The Fast & The Furious: Ranking Every Movie From Worst To Best

7. Fast & Furious (2009)

After people thought Tokyo Drift was - for some reason - a poor film - Universal called back the big guns: Brian and Dom Toretto were reunited, Letty was pushed into a pivotal story position (thanks to her "death") and the story in general hits the marks that made the first movie so enjoyable.

But it's still an odd movie in terms of the rest of the franchise and it's possibly best considered as a stand-alone (despite the obvious ties). The issue with it is that is hasn't quite hit the confident stride that came with Fast Five, and it's nowhere near as bonkers. It's not bad, per se, but it looks like an identity crisis in hindsight.

Vin Diesel is arguably the best he's been here, because he's in full angel of vengeance mode, and there are some interesting explorations into his dynamic with Brian. It just doesn't feel like a "family" film (in the sense that the supporting characters are notably absent) and there aren't as many ridiculous excuses for car-based set-pieces. They might be a bit silly, but they're very much a pillar of this brand.