans Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and Michelle Rodriguez, as well as Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang, Luke Evans,and Gina Carano, in a plot that follows the successful heist crew turning a new leaf and working for the Diplomatic Security Service in order to receive amnesty and be welcomed back into the United States. This new plotline should help the franchise to riff off into new directions in the future, as there looks to be at least a few more Fast & Furious movies in the works, and the next one should be coming sooner rather than later.

The big extra with the film will be the extended version that comes exclusively with the Blu-ray. I’m not really certain how much extra footage comes is actually involved, though. Universal Studios Home Entertainment is staying mum about how many minutes of extra footage will be available, so I’m guessing it won’t be a ton. Regardless, the studio is stating that the extended cut will be filled with even more “intense action,” so that’s cool. There’s actually a ton of bonus features both exclusive to the Blu-ray and on the DVD. Universal also put together some sweet blurbs explaining exactly what will be available in each featurette, so I won’t waste too much more of your time talking about the disc. You can peruse the bonus features, below, or go ahead and pre-order the set over at Amazon.

Fast & Furious 6 Exclusive Blu-ray Extras

• Extended Version of the Film
• “Take Control”—Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and director Justin Lin appear at key moments throughout the film, offering observations and reflections on the movie, behind-the-scenes footage and more.
• “Planes, Tanks and Automobiles”
• “The London Chase”—Gives viewers a front-row seat for the filming of a sprawling car chase through the streets of one of the world’s most historic—and congested—cities.
• “Highway Heist: The Convoy Attack”—A first-hand account of a meticulously planned and executed action sequence, as Dominic’s gang saves the day
• “The Antonov Takedown”—An exploration of what went into creating Fast & Furious 6’s spectacular finale sequence.
• “Dom and Letty Race Again” – Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez reunite on screen.
• “Gearhead’s Delight”—Narrated by car lover Paul Walker, this piece features Dom’s latest Charger, Brian’s Nissan Skyline GTR, the BMW M5’s, the Alfa Romeo and the classic cars from the film’s car-auction scene.
• “The FLIP Car”—Provides an inside look at the Fast franchise’s newest mind-blowing vehicle—the pivoting FLIP car.
• “Hand-to-Hand Fury”—This jam-packed featurette offers viewers a detailed look at the rehearsals, choreography, stunt work and filming

Fast & Furious 6 Blu-ray and DVD Extras

• Deleted Scenes
• “The Making of Fast & Furious 6”
• “The Fastest of Them All”—Chronicles the epic saga of the Fast films from chapters three through six.
• “Reuniting the Team”—Explores the characters (and actors)
• “Letty’s Return”—Heralded by a crowd-pleasing cliffhanger in Fast Five, Michelle Rodriguez (“Letty”) makes a dramatic return in the sixth installment.
• “The Mastermind and The Mole”—Viewers meet Fast “newbies” Luke Evans (“Shaw”) and Gina Carano (“Riley”)
• On the Set with Vin—Vin Diesel talks through a stunt he is about to perform
• Feature Commentary with Director Justin Lin

Fast & Furious 6 is poised to become not only the most successful in the franchise, but also one of summer's biggest movies. Critics are cheering, and audiences are turning out in waves, keeping the sixth installment of this gleefully bonkers franchise at the top of the box office for a second week in a row. With a cast that includes Vin Diesel, Dwayne "franchise Viagra" Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Gal Gadot, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, and Gina Carana, there's tons of charisma in the cast, but what's got people most giddy is director Justin Lin's absolutely off the hook action sequences, including an ambitious finale that has moviegoers in absolute hysterics.

First teased in the movie's Super Bowl spot, the climactic sequence (spoilers ahead) has Dominic Toretto and his crew trying to prevent a massive airplane from taking off by lassoing their fast and furious rides to it. Hey, you do what it takes for your family. If we've learned nothing else from Fast & Furious 6, we have learned this!

In the video above—courtesy of WIRED and Conde Nast Entertainement—we're granted a look behind the scenes on this epic action sequence. Visual Effects Supervisor David Vickery steps us through the marriage of in-camera stunt work and CGI effects that were blended to create the movie's most mind-blowing moments. See, Lin knew that part of the magic of Fast and Furious is that the audacious stunts look like they were actually performed, not constructed with computer imaging.

Dedicated to shooting as much as possible in camera, the production built a movie set that would stand in for the aircraft hurdling down an impossibly long run way. Then in post-production, a plane would be painted over this stand-in monstrosity, complete with much fire and explosions. Visual effects house Double Negative shares their passes on the construction of this blend of real stunts and CGI madness, so you can see how it all came together. Considering the difficulty the FX industry has been facing, it's fantastic to see what exactly they do so clearly displayed.

The sixth entry in the Fast & Furious franchise continued not only to outperform all the previous the series but also everything else in theaters. Adding $34 million to its now $170 million domestic total, Fast & Furious 6 held on to the number one spot for a second week, trumping two newcomers that came with big name casts and high expectations.

Will Smith reteamed with his son Jaden for the summer sci-fi action flick After Earth, but despite the double Smith billing the movie came in at a weak third place with just $27 million against its $130 million.

Smith hasn't seen an opening that low for an action movie since the 90s and with very little international interest so far, the movie may end up in the summer box office flop pile. Call it the curse of M. Night Shyamalan. Despite the fact that his name was all but absent from any advertisement, the movie is also one of the worst openings for the director whose past films have trended toward poor reviews and lately towards mediocre box office performance.

For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below:

It looks like Now You See Me has already pulled a box office rabbit out of its figurative hat, by topping After Earth at the U.S. box office on Thursday night. The Summit film arrived in theaters last night and managed to bring in $1.5 million for its Thursday night haul, a half-million more than was earned by After Earth, which took in $1 million. Neither film is expected to top Fast & Furious 6 this weekend, but if Thursday night is any indication, Now You See Me may do better than expected.

Variety reported the numbers, pointing out that Now You See Me had a two-hour head start on After Earth. The former opened at 7:00 p.m., while the latter opened at 9:00 p.m. Still, After Earth has a much bigger budget to earn back, at $130 million (estimated), by comparison to the $75 million spent on Louis Leterrier's Now You See Me.

With a 44% Rotten score from reviewers (64 reviews counted), Now You See Me falls into the "Rotten" category, but it still comes out noticeably ahead of After Earth, which has managed to inch up a couple digits to 14% (99 reviews counted). That low score likely won't help the film. Then again, those moviegoers eager to see Will Smith & Son in a sci-fi popcorn flick may be willing to overlook the negative reviews. Now You See Me may not have the Smiths - or a story of two space rangers battling the elements on an abandoned earth - going for it, but it does have a solid cast and a fun premise involving a group of illusionists who manage to pull off a bank heist and Robin-Hood their take to their audience. Both films are rated PG-13, as is Fast & Furious 6, so on rating, there's no advantage to note.

Variety points out that Fast & Furious 6 is expected to hold its #1 spot for its second weekend, in spite of the franchise's history of steeply dropping at the box office after opening weekend. The drop is expected to be less this weekend. Assuming that's the case and Thursday night's numbers are any indication, Fast & Furious will have another first-place finish this weekend.

This poll is no longer available.

Fast & Furious 6 roared into theaters this weekend, and if the estimates hold true, the film has secured itself a high spot on the list of successful Memorial Day openers. It hasn't quite topped Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but it's in that ballpark, with reports putting the action film's 4-day estimate at about $120 million. Meanwhile, The Hangover Part III managed to edge out Star Trek Into Darkness and Epic in their respective Memorial Day Weekend box office hauls.

USA Today posted the latest numbers, citing Hollywood.com's estimates, which currently put Fast & Furious 6 at $120 million, far ahead of The Hangover 3's $51.2 million. Star Trek Into Darkness added $47 million to its overall take, which is up to $155.8 million. Meanwhile, Blue Sky's Epic earned itself $42.6 million for its opening weekend. Coming in fifth is Iron Man 3, which added on $24.6 million to its $372.4 million gross.

Fast & Furious sequel has certainly gotten off to a good start, but we'll have to wait and see how the film holds up against its competition in the coming weeks. Sci-fi thriller After Earth arrives in theaters this weekend, a week ahead of its previously set release date. While some may be skeptical about the success of M. Night Shyamalan's latest endeavor, Will Smith has a pretty solid track record at the box office. All the same, Fast & Furious 6's opening weekend box office beat out MIB 3's by a wide margin. The third film in the Men in Black franchise grossed $69.2 million in its 4-day Memorial Day opening weekend last year. Given F&F's opening weekend numbers, it'll be interesting to see how After Earth opens.

View last year's Memorial Day box office list here.

Since the debut of its mind-blowing Super Bowl trailer, we knew Justin Lin's Fast & Furious 6 would be a blast. Packed with big character moments, hilarious one-liners, and insane action sequences, it's overwhelming in the best way possible. I confessed openly to laughing, sobbing, screaming and throwing punches in my seat like a hyperactive child while experiencing it. That's just what this movie does to people. But after the credits rolled and my mind cleared a bit, I began to ponder one strange recurring joke and what it could mean.

I promised Cinema Blend Editor-in-Chief Katey Rich that I'd make it clear that 1) what follows is wild speculation (arguably wishful thinking) on my part, and 2) she thinks this theory of mine is "mildly insane." With this disclaimer stated, let's press on.

Over the course of the movie there are plenty of goofy one-liners, but a full three of them are allusions to the highest grossing movie of 2012, The Avengers. The first can be heard in this trailer, where Tej Parker (Ludacris) marvels that Dominic Toretto's (Vin Diesel) crew is no longer running from Luke Hobbs (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), but working for him, quipping, "Now we work for the Hulk?" Later, when Hobbs visits London's surveillance camera headquarters, he meets some resistance from a pudgy English security guard who sneeringly calls Hobbs "Captain America." Finally, when Hobbs telephones Parker, his caller idea reads "Samoan Thor."

Each of the above rightly won laughs from the audience, but why all The Avengers references? The superhero flick's sheer popularity was probably reason enough for these references.... but isn't it a little suspicious that each one is directed at The Rock? 'Want does it mean?' I wondered. The more I thought about it, the more I suspected that Lin and his cast might be tipping a bit of potential casting news. Namely: maybe The Rock is being considered for a role in The Avengers 2. He'd be perfect with his superhuman muscles and massive charisma! But this is where Katey called me crazy, pointing out it's unlikely Universal Pictures would essentially advertise for a Disney movie in one of their most popular franchises. But the references are there regardless. And with Johnson swooping in to save one franchise after another, maybe next he'll save The Avengers from a sophomore slump.

Of course Marvel doesn't need help right now, not with Iron Man 3 already a major hit. But as Sean has argued in the past, adding The Rock to any action flick is guaranteed magic. We know he's turned down Transformers 4 to play Hercules in Brett Ratner's Hercules: The Thracian Wars. But could it be possible Marvel has plans for him down the line, and this is what Furious 6's trio of Avengers references are alluding to? I'm thinking it's a maybe. Call me crazy.

Justin Lin was inspired by The Golden Girls.

When he took over the Fast & Furious franchise for Tokyo Drift in 2006, "That was a critical point in the direction of the franchise," as he told Entertainment Weekly (via Yahoo! Movies). After a sequel that brought back Paul Walker but not Dominic Torretto, Lin was charged with continuing the series with a film set in Tokyo, featuring none of the characters from the original The Fast and the Furious. Lin played most of the movie straight, setting up a story about an American kid getting into the drift racing scene of Tokyo, and getting away from the original film entirely… except for the last shot. In a surprise last-minute cameo Vin Diesel showed up after all, talking about his friendship with Han and setting up this dumb car-racing series as a dumb car-racing series with a mythology.

That was a risky and probably insane thing to say in 2006, when comic book franchises were still pretty much limited to one character's story and even James Bond was doing his best to get away from his past with Casino Royale, which was essentially an origin story. But two years before Nick Fury walked into Tony Stark's life at the end of Iron Man, the Fast and the Furious series was setting up the kind of coherent, multi-movie universe that Marvel is now turning into a global industry. And it actually all started with The Golden Girls. In November of 1991 NBC pulled a publicity stunt called "Hurricane Saturday," in which three of its sitcoms -- The Golden Girls, Empty Nest and Nurses-- all had episodes revolving around the same hurricane, and characters from each show popped in on the other. As Lin said to EW, "It blew me away as a kid: They all live in the same universe!"

The crossover episode has been a TV staple for decades, and if you don't remember "Hurricane Saturday" you probably remember when The Flintstones met the Jetsons, or when The Jeffersons bought the Bel-Air mansion from Uncle Phil, or when Kramer sublet an apartment from Paul and Jamie on Mad About You. Those episodes always had that mind-blowing "they're in the same world!" moment, but they were even more fun because they often came as complete surprises. Unlike the world of The Avengers or the forthcoming DC Universe, there's no pre-established storytelling that tells you the New York City of Mad About You and Seinfeld are one and the same, or that Dom Torretto and Han Seoul-Oh had all these previous adventures we didn't see. The connections happen because someone ballsy like Lin decides to do it, and his sense of glee in making it happen transfers directly over to the audience.

And even though the many connections of the Fast and Furious world are established by now-- there are characters from all five previous films brought together in Furious 6-- there is still room for new surprise links and callbacks, particularly in the film's top-secret final moments. Justin Lin is departing the franchise now and handing the reins over to Saw veteran James Wan, but he's left the series in an incredible place, with seemingly limitless potential for spinoffs and prequels and other stories set within a fictional universe that only Lin realized could even exist. As everyone looks forward to The Avengers 2 and rattles off the laundry list of possible characters who could show up, Wan and the Fast & Furious team are able to do the same kind of scheming, but make it up as they go along. In a world full of franchise sagas that have already been written somewhere else, the Fast & Furious series remains thrillingly new… and we have Blanche, Dorothy, Sophia and Rose to thank.

In G.I. Joe: Retalation, it was a brief moment showed off in the trailer that was almost just as brief in the movie itself: a world leader gone mad pushes a button and levels London, with the distinctive London Eye and the Thames River first to go.

In the recent, first trailer for Thor: The Dark World it's presented as the inciting incident: an alien ship cuts from the Thames into the courtyard of an old London building, threatening the life of Thor's lady love Jane (Natalie Portman).

In nearly every bit of marketing for Star Trek Into Darkness it's been highlighted, a futuristic London skyline (with "The Gherkin" in there for reference) with Benedict Cumberbatch glowering in front of it:

And now, in the newly released final trailer for Fast & Furious 6, we see Dom Torretto (Vin Diesel) standing ominously in front of the London skyline as he and his team prepare to take on the film's new villain, played by Luke Evans. No distinctive London landmarks actually explode in the trailer, but where Dom Torretto goes, explosions and hugely destructive car chases can't be far behind:

So, seriously 2013 blockbusters, what do you have against London? The city has replaced New York as the go-to metropolis for destruction seemingly overnight, and for no particular reason we can discern. Sure, London has been having its own cultural moment lately, hosting the Summer Olympics last summer, bringing James Bond back to home turf in last year's Skyfall, and hosting two different versions of one of its most famous fictional residents, with BBC's Sherlock and the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes. But London was also the victim of a devastating terrorist attack more recently than New York was-- isn't it still a little too soon to gleefully blow the place up? And sure, Hollywood is the place where studios can think it's a good idea to release two different movies about a White House takeover within months of each other, but doesn't it look a little less cool when every other new blockbuster is blowing up the London Eye too?

Far be it for this New Yorker to deny London its moment in the movie apocalypse sun-- I know fully well the weird joy of seeing your block fictionally blown up by vengeful aliens/nuclear weapons/The Rock-- but I'm truly curious as to how this moment has happened. Present your theory for London's sudden ascendence into Evil Movie Villain Target status, and Londoners, let us know how you feel about suddenly having Hollywood's laser targeted right on your forehead.

Well this second and final trailer for Fast & Furious 6certainly gets its payoff from the CinemaCon footage Eric got to see a couple of weeks ago. Lots of great action scenes take place with all amounts of hell breaking loose in the middle of a busy highway, and the end of this trailer puts this large-scale sequence front and center. Justin Lin is in full “Michael Bay in his Bad Boys days” mode.

It seemed like the first trailer revealed too many of the film’s more technical stunts, but this one is just as fiery orange and explosion-filled. Dwayne Johnson’s bounty hunter Luke Hobbs takes a backseat here as the focus shifts more towards our pardon-seeking team of renegades--led of course by Brian (Paul Walker) and Dom (Vin Diesel)--and their opposition, the mercenary-turned-bomber Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). In fact, quite a few of those new explosions are caused by Shaw, as part of his effort to bring London to its knees. As a villain, he certainly won’t be as interesting as Star Trek Into Darkness’ John Harrison, but now that all the bad guys are the good guys in this franchise, the bad guy doesn’t really matter anymore, so long as he keeps detonating things.

The rest of the returning characters –including Tej (Ludacris), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Han (Sung Kang) – get more time in this trailer as well, spouting off lines and looking shocked to see the ridiculous amount of high-pressure situations surrounding them.

I’m not at all what you would call a fan of this series of films, but that's just out of disinterest, not total dislike. Hopping onto a bandwagon for the sixth film probably doesn’t win me any cool points, but this looks like a worthy trip to the theater. And you can make that trip when Fast & Furious 6 gets its release on May 24.

Welcome to day two of CinemaCon! Last night Paramount Pictures kicked things off in a big way, showing off brand new footage from both Star Trek Into Darkness and World War Z, but this morning was all about Universal Pictures.

During their presentation the studio showed off reels from movies including R.I.P.D., Kick-Ass 2, Despicable Me 2, and 2 Guns, but the real star of the show was the Fast and Furious franchise. In addition to officially announcing that Fast & Furious 7 will be in theaters next summer, they also showed off a massive chunk of footage from the film, highlighting a massive, awesome action sequence from the middle of the movie.

The scene begins with a military convoy made up two Jeeps surrounding a humongous armored vehicle racing along a stretch of highway. From an exit we see the arrival of another Jeep, this one holding Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Jah (Joe Taslim). The trio comes up from behind the convoy, takes out the Jeep guarding the giant armored vehicle from behind, and hop up to the top of their target vehicle.

As the guard Jeep flies off a bridge, the scene cuts to some sort of a military complex where Luke Hobbes (Dwayne Johnson) Riley (Gina Carano) are informed of the attack. Panicking, they call in a chopper. We then see that Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang) and Gisele (Gal Gadot) are waiting on a bridge watching Shaw and his team through binoculars try to take down the armored vehicle. He relays what he sees to Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker), who are on the opposite side of the highway driving towards the convoy.

But then the game changes completely as we see one of Shaw’s men lay a cable that stretches across the entire width of the highway. The cable completely cuts through the lead Jeep, totally dismantling it, but when the armored truck hits we learn what Shaw is really going after. The cable stops the vehicle in its tracks, but crashing through the front is a tank that is being driven by Shaw, Letty and Jah. Tej sees this through his binoculars and immediately warns the entire team that they need to come up with another plan.

Meanwhile Han and Gisele have taken motorcycles and gone after the cable-laying member of Shaw’s crew. Gisele gets to him first and leaps from her bike to the enemy’s car, but finds herself immediately in trouble as the driver tries to shake her off. Just as he is about to smash her against another truck on the road, however, Han comes to the rescue, is able to get from his bike to the car and gets it to swerve away from the truck. Gisele then pulls out a gun and puts it to the driver’s head - he’s been neutralized.

As Dom and Brian get closer to the convoy, we realize that the gang has another problem: Shaw’s tank’s gun is active. The villains fire at Dom’s car, but our hero is able to narrowly avoid the blast. Unfortunately, Shaw decides to have a bit of "fun" and drives to the opposite side of the highway into oncoming traffic. He begins to completely destroy cars at whim, undoubtedly killing many people. Letty protests and complains that this wasn’t part of the plan, but Shaw doesn’t seem to care in the slightest.

In order to try and save innocent lives, Dom calls to try and get cars to go away from the tank. This is where Roman (Tyrese Gibson) comes in. Roman drives his car in front of the massive military vehicle so that he can get drivers to start swerving earlier. While this plan works for a while, Shaw then decides to fire his weapon’s gun at the lead car. Roman is forced to slam on the brakes and starts getting sucked underneath the tank.

Dom, meanwhile is still in pursuit, but Shaw slows him down by firing at an upcoming bridge that stretches over the highway. Dom is, once again, able to barely escape the destruction. Meanwhile, with his car being slowly destroyed, Roman sneaks out of his window and attaches a cable from his car to the barrel of the tank. Brian, meanwhile, still on the other side of the highway, jumps his car high over an embankment and lands behind the tank – which Roman is now on top of. Roman then leaps from the tank to Brian’s car, and lands on the windshield safely.

The tank, meanwhile, is dragging Roman’s car as the road turns into an elevated highway. Dom calls to Brian that Roman’s car could be used as an effective anchor, and Brian starts to try knocking Roman’s car off of the side of the road. Realizing what the gang’s plan is, Shaw sends Letty out to the top of the tank to disengage the cable. Dom drives and gets even with the tank on the opposite side of the highway, and seeing Letty get to the top of the tank climbs on to the top of his own car. Just as Shaw is about to once again try and blast Dom’s car, Roman’s car wraps around a pole below the highway upending the tank. Letty goes flying in the air and Dom jumps towards her from his car…and then the scene cuts to the title card.

The scene is full of some seriously epic destruction and pretty great action that fans have come to expect from the franchise. But how will Dom and Letty survive their leap? What will happen to the rest of the crew? How will the gang take down Shaw and his merciless gang? We’ll just have to wait until May 24th to find out!

For more of our CinemaCon 2013 coverage head over HERE!

So now we all know that Justin Lin, after directing four of the films that fall under the racing franchise that is mostly fast and also furious, will not be back to direct Fast & Furious 7: American Shenanigans, or whatever it ends up being called. I mean, the sixth installment in this seemingly endless string of films hasn’t even come out yet – that happens on May 24 – but news about the sequel is already zipping around corners and leaving other film rumors in its dust.

So with Lin gone, that means every other director in Hollywood is up for the job, right? Well, Latino Review revealed that there are three directors currently in top contention for the gig. Let’s look at them one by one.

First off is Jeff Wadlow, whose upcoming Kick-Ass 2 is probably the only reason anyone would know his name at this point, and must be pretty outstanding for him to make the shortlist of such a profitable franchise. His only other films were the terrible 2005 horror Cry_Wolf and the fighter drama Never Back Down, which probably should have jump-started Sean Faris’ career but didn’t.

Next up, there’s Brad Furman, who impressed audiences with his 2011 adaptation The Lincoln Lawyer with Matthew McConaughey. His next project is the Ben Affleck/Justin Timberlake offshore gambling thriller Runner, Runner, which hits theaters in September.

Rounding out the trio is the Dutch director Harold Zwart, who is the most prolific of the three, but his resume contains films like The Pink Panther 2, Agent Cody Banks and the Karate Kid remake with Jaden Smith. I mean, he didn’t write any of these films, so they can’t completely be held against him, but they should still be considered.

Tell us which you’d like to see helm a film chock-full of Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel driving and glaring at things with sweat barely glistening from their brows.

This poll is no longer available.

Justin Lin’s Fast and Furious streak is about to come to a close.

According to THR, the director reportedly alerted Universal Studio executives that he will not be coming back to direct the planned seventh installment in the long-running muscle-car franchise. Lin first started on the Fast track with 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He has made four Fast films to date, including Fast & Furious 6, which will be in theaters on May 24.

The sources speaking to the trade cite two reasons for Lin’s departure. First, the timing. Universal wants the seventh picture in theaters Summer 2014, citing a lack of legitimate tentpoles. That would mean Lin would have to start prepping Fast 7 as he finished post-production on Fast 6. That’s a grueling cycle.

Secondly, THR says Fast burnout also led to his eventual departure. The director has worked tirelessly on Fast films for years now, and there’s little doubt that he’d like to do more with his career than figuring out new ways to dangle Vin Diesel off of a speeding car.

THR says that Universal will now turn its attentions to finding a new director to dive right in and help Fast 7 stay on track for that coveted 2014 release date. They’ll have to play nice with franchise stars Diesel and Paul Walker, who no doubt will be on board for the next chapter in the series. But could the departure of Lin mean the exit of other components in the series? Could The Rock walk without Lin in the director’s chair? Or could a new filmmaker bring fresh faces that could help revitalize the series, as it has managed to reinvent itself time and again over the years? It’s time for Lin to try something new. I’m excited to see what he does next, just as I’m excited to see which director is going to have an opportunity to play in this established, high-octane sandbox.

The Fast & Furious franchise won't be coming to an end any time in the near future. The most recent installment, 2011's Fast Five, absolutely destroyed at the box office to become the biggest movie in the franchise and the first to make more than $209 million domestically. We're already waiting on number six, which is set to hit theaters this May, but even before that happens star Vin Diesel is looking towards the future.

SlashFilm caught a posting on Vin Diesel's Facebook page - a regular source for updates about the star's projects - in which the actor suggested that there are already plans to start making Fast and Furious 7 this summer. You can read the full message below:

The post, it seems, has been taken down, which only adds to its authenticity, but there are some key details about the project still missing. Will Justin Lin, who has helmed every sequel since and including Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift, return to the director's chair? Will Chris Morgan, who scripted all of Lin's sequels, also be writing part seven? Who in the cast is being set up to return? Will the movie be ready for summer 2014?

Even when Fast & Furious 6 was just getting started there was talk that sequels might film back-to-back, and this could give those stories some credence. At this stage we'll just have to wait and see.

All the movie talk this week has been about the Academy Awards, but now let's take a minute to talk about a movie that probably won't be up for Best Picture next year. Justin Lin's Fast & Furious 6 probably won't have any Oscar-worthy performances, and it's hard to imagine that it will be nominated for the screenplay, but the film does promises some early-summer blockbuster action. And now the cast and crew is inviting you take a behind-the-scenes look at the making of it.

Yahoo! has debuted a brand new featurette for the fifth sequel in the long-running franchise, which will be taking Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and the rest of their crew overseas to Europe. Check it out below!

A direct sequel to 2011's Fast Five, the latest film finds Dominick (Diesel), Brian (Walker) and the rest of the gang living large on their big score, but missing home and unable to return. That is, until Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) finds them and offers a deal: a clean slate in return for assistance in taking down a highly-trained group of mercenaries led by a man named Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). And the plot only gets more twisted when Dom learns that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still alive. Haywire's Gina Carano and The Raid: Redemption's Joe Taslim also bring new blood to the franchise, which also sees the return of Sung Kang, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, and Ludacris.

Fast & Furious 6 will be going toe-to-toe with The Hangover: Part III on Memorial Day weekend, May 24th, and to see more from the movie, including posters, trailers, stills and all the latest updates, head over to our Blend Film Database.

When The Fast and the Furious opened in 2001, Paul Walker and Vin Diesel were both up-and-coming stars on relatively equal footing, having made a handful of movies between them before jumping on board the franchise. 12 years later, Walker feels almost like an afterthought in his own series, especially now that The Rock has signed on to lend his swagger and make the whole franchise seem like a series of fights between two bald men, with Walker hanging out somewhere in the background.

Can he regain his central role with the upcoming Fast and Furious 6? The marketing at least seems to think so, handing Walker his own character poster to debut on his Facebook page, in addition to the film's brand-new trailer. Check out the new trailer and then the poster below that:

If the poster looks familiar, that's because it's a pretty good mirror of the character poster released for Vin Diesel's Dom Torretto a few weeks ago. Check it out below for comparison:

The new trailer contains a lot of the same footage as the extended Super Bowl spot, but somehow they're managing to ramp up the mayhem. This one ends, like all the others, with that insane airplane stunt, because why on earth would you end with anything else?

Fast & Furious 6 comes to theaters Memorial Day weekend, and you can click here for everything else we know about it. We're clearly losing our minds with excitement for this one. Are you with us?

The Fast and Furious franchise hasn't quite become the smorgasbord of tough guys that the Expendables has been, though it's been getting closer. Adding in The Rock for Fast Five, and now bringing him back plus Michelle Rodriguez (from the grave!) the cast is getting pretty crowded with people who can drive fast cars and glare at each other. Is there room for a scowling bald badass to compete with The Rock and Vin Diesel?

We'd heard rumors way back in 2011 that Jason Statham could make an appearance in Fast and the Furious 6, though at the time they were saying that they'd shoot two sequels back to back-- which never happened-- and that Justin Lin had to leave the franchise (he directed Fast 6). But the Statham idea seems to have a long life, as Ain't It Cool is hearing that Statham may have a role in Fast 6 after all… and one that leads directly into the plot of the seventh film.

These details could be considered spoilers, especially if they turn out true, so feel free to turn back now.

Ready? So from what they're hearing, there's a scene added to the very end of the movie of a car chase scene in Japan, at the end of which one of the mysterious drivers is revealed to be Jason Statham, brother to the bad guy Luke Evans is playing in Fast 6. Not only that, but the scene actually takes place during Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift, the sequel that was actually set at some point after all these films are happening. So sometime between the plots of Fast 6 and Fast 7, the events of Tokyo Drift would fit in the timeline, and then Fast 7 would kick off with Statham as the bad guy, hunting down the gang to get revenge for his brother's death.

A brotherly revenge plot is pretty weak motivation considering some of the other nonsense that has driven the Fast films, but with Statham behind it, we could absolutely buy it. Now I just want to know if he'll fight both Vin Diesel and The Rock separately, or both at once? Will he get any good lines or will that overshadow the good guys too much? Will he sweat as much as The Rock did last time? Will he become the good guy for the eighth one and join the gang? It's almost too excitement to handle. We might just need to pretend we don't know this is happening so we don't explode before the movie finally comes out.

Last night living rooms across America were on the edge of their seats and clapping with glee-- not during the actual Super Bowl, but during one very particular commercial. Fast & Furious 6, which hadn't shown a scrap of footage before last night's big ad, burst out of the gate with an insane 30-second spot, culminating in a scene of the crew bringing down an enormous military aircraft with just their cars, some cables, and Vin Diesel's bravado. Before we go any further, let's revisit that trailer below.

While none of us go to the Fast & Furious movies for realism, that airplane stunt seemed to cross a line, from outlandish action to outright cartoon. But what do we know? We're just movie bloggers. So we went to an actual aerospace engineer to find out if it's actually possible to bring down an airplane with race cars. And, well, the answer might disappoint you.

"It would take a combination of a lot of improbable events for a few cars to pull down an plane designed to carry a couple hundred thousand pounds. My opinion, impossible."

That's Eric Smith, an aerospace engineer with the United States Air Force, who watched the Super Bowl last night along with some engineer friends and admitted "we were all laughing at how impossible that would be." But before you think these smartypants are just dismissing some good old-fashioned entertainment out of hand, he walked me through exactly what those improbable events could be to make that kind of heist possible. In short: the heavier the plane, the more possible it would be for the gang to pull it down:

But don't give up hope! Eric allows that we haven't seen the whole thing yet, and "there might be some wiggle room in the movie for them to make it way more realistic." And as a fan of the Fast and Furious movies he allows, "I wouldn't put it past them to come up with some crazy scheme to pull that thing down."

As for the trailer's money shot-- Dom Torretto's car shooting through the nose of the downed plane-- don't get your hopes up. Science is pretty firmly against that one, Eric says: "It would require a lot of power to bust through the nose of that aircraft. I highly doubt anyone would actually do it, especially if they plan on their car being anywhere near usable and not a pile of junk afterwards."

You might have noticed that the plane in the spot is way, way bigger than anything you've flown in. That's because it's a C-5 Galaxy, one of the largest aircraft in the world, capable of flying with nearly 420 tons weight on board. According to this fact sheet, it "can carry a fully equipped combat-ready military unit to any point in the world on short notice and then provide the supplies required to help sustain the fighting force." But in the world of Fast & Furious 6, it's no match for Dom Torretto and his team.

While it might be a bit of a bummer to know that director Justin Lin is wildly flouting the rules of physics in Fast & Furious 6, take heart in knowing that even the people who know it's not possible are still psyched to see it. As Eric puts it, "I would definitely consider going to see Fast & Furious 6. I have to get the whole story on how they plan on bringing that plane down."

Super Bowl time is a busy time that is filled with distraction. You have the game, drinks, food, guests and hundreds of commercials just begging for your attention. Studios use the big media event to get widespread attention for their blockbuster films and spend millions to do so, but at the end of the day does anybody remember anything? And if stuff is getting through, which was one was remembered the most?

Consulting recent poling numbers done by Movietickets.com, the answers are a) yes and b) Iron Man 3. Statistics gathered by the movie site say that 79% of people remembered seeing the superhero sequel's ad during the big game. Ranking behind it were Fast & Furious 6 (77%), Star Trek Into Darkness (69%), Oz The Great and Powerful (68%) and World War Z (48%). The top ranks were agreed upon by both men and women audiences.

But while Iron Man 3 was the most remembered trailer of the evening, it was Fast & Furious 6 that was, according to the stats, "most effective at encouraging the viewers to see the film in the theaters." Among the different demographic splits - which includes men vs. women, and over and under 25 years of age - the racing movie sequel was considered the most effective ad of the night (though Iron Man 3 broke the trend by having "the highest effectiveness" for audiences 25 of older, meaning FF6 was largely driven by the younger crowd).

The ticket site also notes that 58% of participants said they rewatched Super Bowl ads on YouTube either during or after the game and that among film related commercials Iron Man 3 was the most popular followed by, once again, Fast & Furious 6. Star Trek Into Darkness also got a boost, the numbers saying that 3% of survey participants downloaded the film's mobile app to get access to more content.

What did you think was the best Super Bowl trailer of the night? Join the conversation HERE.

KATEY: Do you have any background/love for the Fast & Furious franchise?

SEAN: Well, yes. I mean, I've seen them all. I actually loved Fast Five. And I was really impressed with last night's spot.

KATEY: I've noticed a ton of commenters responding to last night's trailer with "Whatever, these movies suck!!!" So I want to figure out a way to be like "listen, guys, it transformed itself completely from where it started. Give it a shot." I have only seen 4 & 5, though 4 was boring as hell and loooooved 5.

SEAN: Yeah, I'm trying to remember Four as I type this, and can't.

KATEY: it involves Mexico and the desert.

SEAN: Oh, shit. Yeah. With that tunnel that went underground?! That was terrible.

KATEY: Yup! Totally terrible.

SEAN: But yeah, the franchise should be out of Movie Jail after Five. It totally saved itself. I can pick it up from here ….

SEAN: Katey, I was most surprised to find that the second trailer to completely blow me away (after the Iron Man 3 spot, which was fantastic) was the trailer for Fast and the Furious 6. That series has completely shifted gears -- pun intended -- from the dregs of Tokyo Drift and the bland fourth installment. Fast Five put it back on the right track, and I'm not ashamed to say that I'm genuinely looking forward to a F&F sequel. Are you with me?

KATEY: I'm totally with you on Fast Five-- but I think some people need convincing on what made it so great. When I go back to remembering it all I can think of is pumping my fists in the air with triumph when they went over the goddamn cliff in the car and survived. It starts off like a Looney Tunes cartoon, and pretty much ends that way too. But I think a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon is the destiny of this franchise, and it just took them 4 movies to figure it out.

SEAN: Maybe. I'm singling out one addition to the franchise that, for me, helped it turn the corner: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The ensemble consistently grew from sequel to sequel. But the focus kept falling on Diesel because he simply has more screen presence than Paul Walker or Tyrese. Johnson became another massive, glowing sun around which this franchise can spin, and so long as he's willing to play ball in the F&F universe, I think these sequels can exist on another plane.

That being said, if Six ends up being as unremarkable as the fourth Fast films, I think it's right back to Movie Jail for the series. Don't you? I'm keeping the franchise on a short leash!

KATEY: I don't know-- one look at that car flying through the cockpit of the flaming plane and I was 100% in. And I'm right there with you on The Rock. I find him compulsively likable in absolutely everything, and so long as he and Vin Diesel are getting up in each others' faces and sweating, I have to assume I'll enjoy it a little bit.

But for people who weren't convinced by Fast Five... how can we talk them into keeping some faith?

SEAN: I'm willing to believe that the people who are bitching about this new one didn't bother to see Fast Five. And after the third and fourth films, I can't say that I blame them. Case in point: Critics could write until they are blue in the face that Breaking Dawn: Part Two reinvented cinema. (It didn't, but bare with me here.) Non-fans still aren't likely to check it out, because if they watched the first few movies, they'd been burned, and they weren't willing to try it again.

If anything, I'd try to convince people to give Fast Five a spin if they haven't yet. Yes, it LOOKS like more of the same. But for various reasons -- from the plotting to the casting to the insane stunts -- it simply works better than any other film in the series ... and if they're able to build on that success, then the sixth could be a breakout hit of the summer blockbuster season.

KATEY: Absolutely. Especially right after the release of Bullet to the Head, which promised all this brawny action and was just totally boring, I can see why people are skeptical. But I think it goes back to what I said about Fast Five being a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon. It's willing to go there with the action, the absurdity and the surprisingly sharp humor in this way that pretty much nothing else is. Most franchises try to play it safe as they get older, but these movies seem to be doing the opposite.

At a time when so many blockbusters require piecing together all the comic book backstories and figuring out which character is showing up in the post-credits scene, I love that Fast & Furious 6 promises a standalone story and a ton of action that's not about superpowers, just the rules of physics and how to break them.

SEAN: Exactly. Plus, I think it's fair to point out that the longer director Justin Lin lives in this universe, the more he's figuring out how to maneuver around fast-moving car-based action clips and stunts. He has improved drastically as a director ... specifically, a Fast and the Furious director. There's a LOT to be said for continuity, and I think the improvement of the stunts from film to film prove that.

KATEY: Honestly, everything has improved. And if people can't trust the word of people like us, who had no interest in the first four films, who else should they trust?

SEAN: They should trust the eyeball test, which Fast Six passed last night. In terms of action star power, that Super Bowl clip had it last night. In terms of original stunts few have ever seen before, that Super Bowl clip had it last night. And the reveal of Michelle Rodriguez at the very end feeds into what I believe the Fast movies have become over the years. You say Looney Tunes cartoons, and that's accurate. But they also have been a long-running daytime soap opera, with recurring characters coming back from the dead, and melodramatic subplots that barely hold our interest in between the next car race and explosion. Fast Six passed the eyeball test with its trailer last night. Couple that clip with the overwhelmingly positive buzz Fast Five generated, and you are only cheating yourself if you don't hop on this speeding bandwagon and enjoy the ride!

The Fast and Furious franchise is all about unlikely friendships, and now it looks like we'll be getting a new one in Fast and Furious 6, with Dwayne Johnson's character reaching out to his former enemy, Vin Diesel's Dom Torretto. Naturally, a lot of car chases and mayhem ensues. Get your first look at it all in the first-ever trailer for Fast and Furious 6, which debuted during the Super Bowl.

I admit it: I laughed with glee when that car drove out of the front of the airplane. I have no idea how that's possible-- and I strongly suspect it's not--but it's exactly the kind of madness we've come to expect from the Fast franchise. And while Michelle Rodriguez's return as Letty isn't exactly a surprise, since it was teased at the end of Fast Five, it's good to see her have such a badass comeback, gun in hand.

Fast and Furious 6 is coming to theaters on May 24, with director Justin Lin returning along with most of the key members of the cast. Check out the official synopsis below, and for everything else we know about it, click here.

The latest installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise is coming out this May, but you may have noticed that there are still a few missing details about the movie - namely all of them. Not only do we not have a trailer yet, we have zero clue what the film is about. But we are starting to learn a few more details about the movie. For one, the film is officially called Fast & Furious 6 (not Fast Six as had been predicted after Fast Five) and this Sunday the Super Bowl broadcast will include the first ever footage from the film. Even better, you don't have to wait until then to find out about the plot.

In advance of the big game spot, Universal has revealed the official synopsis for the new Justin Lin-directed action flick. As previously reported the movie will be taking the infamous crew led by Paul Walker and Vin Diesel to Europe, but what you may not know is that they're missing home something fierce. Check out the details below.

There are still some mysteries left to be solved, including how Gina Carano's character will play into the plot, but if that question isn't answered by upcoming trailers or the Super Bowl ad then perhaps it will just be a cool surprise left for the theatrical release.

To learn more about the movie, be sure to head over to our Blend Film Database.

Everyone knows that the Super Bowl broadcast is one of the biggest advertising opportunities around, and that fact isn't lost on the major movie studios. Every year they shill out millions upon millions of dollars to take advantage of the incredible number of viewers watching. Last year brought previews for movies like The Avengers, 21 Jump Street, The Hunger Games, John Carter, and Battleship. But can we expect from this year's how?

The Hollywood Reporter got the inside scoop on the various trailers that will be playing during this year's big game, and in addition to re-confirming spots for films like Oz The Great and Powerful and The Star Trek Into Darkness, they also revealed some previously unannounced titles. Perhaps the biggest name in the bunch is Justin Lin's Fast Six, which is scheduled to be hitting theaters this May but has yet to produce a single teaser, let alone a theatrical trailer. Other movies set to air spots include anticipated titles like Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger and World War Z. This year 30-second spots during the game have run between $3.7 million and $3.8 million.

Perhaps even more interesting than the movies that will be airing spots are the ones that aren't bothering. 20th Century Fox, Sony and Warner Bros. are all staying clear of the Super Bowl fray and won't be airing commercials despite the fact that they will be releasing some of the big movies this summer, including The Wolverine, White House Down, Elysium, The Great Gatsby, The Hangover Part III, Pacific Rim and Man of Steel.

Which Super Bowl spot are you most excited to see? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to come back on Sunday, as we will be posting all of the trailers as they arrive online!

Vin Diesel is a pretty fascinating action star. On one hand, he's undeniably macho with a dangerous swagger, and on the other he's a total teddy bear who broke our hearts as an alien death machine with Superman aspirations in The Iron Giant. On Diesel's Facebook page he is constantly toeing this line between adorable and intimidating with plenty of posts to his 37 million followers, from sharing goofy fan-made Photoshops to cheerful status updates of gratitude, and teasers for his upcoming projects, all with a giddy abandon.

This is where we got a new glimpse at The Fast and the Furious 6, and what appears to be Diesel's reunion with Michelle Rodriguez. Here, the Lost star--who appeared in the first and fourth films of the high-octane franchise--reprises her role as Diesel's onscreen love-interest Letty Oritz, a charismatic car thief who was presumed dead until the after credits scene of Fast Five revealed otherwise. Even in this shot, it is clear Diesel and Rodriguez still share an electric chemistry.

Beyond revealing this tantalizing teaser image, Diesel also includes a caption that reads:

This confirms speculation that The Fast and the Furious 6-- or whatever the final title will be-- will debut its trailer to the pumped up and massive audience turned to their televisions on Super Bowl Sunday. It's definitely the right demographic for the testosterone-fueled, fast paced action feature, but could it get lost in the array of big, bold and bizarre commercials that muscle for notice on the most prime commercial time of the year? If you think so, you clearly don't understand the power and appeal of Vin Diesel.

The Fast and the Furious 6 opens on Memorial Day weekend, May 24th.

Dwayne Johnson is pretty damn badass. Of course, it's kind of hard to make the determination about just how badass he is. There's no number scale to determine it and ranking him against other badasses isn't the most accurate way to go about it. Instead it's best to judge a badass by his actions, and I'll tell you this: doing anything so awesome that the ceiling falls down is totally badass.

Johnson has Tweeted a new photo from the set of the upcoming Fast 6, where apparently he managed to throw a guy into a table so hard that the roof of the room completely collapsed. Luckily it seems like nobody was hurt in the incident, but I suppose that they are trained for this kind of thing when The Rock is on set (I hear they have a special kind of insurance). Check out the image and the Tweet below.

Fast 6 or Fast Six or The Fast and the Furious 6 or Fast and Furious 6 or 6ast and 6urious or whatever the hell they end up calling it is currently in production. Justin Lin is back in the director's chair for the fourth time in the series, and Chris Morgan is back with the pen. Vin Diesel and Paul Waker will return as Dominic and Brian, and they are joined by Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano, Jordana Brewster, Luke Evans and Joe Taslim. Universal Pictures has slated the film to be released on May 24, 2013.

If you missed out on The Raid: Redemption earlier this year, you missed some of the best fight choreography and martial arts ever seen on the big screen. And while a lot of the credit needs to be given to writer/director Gareth Evans, the skills of the stars involved cannot be ignored either. And now one of those stars is getting his chance to make his American cinema debut.

Variety reports that Joe Taslim, who played hero cop Jaka in the Indonesian action hit, has landed a role in Fast and Furious 6. The film, set to be directed by Justin Lin, has assigned Taslim the role of a villain named Jah who challenges stars Paul Walker and Vin Diesel with his serious martial arts and parkour skills. Production has already begun on the project, will which will also feature actors Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano and Tyrese Gibson. Evans is playing the central villain of the movie, and while plot details have not yet been released it's been said that the crew will be once again making their way overseas. Chris Morgan, who wrote the last three Fast and Furious movies, is handling script duties and Neal Moritz, who has produced each film in the series since The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, is back as well.

Universal Pictures will be distributing the movie and has already set it with a May 24, 2013 release date.