What began as a mid-budget, almost humble ‘thriller’ has grown over the past decade into an increasingly big, fast-paced, resounding franchise, a companion to the impossible, a film gloriously aware of its high levels of delusion. Even the sky is not the limit. Before the premiere of ‘Fast & Furious X’ this Friday, we examine the evolution of the saga through its feature films (and, of course, its two short films because they are necessarily comprehensive).
1. “Full Throttle” (Rob Cohen, 2001)
“Full throttle” was an unexpected box office success: it cost $38 million but raised $200 worldwide. In reality and from today’s perspective, the equation was unrivaled: with the irresistible charisma of the handsome leads (Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodríguez and Jordana Brewster), the great rap songs and chrome, sleds and tons of nitrous oxide by Ja Rule, DMX and R. Kelly The sleek and turbocharged world of ‘chord’. In it, Walker plays FBI cop Brian O’Conner, who infiltrates the troubled world of illegal racing to try to overthrow the empire of Dom Toretto (Diesel).
2. ‘2Fast 2Furious. Turbocharged start’ (Philip Atwell, 2003)
‘Full throttle’, you’ll remember, ended with Toretto (Diesel) escaping thanks to Agent O’Conner (Walker) ignoring it. Released as an extra on some editions of the DVD of the first episode, this short film with little more than six minutes of dialogue served as a link to the upcoming ‘2 fast 2 furious: Full throttle 2’. In the piece, he is a wanted O’Conner for allowing Toretto to travel around the country from Los Angeles to win gold in illegal races. After an inevitable but chaste encounter with a young woman who will help him escape from the police, our hero arrives in Miami ready to rebuild his life outside the law.
3. “Full Throttle 2” (John Singleton, 2003)
Despite its box office success, the saga suddenly lost to Rob Cohen, Vin Diesel (who decided to create their own action series ‘xXx’), Michelle Rodríguez and Jordana Brewster. Therefore, all the weight fell on Paul Walker, who, in the company of the charismatic Tyrese Gibson and the ever-invincible Eva Mendes, ensured that this second installment not only met the demand of the fans, but also blasted the box office. Here, ex-agent O’Conner on the run must try to catch ruthless Argentine drug trafficker Carter Verona (psycho Cole Hauser) to get his crimes forgiven.
4. “Full throttle: Tokyo race” (Justin Lin, 2006)
The strangest, by far the worst, of all the films in the series, takes place outside of time and space: no one from the original cast remains, the action moves from the United States to Japan, and despite being the third installment, it would have been placed between the sixth and seventh chronologically. Glorifying the tricky technique of drifting, it positions young Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) in the world of illegal racing in Tokyo, between neon lights and the ever-irritating presence of yakuza. The finale delivers a spectacular blow: the appearance of the great Dom Toretto (Diesel) behind the wheel of the ’70 Plymouth Road Runner, which opens the door to his return to the series.
5. “Fast and the Furious 3.5: Outlaws” (Vin Diesel, 2009)
‘Los bandoleros’, the second short film of the series, takes place between the end of the first movie and the beginning of the fourth movie. In other words: It tells us in 20 minutes what Dom Toretto (Diesel) has been up to since Agent O’Conner (Walker) finally let ‘full throttle’ run. Set in the Dominican Republic and starring Michelle Rodríguez, Don Omar and Tego Calderon, the short film (available as an extra on some Blu-ray and DVD releases) explains, among other things, why the fourth episode begins with it. Spectacular gas theft from a moving truck convoy by Toretto and his colleagues. The circle is finally closed.
6. Fast & Furious: Even Faster (Full Throttle 4)’ (Justin Lin, 2009)
The cast of the original movie is returning, but also, at Lin’s insistence, the “Tokyo Race” character played by Sung Kang: Takashi’s business partner, that movie’s villain Han Seoul-Oh. Since he died in the movie (‘spoiler’), the fourth installment of the saga appears to be a prequel to the first; The action of ‘Tokyo Race’ actually takes place after the sixth. Toretto and O’Conner face off but then break ties with a faster-than-eyes presentation of action, on the imaginary frontier of science fiction and advanced reggaeton soundtracks. The first seriousness was beginning to give way to self-parody.
7. “Fast and Furious 5” (Justin Lin, 2011)
When the incongruous walks through the door, sadness shoots out the window. And the unprejudiced audience can only applaud out of guilt. Also, ‘Fast & Furious 5’ introduces the idea that each episode could belong to a different subgenre: It’s a heist movie like ‘Ocean’s 11’. Joaquim de Almeida’s Hernan Reyes won’t be the most interesting villain in the series, but there is another foe, the charisma-filled agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). Unexpected emotional probes that complete the play: see reflections on fatherhood and family scattered throughout the scenario.
“Fast and Furious 6” (Justin Lin, 2013)
In the middle of the London Underground, Leticia Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) returns from the dead to Gina Carano, a former mixed martial arts star and protagonist of Steven Soderbergh’s glorious ‘Yılmaz’. Rock joins the clan. Welshman Luke Evans plays Owen Shaw, one of the few terrifying villains in the series. Vin Diesel hints at what might be the best headshot in history. What can be objected to? Just nothing: According to Lin, ‘Fast and the Furious 6’ is an excellent film, under the influence of choral film expert Robert Altman; There are 13 characters that he masterfully directed.
“Fast and Furious 7” (James Wan, 2015)
Despite having already made ‘Death Punishment’, an influential underground vigilante thriller, there were some questions as to how horror expert James Wan would hold himself within the margins of pure action. It was also the death of Paul Walker during filming that hovered over this installment and ruined the party, and the fact that he was artificially resurrected in some episodes was disturbing. But “Fast and Furious 7”, perhaps the pinnacle of the saga to date, turned out to be a hyperbolic spectacle without moral force. That grand finale – O’Conner and Toretto parting ways, in white – seems to be the work of Clint Eastwood.
“Fast and Furious 8” (F. Gary Gray, 2017)
Walker’s tragic death in an accident orphaned the series from one of its mainstays, but the show had to go on. In this case, literally: the eighth installment is a pure spectacle under the strict parameters of the saga: a glorious celebration of excess and delirium, which more than ever flouts the laws of physics, logic, and common sense. action scenes like zombie cars or submarines on the ice. Toretto (Diesel) must, or so it seems, betray the extended family here for his part with the Shaw brothers (Jason Statham and Luke Evans) in a cyberterrorism plot starring Charlize Theron as a stylized villain. Total fun, almost sure.
“Fast and the Furious: Hobbs and Shaw” (David Leitch, 2019)
If the series is multi-choral in general, this ‘side movie’ is included in the ‘friendship movie’. The two supporting figures in episode six, agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and mercenary Shawn (Jason Statham), are here as the protagonists of another thrilling episode of ambiguous plot fights and chases. The two characters are formidable rivals, but they must join forces against the villain of the day. This is what Idris Elba plays, which portrays him: he is a genetically enhanced anarchist. The mix of action and humor expected for the summer of 2019, when no one in the world could have imagined the epidemic coming upon us, and a “blockbuster” is just that.
“Fast and Furious 9” (Justin Lin, 2021)
The more of the same and the more explosive the better. The entire group (Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Nathalie Emmanuel), plus Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren and Kurt Russell. Three, four, five and six delivery manager Justin Lin also returned to the controls. Fans can expect anything from a space-launched car to combat with powerful magnets, mass destruction of vehicles, and ultimate driving maneuvers. There is no trace of the automobile race, which is the locomotive of history, for a long time and in the movies. This is already an epic competing face to face with ‘Our Mission is Danger’.