The “Fast and Furious” movies are maybe the biggest surprise in filmmaking this century aside from the rise of Marvel and the fall of “Star Wars.” The first movie is great — more on that in a bit — but few could have predicted that the “car porn” action movies now known as the “Fast Saga” would become one of the biggest film franchises in movie-making history. Chances are that you’re reading this article having already watched at least one of them.
So whether you’re a fan of the franchise or just looking for something to watch this weekend, I have good news for you: Netflix just added seven of the “Fast and Furious” movies to its library this week. And I’m here to tell you which three you need to watch first.
This isn’t necessarily my three best “Fast Saga” movies or even my three favorites (though admittedly two of them are), but it’s the three movies I’d choose to watch of the seven “Fast and Furious” movies that Netflix just added if I could only pick three. So let’s get under the hood, starting with the one that started it all: “The Fast and the Furious.”
‘The Fast and the Furious’ (2001)
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“The Fast and the Furious” (2001) is essentially a remake of the 1991 classic “Point Break.” Nobody will admit it, but this movie is just Kathryn Bigelow’s masterpiece with cars instead of surfing. But the beauty of ripping off a great movie is that you’re emulating greatness, and because of that, “The Fast and the Furious” also manages to be great, even if it’s not quite “Point Break.”
In the Johnny Utah role of undercover agent forced to join a criminal gang, “The Fast and the Furious” stars Paul Walker as LAPD officer Brian O’Conner. He’s been assigned to infiltrate a street racing gang suspected of robbing several semitrucks on local highways. To find out who is behind the hijackings, he starts working at a performance auto parts shop, which causes him to cross paths with legendary street racer Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel).
To impress Toretto, Brian enters an illegal street race and wagers his car. He loses to Dom, but then helps the street racer escape the cops and starts working with Dom to restore a Toyota Supra and turn it into a “10-second car.” This movie is genuinely one of my favorites to watch, and it stands well on its own all these years later, despite going on to spawn numerous sequels and spinoffs. If you’re watching “Fast Saga” movies, you have to start here.
Watch “The Fast and the Furious” on Netflix now
‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’ (2006)
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“The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” is a complicated movie. It’s the first in the “Fast Saga” not to feature Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner, and only at the end, in a brief cameo, does Vin Diesel show up as Dominic Toretto. That puts the movie largely on the shoulders of Lucas Black as military brat Sean Boswell, who at the start of the movie is sent from Arizona to live with his father, a U.S. Navy lieutenant stationed in Tokyo.
In retrospect, that wasn’t maybe the strongest choice for the franchise to make, though it’s not as bad as critics made it out to be at the time. Black isn’t memorable as Sean, nor is the rapper Bow Wow as fellow military brat Twinkie, who gets Sean into drift racing in Tokyo.
But Sung Kang remains enjoyable as Han Lue, and the racing in this movie is genuinely excellent. The movie also introduces director Justin Lin to the franchise, and would go on to not only spawn sequels in the “Fast Saga” but also spawn a few prequels. Its place in the timeline may be complicated, but its place in the pantheon of best “Fast” films has grown as the years have gone on. Plus, it’s originally written without much connective tissue to the other movies in the franchise, so it works well as a standalone movie.
Watch “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” on Netflix now
‘Fast Five’ (2011)
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“Fast Five” is a pivotal movie in the “Fast and Furious” movies for a few reasons. First, it was the last movie for a while not to be directly connected to what happens to Han in “Tokyo Drift.” Second, it introduced Dwayne Johnson to the franchise as U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs, a character that would become integral to the “Fast Saga” going forward, even launching a spin-off franchise.
But most importantly, this movie transitioned the “Fast and Furious” movies from (relatively) grounded “car porn” street racing films to full-blown action blockbusters that would take the franchise into the stratosphere (literally).
Those reasons are why I have “Fast Five” on this list, even though the next two films in the franchise — “Fast and Furious 6” and “Furious 7” — might arguably be better movies. So grab some popcorn and round out your “Fast Saga” movie marathon as Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and Paul Walkers Brian O’Conner team up with Dom’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) to steal $100 million from corrupt Brazilian businessman (druglord) Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) while avoiding capture by Dwayne Johnson’s Agent Hobbs.
Watch “Fast Five” on Netflix now
Malcolm McMillan
Malcolm has been with Digitpatrox since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He’s not one to shy away from a hot take, including that “John Wick” is one of the four greatest films ever made.
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