10 Movies That Saved Their Respective Franchises

The Fast and the Furious movies initially focused on the popular street racing culture of the 2000s. In an effort to expand its audience, Universal Studios and Justin Lin set to revamp the series into a heist movie with the release of Fast Five in 2011.

The fifth entry serves as the franchise's transition from street racing films to the bombastic action movies they are today. There are barely any races, and Fast Five features more brawls and gunfights than ever before.

Fast Five also turns the franchise into an ensemble with the reintroduction of characters like Roman Pearce and Han. This allowed the series to focus on the 'family' aspect with people from different walks of life banding together to perform ridiculous missions.

Finally, the film brings in Dwayne Johnson as Agent Luke Hobbs, which boosted the series' popularity. Hobbs would bring charisma into the movies and serve as a worthy opponent for Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto, even when he eventually joined the family. He'd eventually become a fan favorite character, which led to his own spin-off film with Jason Statham.

Had it not been for Fast Five, the franchise would have probably died earlier. But by switching gears and changing lanes, the film would transform the series forever.