How to watch the 'Fast and the Furious' movies in order
If you have a need for speed, the "Fast and the Furious" film series could be right up your alley.
After racing into theaters in 2001, "The Fast and the Furious" inspired a movie franchise that now includes 11 films.
You might be tempted to watch them in the order they were released. But this movie saga takes a few detours along the road, and there's a proper order in which to watch them if you don't want to miss any of the action.
In what order were the 'Fast and the Furious' movies released?
"The Fast and the Furious" (2001)
“2 Fast 2 Furious” (2003)
“The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” (2006)
“Fast & Furious” (2009)
“Fast Five” (2011)
“Fast & Furious 6” (2013)
“Furious 7” (2015)
“The Fate of the Furious” (2017)
“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” (2019)
“F9: The Fast Saga” (2021)
“Fast X” (2023)
How to watch the 'Fast and the Furious' films in order
'The Fast and the Furious' (2001)
This is the first film that launched an epic saga that spans 11 installments to date. "The Fast and the Furious" introduces viewers to a group of rival Los Angeles street racing teams.
The late Paul Walker plays Brian O’Conner, a newbie police officer who gets assigned to a road heist investigation. To crack the case, he has to pretend to be a member of Dominic Toretto's (Vin Diesel) racing team. O’Conner has a job to do, but he soon becomes immersed in the racing lifestyle and even finds romance. When push comes to shove, will he finish the job and bring the culprits to justice?
'2 Fast 2 Furious' (2003)
Spoiler alert! O’Conner chooses his new racing buddies over his job at the end of the first film and finds himself on the run in this sequel. In Miami, he meets Tej (Ludacris) and joins his street racing team.
When he gets busted, O'Conner strikes a deal and enlists the help of his old friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese) to carry out a dangerous mission. Along the way, he meets and works with Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes), an undercover agent.
'Fast & Furious' (2009)
Diesel's character, Dom, returns in this film and tragedy strikes when his girlfriend, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), is killed.
Dom soon finds himself reuniting with O'Conner under unlikely circumstances and tensions are running high between them. However, they have to put their differences aside to take down an enemy.
Along the way, the duo encounters drug cartel liaison Gisele Yashar (Gal Gadot) and they all form a new alliance.
'Fast Five' (2011)
At the end of "Fast & Furious," Dom got arrested and sentenced to prison but his crew came through for him and rescued him. "Fast Five" follows Dom, O'Conner and their crew as they plan their biggest job yet in Rio de Janeiro.
The stakes are high and danger ensues, but money talks and the crew is up for the challenge.
Along the way, they have to dodge enemies and federal agents, including Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), whose morals may not be as strong as they appear to be.
'Fast & Furious 6' (2013)
When Hobbs tracks down Dom and asks him and his crew to help him catch a suspect, he also shares some shocking information. As it turns out, Letty is alive (!) and Dom is more motivated than ever to bring her home.
Dom's crew is ready to support him and they all gather in London. But Letty might not be as eager to get the gang back together as they are. Danger and excitement lurk around every corner in the action-packed flick.
'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift' (2006)
Han Lue (Sung Kang) is the focus of this film that centers around the Tokyo drift racing scene. While in Japan, he encounters a young American, Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), who has relocated to Japan. Han takes him under his wing and schools him on the art of drifting.
Similar to the other films in the franchise, this one features plenty of action and an enemy who's out for Han this time around. Will he escape?
'Furious 7' (2015)
An old nemesis resurfaces in "Furious 7." After helping Hobbs catch Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) in London, Shaw's brother, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), is out for revenge.
Dom's crew encounters government agent Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell), who tasks them with finding a hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), who soon joins their team and helps track down Deckard. With mega-stunts and an epic showdown, there's intrigue in store from the beginning to the end of this film.
This is the last film in the franchise that Walker appeared in before his death.
'The Fate of the Furious' (2017)
Dom and Letty's honeymoon gets cuts short when a woman named Cipher (Charlize Theron) creates chaos. Dom soon learns he has a son he didn't know existed and Cipher pits him against his chosen family, his crew.
The crew knows something is up and they join forces to figure out what sort of hold Cipher has over Dom that would make him turn his back on them.
'Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw' (2019)
Johnson and Statham return as Hobbs and Shaw in this spinoff film that was released in 2019. They're not exactly allies, but they have to work together to defeat Brixton (Idris Elba), an anarchist who has been cybergenetically enhanced.
The film is equal parts action and humor as viewers get to watch these two join forces, especially since they can't stand each other.
'F9: The Fast Saga' (2021)
When Dom learns that his estranged brother, Jakob (John Cena), is part of a dangerous plot, he sets out to stop him with the help of his crew. Meanwhile, Jakob is a force to be reckoned with because he's an assassin and skilled driver, and he doesn't exactly feel all warm and fuzzy about his brother.
The adventure follows the crew as they travel around the world and contend with the bad blood between the brothers. Will they stop his master plan? Is there any hope of reconciliation between Dom and Jakob? Watch to find out.
'Fast X' (2023)
The most recent film in the series was released in May 2023 and finds Dom and his crew facing off with an old enemy's son.
Longtime fans of the series will remember an epic showdown in "Fast Five" that took down Brazilian drug kingpin Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). As it turns out, Reyes' son Dante (Jason Momoa) has spent all this time plotting his revenge.
With their lives on the line, Dom and his crew band together to protect everyone, especially Dom's son.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
