Fast and Furious: Best Order to Watch the Series In

Last Updated on April 4, 2022

What is the best Fast and Furious order to watch the movies in? The behemoth franchise has spanned decades, with some entries appearing out of chronological order, and there’s a chance you might have been watching the series in the wrong order. Love it or hate it, the franchise has legs (or wheels, ha) and has proved entertaining and enduring enough to now be staring down the barrel of: a ninth entry (F9), a spinoff, an unofficial prequel for one side character and more sequels to follow. So, if a casual fan were wanting to return to the series that redefined high-octane thrill rides for the 21st century, where should they begin? Our take: chronologically. Here’s the best Fast and Furious order to watch the series in! (Spoilers for a twenty – that’s right, twenty – year-old franchise follow!)

1. The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Back to the beginning, is obviously where you should start for the best Fast and Furious order to watch the series in, with The Fast and the Furious. The Rob Cohen-directed, Point Break-inspired (also see: “rip-off”) franchise starter sees FBI agent Brian O’Conner (the late Paul Walker) infiltrating Dom Toretto’s street-racing, DVD player-thievin’ gang, but finds himself enamoured by the contingent’s family vibes and Mia Toretto’s (Jordana Brewster) sultry good looks. Things end as you know they will – in a race – but is left with a saccharine ending where Brian allows Dom to escape the law. 

2. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

The film title that spawned a thousand miles – 2 Fast 2 Furious – headlined a so-so sequel that did not see Vin Diesel returning to his role as Dom Toretto; instead, Tyrese Gibson steps up to the plate as Brian’s childhood friend and the buddy action vibes keep on truckin’. Why didn’t Diesel return? Surprisingly, it wasn’t about the money; he was offered a cool $25 mil to return, but he didn’t want to affect the first movie’s chance of becoming a “classic” if Hollywood just “slapped together a sequel”, per an interview with #legend. In a way, Diesel’s reluctance to return only made his eventual decision to return to the franchise all the more effective with a cameo appearance in the third entry, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. But chronologically, the next entry to watch is…

3. Fast & Furious (2009)

The reunion long-awaited by fans of the Fast franchise gifts us Brian O’Conner and Dom Toretto orbiting each other’s worlds once more; a considerable step-up from the first movie considering the the film is dripping with an antagonistic, reluctant, existing bond between its main characters – whose actors obviously share a bond off-screen. Fast & Furious was a welcome return, even if ultimately forgettable, this brings the fan-favorite characters back on track for what the franchise will go on to become.

4. Fast Five (2011)

Director Justin Lin returns from the reunion tour of Fast & Furious to bring one of the best entries to the franchise – along with ‘franchise viagara’ Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Johnson features as the sweaty, intense DSS agent Luke Hobbs, one of the most enjoyable characters in the series. When you undertake this Fast and Furious order to watch and rewatch the series in, Fast Five will likely be the first time you have a balls-to-the-wall good time. 

5. Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

Justin Lin comes back to helm his fourth entry in a row, with the franchise at this point really pulling in the mega bucks. Chronologically, you get to the point where Michelle Rodriguez’ Lettie makes a welcome return as Dom’s paramour. Fast & Furious 6 finds Luke Hobbs teaming up with Dom, Brian and the gang, in order to combat Luke Evans’ menacing Owen Shaw. The franchise rolls ever forward, as in its final moments we see Shaw’s brother Deckard (Jason Statham) killing fan-favorite Han (Sung Kang); if you’re watching the Fast and Furious franchise in chronological order for the first time, you might be a little confused here, but all will be explained in…

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

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is widely considered to be the favorite entry in the series, which is funny considering it was a threequel completely divorced from the escapades of Brian, Dom and the gang. Instead, we follow the errant Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), sent to live in Tokyo because he’s a troublemaker, where he enters the exciting world of drift-racing with Li’l Bow Wow. Han Seoul-Oh makes his welcome debut here, although you would’ve already met him in earlier entries. Han is sadly killed here, by an off-screen Deckard Shaw, which informs us of its placement in the best chronological order to watch the series in.

7. Furious 7 (2015)

Sadly, your journey along the best order to watch the Fast and Furious franchise in will bring you to Paul Walker’s final entry into the series after his shocking death in 2013. After waiting a respectful amount of time and completing the unfinished movie via rewrites, reshoots and using his brothers as digital stand-ins, Furious 7 debuted in 2015 to a record-crushing box office run and a tearful ending from incoming director James Wan which challenged even the manliest of audiences. 

8. The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Two years later, F. Gary Gray steps behind the camera to offer one of the least-regarded entries into the Fast and Furious franchise, but it ain’t all bad. In The Fate of the Furious, Charlize Theron gives good ‘bad guy’, and Dom’s character does an about-turn as he seemingly starts working against the Fast family. There’s fun to be had – including the Rock redirecting missiles with his bare hands – but this’ll be one of the least inspiring entries as you make your way through the best Fast and Furious order to watch the franchise in.

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

While the first of the Fast and Furious spinoffs (expect more to come) makes for fun banter between chalk and cheese Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, the drama off-screen was significantly more enjoyable. Vin Diesel and Tyrese Gibson were reportedly unhappy with Johnson swanning off with newcomer Statham to start a new sub-franchise, and Johnson called a bunch of them out on social media, leading to a war of words that’ll make for juicy reading as you continue your journey through the best Fast and Furious order to watch the movies in. Thankfully, it looks like the beef has been put to rest, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw made for a fun sidebar that deserves your popcorn.

10. F9 (2021)

Fans will finally get another entry into the Fast franchise when the imaginatively-titled (not) F9 hits in 2021. The latest entry was delayed thanks to the sh*tshow that was COVID-19, but when all is said and done I’m sure fans will be glad to enjoy the movie in a theater without (too much) fear of contracting a virus. 

There is a question mark surrounding F9‘s position in the chronology of the best order to watch the series in, as it remains to be seen whether the movie occurs before or after Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. It’s unlikely the plots of the two films will intersect, so it shouldn’t matter whether you watch one or the other first. 

11. Fast & Furious 10 (TBA)

Tipped to be the tenth and final entry in the core Fast and Furious franchise, Fast & Furious 10 (expect that title to change to something silly) has little to no plot details out in the ether, only that it’s intended as both a companion piece to F9 and as a capstone to the main saga. Bring a box of man-sized tissues, because it’s likely there’ll strangely be someone cutting onions next you for the last fifteen minutes of the movie, at least. Weird.

12. Bonus Round: Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)

Justin Lin, responsible for some of the best entries in the Fast and Furious saga that you’ve just watched in its best, chronological order, also directed a slick little movie in 2002 that was essentially his calling card in Hollywood. Following the exploits of a young group of over-achieving Asian-American high school seniors who enjoy some extra-curricular criminal activities, the film introduced a cool-as-cucumber mentor figure named Han, played by Sung Kang.

That’s right, cheeky Justin Lin brought back his favorite character for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, paving the way for Han to become a mainstay in the Fast franchise. As a bonus, you’re free to catch up on Han’s debut in Better Luck Tomorrow, although you’ll get whiplash if you try to watch this moody little indie before any of the Fast and Furious movies. Technically it’s set before 2 Fast 2 Furious, but it’s such a different animal that it would feel out of place. Better Luck Tomorrow is best enjoyed outside and separate to the best Fast and Furious order to watch those movies in, but it should be seen all the same.