(Welcome to Where to Watch, which provides a clear and simple answer to the question, “Hey, where can I watch this thing?” In this edition: the Fast and Furious franchise.)
We’re just nine days away from the release of F9, the highly anticipated ninth entry in the primary timeline of the Fast and Furious movies. There’s still time to get all caught up on the adventures of Dominic Toretto and his #family of high-speed international spy racers, so here’s where you can find all nine of the Fast and Furious movies streaming or available to rent.
The Fast and The Furious
Where to stream: HBO Max
The first film, directed by Rob Cohen, introduces us to Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), an undercover L.A. cop who ingratiates himself with a team of street racers led by the charismatic Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) who are ripping off combination VCR/DVD players. It’s basically a rip-off of Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break – but it’s a very good rip-off.
2 Fast 2 Furious
Where to stream: HBO Max
John Singleton stepped in to direct this sequel, which follows Brian to Miami, where he’s hanging out with his garage-owner pal Tej (Ludacris) and reunites with his old pal Roman (Tyrese Gibson) to go on a dangerous smuggling run for a local crime lord. Eva Mendes plays a Customs agent whose allegiances are in question, and it features a scene in which Brian does the “stare and drive,” a move in which he stares directly into Mendes’s character’s eyes while driving over 100 miles per hour, only to come to a perfect stop at a light while never breaking eye contact.
The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift
Where to rent: Redbox ($1.99), Amazon/Apple/YouTube/Vudu ($3.99)
Justin Lin took over the franchise for this third entry, which follows a hot-headed American named Sean (Lucas Black) who is exiled to Tokyo to live with his father and becomes enamored by the Japanese culture of “drifting” – essentially skidding around tight corners in a highly controlled way. This is the first movie to introduce the character of Han (Sung Kang), a charismatic criminal who befriends Sean and is killed during a chase scene in this movie. It features a brief Vin Diesel cameo, which sparked enough interest to keep the franchise going when its future was far from certain.
Fast & Furious
Where to stream: AMC+
Lin stuck around for the next three movies, and Fast & Furious reunites Vin Diesel and Paul Walker for the first time since the original. They team up to bring down a drug lord and avenge the murder of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Dom’s brash and capable girlfriend from the first film. It features a memorable foot chase and is notable for getting the franchise back on track, but I think it works best if you view it as an appetizer for a new phase of these movies that was soon to come.
Fast Five
Where to stream: Peacock
The best film of the franchise, this is where Lin was able to finally perfect the formula and strike the perfect balance between outlandish action and emotional sentiment. Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) is introduced as an excellent foil to Dom, and the movie ends with the two of them arriving at a begrudging respect for one another.
Fast & Furious 6
Where to stream: Peacock Premium, DirecTV, TBS, TNT, TruTV
A gang of mercenaries is causing trouble internationally, so Hobbs offers to wipe the team’s records clean if Dom, Brian, and the rest of the crew help him take them down. Did I mention Letty is part of this mercenary gang? Yep, she’s alive and has amnesia, and it’s just as ridiculous as it sounds. This is the one with the airport runway action scene that lasts forever, but that isn’t even the most insane thing that happens in this movie.
Furious 7
Where to stream: DirecTV, FuboTV, FXNow
Paul Walker died in a real-life car accident mid-way through the production of this film, but director James Wan and everyone at Universal decided to finish the movie to honor Walker’s memory. Even with some dodgy CGI, it turned out to be one of the better entries in the franchise, and fans were bawling in the aisles at the touching ending, which sends Walker’s character off into the sunset after flashing back to key moments in the franchise thus far. Oh, and at one point the characters drive a car through a skyscraper and crash it into another skyscraper. It rules.
The Fate of the Furious
Where to stream: Spectrum On Demand, or $3.99 rental on Amazon/Apple/YouTube/Vudu
F. Gary Gray stepped in to direct this middling follow-up, which sees Dom essentially turn evil at the hands of a hacker named Cipher (Charlize Theron). It has a few decent moments, but ultimately it’s all a bit too underwhelming. To make matters worse, new addition Scott Eastwood can’t hold a candle to Paul Walker, who was the glue that held this franchise together. But Cipher returns in F9, so it seems important that you watch this one to have the full context for what’s going on.
Hobbs & Shaw
Where to rent: $3.99 rental on Amazon/Apple/YouTube/Vudu
The first Fast & Furious spin-off focuses on Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), a villain-turned-hero who killed Han in a previous movie and was somehow let into Dom’s inner circle despite that top tier treachery. This spin-off is incredibly disappointing – it’s basically an excuse for Johnson and Statham to verbally spar for the whole movie while fighting a common enemy (Idris Elba), but since their banter is not funny, the whole exercise feels like a big missed opportunity.
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