Ranking The Five Best Scenes From The Fast And Furious Franchise

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in The Fast and the Furious _ Universal

Do you live your life a quarter-mile at a time? Well, do you? Ever since Dominic Toretto taught me how to live in The Fast and Furious franchise, my life has changed for the better.

The Fast Saga holds a special place in my heart. It’s in my top 5 for favorite franchises of all time. I’d argue that The Fast Saga executes its proven formula better than any other franchise.

What does that formula involve? Well, fast cars are a good start. The action sequences always provide edge-of-your-seat thrills where you have to pick your jaw up on the floor after it is finished. Most of the stunts are over the top and unrealistic, but no one ever said these films had to reflect real life. It’s escapism at its finest.

What else makes these movies so successful? The lessons of loyalty, friendship, and family are sprinkled in throughout every film. Whenever Dom gives a toast, I pretend I’m also holding a corona because as we know, you can have any brew you want as long as it’s Corona. One-liners are also a huge part of the dialogue. Dom, Roman Pearce, and Luke Hobbs usually duke it out for best line reading if all three are in the same movie.

At the heart of these films was the real-life friendship between Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. They were brothers on and off the set. Because of their chemistry, it’s as if they weren’t acting onscreen whenever they were together. You could believe their friendship was genuine, which is why it’s so hard to watch older movies knowing Walker died in 2013.

On a lighter note, F9 finally hits theaters after a 15-month delay. In honor of F9, here are my five favorite scenes from The Fast and Furious franchise.

5. VINCE! – The Fast and the Furious

VINCE! If you’ve watched this scene, then I bet you screamed “Vince” the same way Diesel did when trying to rescue his friend off a truck. No stunt is too big or great for The Fast Saga, but this stunt still holds up in 2021. Jumping back and forth between cars while an angry trucker tries to shoot your head off still gets me out of my seat. If Vince wasn’t dying, Dom would have thrown Brian into a moving truck. Thankfully, he didn’t so more movies could be made.

4. The Tank Sequence – Fast & Furious 6

Come on a journey with me, please. In this scene from Fast & Furious 6, Letty is throw off a tank into mid-air between two elevated roads where she would fall to her death 999,999/100,000 times. But not this time. Dom crashed his car into the guard rail, jumped out of his car, flew (yes, flew) in mid-air, caught Letty, and crashed into a car windshield across the gap. Dom didn’t even have a cut! Dom is superhuman.

3. Hobbs vs. Toretto – Fast Five

Ali v. Frazier. Tyson vs. Holyfield. Luke Hobbs vs. Dominic Toretto. My god was this a heavyweight fight for the ages. Fast Five is the best film in The Saga. Fast Five opened a world of possibilities for this franchise. Street racing and wrenches were traded in for bank heists and machine guns. Straight up, Fast Five is one of the best action movies of the last 10 years. The Rock joining The Fast family was like Kevin Durant going to the Warriors. It was a cheat code. Up until this point, Dom never had a worthy foe. He was always bigger and stronger than his opponents. In this movie, Dom finally faced someone who was just as strong and used just as much body butter on the biceps. I need these two to fight in real life. Oh wait, they kind of did?

2. You Never Had Me – The Fast and the Furious

In the comments of this video, YouTube user Engineering Explained wrote, “So many perfect lines in such a short amount of time. Those writers are blessed.” I couldn’t agree more, Mr. Explained. Diesel and Walker look like kids in this scene. This was the moment that started a brotherly bond that could not be broken. It’s the perfect encapsulation of two characters. Walker, the cocky and charismatic Brian, is mesmerized by Diesel, the confident and loyal Dom. Please write this on my tombstone – “You almost had me? You never had me. You never had your car.”

1. Final Ride – Furious 7

I’ve spoken about the ending of Furious 7 many times, but it never gets old. I just watched it minutes ago and now there are goosebumps on my arm. Furious 7 had an impossible task when Walker died halfway through shooting. I’ve always said that Diesel is the backbone of The Fast Saga, but Walker is the heart. Without Walker, a giant piece of the franchise is missing. Somehow, someway, Furious 7 nailed the ending. Giving Walker the hero’s ending that he deserved instead of killing his character onscreen was such a smart decision. It’s not only the best scene of The Fast Saga but one of my favorite scenes of the last 10 years.

What is your favorite scene from The Fast Saga? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us, @danny_giro.

Fast And Furious 9 Trailer Proves F9 Will Be A Masterpiece

Vin Diesel and Nathalie Emmanuel in F9

One of the greatest philosophers of the 21st century, Dominic Toretto, once said, “I don’t have friends. I got family.” For me, there’s my immediate family, and then there’s my Fast and Furious family.

I love the Fast and Furious franchise with my whole heart. For the past 20 years, it has provided so much joy in my life. After watching the second trailer for F9, I’m convinced the ninth installment will end the pandemic.*

*I’m joking… or am i?

Here’s the official synopsis for F9, which is set to open on June 25, 2021.

Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he’s going to save those he loves most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom’s forsaken brother, Jakob (John Cena).

If that doesn’t make you want to sit in a movie theater with a large popcorn and soda, then I don’t know what will. For my money, The Fast Saga is one of the best (action) franchises ever made. Speaking of money, consumers tend to agree with my assessment because it’s the seventh highest-grossing film franchise of all time at the box office.

The fact that the Fast Saga has survived two decades is unfathomable. Why has The Fast Saga been so successful? Two reasons: Adaptability and following a proven formula.

First, the franchise continues to adapt, raising the stakes in every subsequent movie. Remember when the first film in the franchise, The Fast and the Furious, revolved around stealing electronic goods off of tractor-trailers? Now, the franchise is heading to SPACE! The Fast and the Furious feels like a character-driven indie compared to the later films, which are giant action spectacles.

F1, F2, and F4 (sorry, Tokyo Drift) leaned into Office Brian O’Connor and how his friendship with Toretto conquers all. F5, F6, and F7, which happens to be the strongest three-film stretch in the franchise, saw Dom’s crew on the run from the government as they fought to come back home. F8 upped the ante even further as Dom turned heel and the crew faced off against a cyberterrorist. Dom Toretto has gone from a well-known street racer to a superhuman crime fighter who can jump from building to building without a scratch.

One of The Fast Saga‘s greatest strengths is that it knows its identity. In every movie, Dom and his crew are threatened by a villain who wants to break up the family. Dom won’t let that happen so his crew pulls out all the stops to save the day and more importantly, keep the family intact. This proven formula works time and time again.

The Fast Saga is the perfect form of escapism. It’s big, loud, and entertaining. There are unrealistic action sequences that are borderline ridiculous. The dialogue is built around witty one-liners about family and Roman’s stupidity. But guess what? This script works. When describing the violence in his movies, Quentin Tarantino said, “Kill Bill’s a violent movie. But it’s a Tarantino movie. You don’t go to see Metallica and ask the fuckers to turn the music down.” I feel the same way about F9.

I’m not going into F9 expecting Citizen Kane or The Godfather. I want to have a good time with my Fast family, and if the trailer is any indication of what’s to come, then my wish will be granted.

By Paul, For Paul.