4. Hollywood Is Lazy
Don't tell me you didn't see this one coming? I don't believe you.
Fine, I'll explain it to you. The corporate shills of Hollywood are driven solely by the bottom line, like most successful businessmen are, and the easiest way to predict a healthy payday is by A) making an insanely cheap movie then promoting it aggressively, like Paranormal Activity, for example or B) making a pandering and derivative movie that "borrows" from other popular films or cultural references that are en vogue at the time. The original Fast & Furious was an attempt to capitalize on the mainstream cultural popularity street racing was enjoying at the time. Nothing more. Okay, they threw a few Steve McQueen homages in here and there but the fact that the first one (unexpectedly) performed so well financially is the sole reason this franchise is even a franchise.