Which 'Fast & Furious' movies are in first gear?
It began in 2001 with a silly movie that could best be described as "Point Break" with cars instead of surfboards. Fourteen years and seven movies later, the franchise that began with "The Fast and the Furious" has consistently delivered hit movies with hot actors and hotter action scenes - and it even became an unlikely critical favorite.
"Furious 7" debuts in theaters next weekend and features the final performance from star Paul Walker, who died Nov. 30, 2013, in a car crash away from the set. Walker's brothers, stuntmen and, one can assume, a small army of digital animators helped complete his performance in the film.
This time, "Saw" director James Wan and British action star Jason Statham join the "Fast" family, which also includes Vin Diesel, Jordanna Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Sung Kang and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. If exotic cars and impressive stunts are the franchise's main draw, that diverse, charismatic cast is its secret weapon.
Fans of the franchise can buy a new collection of all six previous movies on Blu-ray or DVD housed in a plastic racing tire, with room to add "Furious 7" later this year. If you're new to the franchise, or stopped after the first few, here's how I'd rank the first six movies - and where you can stream them.
1. "Fast Five" (2011, director Justin Lin) - The fifth entry ditches street racing for a heist, adds a tougher-than-nails federal agent (Johnson) and mines the cast's growing chemistry for honest laughs and emotions. A favela foot chase is exciting, and the finale in which Walker and Diesel drag a bank vault through the streets of Rio with their cars is a marvel of explosive, practical stunts. (Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, vudu, YouTube)
2. "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003, John Singleton) - This second movie feels a little low-rent and more than a little trashy - which is exactly why it's so entertaining. Walker's rogue FBI agent is charged with bringing down a Miami drug lord (Cole Hauser) with the help of Roman Pearce (Gibson), who brings much-needed comic relief. There's a great gross-out scene involving a rat, a bucket and a dirty cop, and a finale with more flashy cars than a suburban cruise night. (Amazon, Google Play)
3. "Fast & Furious" (2009, Justin Lin) - The tagline sums it up perfectly: "New Model. Original Parts." The main cast members from the original film reunite in this confusingly titled fourth offering that opens with a nifty tanker-truck caper. (Amazon, Google Play, vudu, YouTube)
4. "Fast & Furious 6" (2013, Justin Lin) - Anything would be a letdown after "Fast Five," including this competently made entry that feels like it's going through the motions. The ambitious finale sees our heroes chasing a military plane carrying the villainous Shaw (a charisma-free Luke Evans), but strains credulity with what is apparently the longest runway on Earth. (Not currently available for digital rental)
5. "The Fast and the Furious" (2001, Rob Cohen) - A globally successful franchise begins with, frankly, a dud. We meet Brian O'Conner (Walker) and the family of street-racing thieves led by Dom Toretto (Diesel), but we also have to suffer conflicts between unlikable characters we don't care about. It's really remarkable how far the series has come. (Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, vudu, YouTube)
6. "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" (2006, Justin Lin) - Lin's first outing as director is this totally disposable entry starring Lucas Black as a young American racer in Japan that has almost no bearing on the rest of the franchise. It does introduce a great character in the cool, collected Han (Kang) - so great that the series' timeline was manipulated to allow his presence in the fourth, fifth and sixth movies. (Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, YouTube)
• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald copy editor. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.