Upon watching The Fast and the Furious back in 2001, which was essentially a remake of Point Break set in the world of street-racing, surely nobody could have predicted that the series would still be going strong over a decade later as one of the most popular blockbuster franchises in Hollywood. With almost $2.4bn in box office receipts it is now the most lucrative franchise in the the history of Universal Studios, with recent unfortunate circumstances setting next year's seventh installment up to be the biggest yet. Despite earning billions of dollars and the last two efforts delivering two of the most purely entertaining action movies in recent memory, as a whole the Fast and Furious franchise has remained mired in mediocrity. The original movie remains an entertaining B-movie packed with solid car chases, before the franchise lost its way with sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious, with the final product being almost as terrible as the title. Tokyo Drift saw the tiring franchise running on fumes, before the return of the original cast gave the series a much-needed shot in the arm with the fourth installment. With parts five and six, Justin Lin established his credentials as one of the best action directors around with a series of spectacular set-pieces that drove the franchise to new box office heights. Even after failing to produce what would be regarded as a great movie after six attempts, the Fast and the Furious series doesn't have to; the franchise positively revels in its current role as an over-the-top series of crowd-pleasing blockbusters.