How do you watch the Fast and Furious movies in order? Some cinema’s best (and often baldest) actors have assembled over the years to get into some very powerful cars and drive them very fast. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but we’ve gone from a few stolen DVD players to some of the most high-octane action in Hollywood.
There are now 10 main Fast and Furious movies, as well as short films and spin-offs. This makes mapping them out hard, especially as they often jump around in time. Thankfully, we’re experts in ‘Fastology’. So whether you’re planning to go back to when the Fast and Furious characters first met or want a refresher before new movies, strap in.
The Fast and Furious movies in chronological order
You’d be forgiven for thinking the Fast and Furious timeline would be pretty easy to follow, but you’d be wrong. While the majority of the films follow on from one another, there’s one outlier, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
Tokyo Drift was the third film released, but it’s technically the sixth feature-length movie in the series. Also, note we’ve included two short films, Turbo-Charged Prelude, and Los Bandoleros, because we’re completionists, but they’re skippable.
Here’s how to watch Fast and Furious movies in chronological order:
- The Fast and the Furious
- The Turbo-Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious (Short film)
- 2 Fast 2 Furious
- Los Bandoleros (Short film)
- Fast and Furious
- Fast Five
- Fast and Furious 6
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
- Furious 7
- The Fate of the Furious
- Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw
- F9
- Fast X
1. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
Humble beginnings, for sure. Nobody could foresee what this thriller about illegal street racing was going to start. The FBI enlists LAPD officer Brian O’Conner to infiltrate the group of drag-racing enthusiasts it believes to be responsible for some high-speed heists that have occurred.
In gaining the respect of Toretto, his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriquez), and the others, O’Conner grows to like them and ultimately decides against arresting Dom. Simple, effective, early-noughties fender-bending action that lays the foundation for what’s to come.
2. The Turbo-Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Where to watch: YouTube
This low-budget short was released in 2003 to promote the second film in the franchise and is available to watch online. At just over six minutes long, it takes viewers to the streets of Miami, where 2 Fast 2 Furious begins. If you want to watch absolutely everything, make sure to include this in your viewing party.
3. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
Diesel sits out the immediate sequels, and Walker is joined by mainstays Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris for another round of infiltration via dangerously fast sports cars. After letting Dom go, Brian’s found and arrested by authorities in Miami, Florida, and agrees to a plea deal of freedom in exchange for bringing down a drug lord.
Brian enlists childhood friend Roman Pearce (Gibson), and the pair earn their pardon through more than a few dents and scrapes. Like its predecessor, it might seem small now, but you can feel the electricity.
4. Los Bandoleros (2009)
Where to watch: Vimeo
Los Bandoleros is the second short film in the franchise and serves as a prequel to 2009’s Fast and Furious. Dom recruits Han Lue and Rico Santos to help Tego Leo, Dom’s associate, escape from a prison.
Dom, a fugitive for the last few years, organizes a meeting with a politician to set up the hijacking of a fuel tanker; Elvis seeks to exploit the fallout for political benefit, while Dom and his crew plan to give away the fuel to the local community.
5. Fast and Furious (2009)
Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
This is one of the confusing parts. The Justin Lin-directed fourth movie, Fast and Furious – because 4 Fast 4 Furious doesn’t quite roll off the tongue – is the third in the chronology, taking place five years after the first.
Diesel and Walker are reunited, cementing their places as leaders of the pack, and Gal Gadot is introduced to the Fast and Furious cast as Gisele Yashar.
Brian, now an FBI agent, helps Dom avenge the apparent death of Letty by taking down another drug lord, this time Fenix Calderon (Laz Alonso). Things don’t end so neatly this time, with Dom on his way to prison and Brian quitting the FBI for good.
6. Fast Five (2011)
Where to watch: Netflix, Peacock, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
The action moves to Brazil, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, joins in for the sequel that’s very much defined the back half of the series. Directly leading on from the previous movie, Dom is broken out of prison, and everyone flees to South America.
Changing to a slightly different lane, Dom, Brian, and Mia pull a good old-fashioned heist – to be perpetrated using designer automobiles, of course – on a corrupt businessman. Hot on their tail is DSS Agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson), who gets a little more than he bargained for in the pursuit. That’s right; these are effectively the best spy movies on four wheels now as well.
Ludacris, Gibson, and Gadot return and Han Lue (Sung Kang) shows up to capture the hearts of the collective fandom, solidifying the crew as we’ve come to know them. Everything moves at a lightning pace, and the set pieces get preposterous, to the point a bank vault is being swung around Rio De Janeiro like a wrecking ball. A post-credits scene reveals Letty is still alive, promising a prompt reunion.
7. Fast and Furious 6 (2013)
Where to watch: Peacock, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
Lin’s third sequel on the trot starts widening the cast exponentially. Luke convinces Dom to work with him to capture new baddie Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), under the premise that’ll lead them to Letty.
The crew rallies, Dom manages to find and get through to an amnesiac Letty, and Shaw is defeated in a high-octane, cars-versus-plane sequence on a landing strip. Just another day at the office until Jason Statham, of The Transporter and Crank fame, pops up for the post-credits scene.
This is one of the weaker entries, but it isn’t so bad that we’d say you’re okay to skip it.
8. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime and Apple TV
The post-credits scene in Fast and Furious 6 brings us back to the third movie. This is Kang’s actual first appearance as Han Lue, and for the most part, it’s just a rehash of what we’ve seen in The Fast and the Furious, and 2 Fast, 2 Furious, except it’s in Tokyo, Japan.
Sliding into a life of crime as a teenager, Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) moves in with his father in Japan to avoid prosecution in the US. He quickly discovers the local drag racing scene, forming relationships and getting into a spot of bother.
There’s lots of street racing, the Yakuza are involved, and everything comes down to a race. Dom shows up at the end because why not, and Deckard (the baddie in the next film) is retroactively shown to have targeted Han at the end of Furious 6, tying everything up into one very frayed little bow.
9. Furious 7 (2015)
Where to watch: Max, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
James Wan steps into the director’s chair, and the Fast crew moves from Los Angeles to Abu Dhabi and back again in one of the highest-grossing movies in the series, as well as the most audacious.
Brian and Luke narrowly avoid death at the hands of Deckard Shaw, and the mysterious Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) offers to help Dom if the sports car aficionados can retrieve God’s Eye, a mass surveillance tool.
It’s a rollercoaster techno-thriller in which we have Letty and Dom’s proper reunion, the start of Luke and Deckard’s unlikely partnership, and that awe-inspiring jump across the Etihad Towers in a Lykan HyperSport. Walker’s time on the franchise was unceremoniously ended when he passed away towards the end of filming, making the ending one that leaves a real lump in the throat. Honestly, this is among the best movies in the franchise.
10. The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
The eighth movie has Dom turn his back on his family, thanks to one of the franchise’s best movie villains, Cipher (Charlize Theron). Turns out, Dom had a child with Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky), his partner before Letty returned, and Cipher kidnapped Elena and the infant.
Dom, Cipher, and the gang play cat-and-mouse for much of the film, wherein Deckard becomes an anti-hero, saving Dom’s kid at the behest of his mother, Magdalene Shaw (Helen Mirren). Mr. Nobody reappears, and the final race is against a nuclear submarine. Only marginally more stressful than a round of Mario Kart.
11. Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw (2019)
Where to watch: Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
Finally, the other two bald, muscle-bound men of the franchise get a chance to shine. Deckard and Luke are forced to work together against the superhuman Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), who wants to release an experimental virus on the world. It’s definitely one of the best Dwayne Johnson movies.
His Samoan heritage is the backdrop for the entire third act, and fellow WWE superstar Roman Reigns has a small role as one of his onscreen family members. Expect that connection to come up again, likewise for Deckard’s sister, Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby). They save the world because, of course, they do, and at the end, it’s hinted this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Eteon, the organization that Brixton worked for.
12. F9 (2021)
Where to watch: Freevee, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
Cipher is back, and Dom and the crew have to go to space to stop her evil plans. That’s right, space. The crazy fools finally did it. We’ve more than jumped the shark by now, so it’s all good.
Thankfully, Han pops back in to lend a hand, and Cardi B shows up for good measure. John Cena gets in on the fun as well as the franchise’s latest villain, and though Cipher ultimately escapes, we reckon the team will catch up with her eventually.
13. Fast X (2023)
Where to watch: Peacock, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Theron’s baddie is back once again, but is Cipher a villain this time? Jason Momoa is certainly the most devilish character on show in the newest movie, seeking revenge against Dom and his crew for the death of his dad way back in Fast Five.
Louis Leterrier enters the fray as director, and with just two movies to go, it really feels as if we’re heading into the endgame in this story. The film even potentially sets up Dom’s son taking over as the face of the series down the line. For more, check out our Fast X review.
How to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order of release
If you’re new to the Fast franchise, we recommend watching the films in order of release.
While it does make the story feel a little disjointed, it’s not too difficult to understand, and it allows you to see how the Fast films have gone from relatively down-to-earth action movies to bonkers, over-the-top superhero films.
Fast and Furious movies in release order:
- 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 (2021)
- Fast and Furious 10 (2023)
Upcoming Fast and Furious movies
Oh, you didn’t think we were done, did you? There are at least four new Fast and Furious movies in the works, including another Hobbs spin-off and two direct sequels to Fast X.
- Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Reyes (TBC)
- Fast and Furious 11 (2025)
- Fast and Furious 12 (TBC)
- Untitled female-led spin-off (TBC)
Fast and Furious movies, ranked by Rotten Tomatoes score
If you’re really not interested in the overarching Fast story and just want to watch the films that are actually good, we recommend just sitting down with a Corona and watching the films the critics liked.
Fast and Furious movies ranked by Rotten Tomatoes scores:
- Furious 7 (2015) – 81%
- Fast Five (2011) – 78%
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013) – 71%
- Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) – 67%
- The Fate of the Furious (2017) – 67%
- F9: The Fast Saga (2021) – 59%
- The Fast and the Furious (2001) – 54%
- Fast X (2023) – 57%
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) – 38%
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) – 36%
- Fast & Furious (2009) – 29%
Fast and Furious, ranked by IMDb score
If you’re curious how the IMDb community (who tend to be a bit harsher than Rotten Tomatoes critics ranked the Fast and Furious movies, then we’ve got you covered but be warned, Fast 7 isn’t the top dog this time!
Fast and Furious movies ranked by IMDb scores:
- Fast Five (2011) – 7.3
- Furious 7 (2015) – 7.1
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013) – 7
- Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) – 7
- The Fast and the Furious (2001) – 6.8
- The Fate of the Furious (2017) – 6.6
- Fast & Furious (2009) – 6.5
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) – 6
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) – 5.9
- Fast X (2023) – 5.8
- F9: The Fast Saga (2021) – 5.2
That’s the complete Fast and Furious timeline as we know it. If you want to know more about the future of the franchise, keep your eyes peeled for the Fast and Furious 11 release date. You can also find out about the unlikely connection between Fast and Furious and Aquaman 2.
What does the future hold? We’re not sure, but if you’d like more bros and brawn, check out the best action movies.