Even thoughFast Fiveturned theFast & Furiousseries into an action blockbuster franchise, it was actuallyFast & Furious 6that made over-the-top, ridiculous stunts a mainstay. The firstFast & Furiousmovie was released in 2001 and mostly focuses on street racing. Even though each movie in the franchise ramps up the action, the first fourFast & Furiousmoviesall predominantly feature street racing. However,Fast Fiveessentially abandoned street racing and instead turned the series into one of the biggest action franchises in Hollywood.
Fast Fivemay have marked a major change in direction for the franchise, but it is still mostly grounded.Fast & Furious 6, on the other hand, features a plethora of unrealistic stunts that set a precedent for the rest of the franchise. After the sixth movie in the series, thestunts inFast & Furiousmovies continued to get more and more ridiculous. Therefore, even thoughFast Fiveis often credited withchanging theFast & Furiousfranchiseforever,it was actuallyFast & Furious 6that solidified the series as an over-the-top action franchise.
Fast & Furious 6 Is When The Franchise Truly Went Over The Top
Fast & Furious 6 Includes Several Ridiculous Stunts
InFast & Furious 6, Luke Hobbs asks Dom and his crew to help him take down Owen Shaw’s crew in exchange for full pardons after all the crimes they’ve committed. The story ofFast & Furious 6is actually quite straight forward, pitting one crew against another. However,Fast & Furious 6is when the action in the series truly gets ridiculous and features characters essentially acting like they’re superhuman. For example, Dom jumping from one bridge to another to save Letty is so overdramatic and unlikely that audiences are practically forced to turn their brains off.
Fast & Furious’ 10 Most Ridiculous & Over-The-Top Scenes
Fast & Furious is no stranger to some high-stakes action sequences, but some have been so over-the-top and ambitious that they’re hard to forget.
Theend ofFast & Furious 6also includes a drawn out climax on a runway that seems to last forever.Fast & Furious 6’sclimax makes less sense the more you think about it, and proves that the franchise expects people to turn their brains off and just accept what’s happening on the screen. Furthermore,Fast & Furious 6brought Letty back from the dead, starting the trend of bringing seemingly dead characters back to life.Fast & Furious 6’sLetty plot line also changed the franchise forever, as practically every dead character seems to return down the line.
Fast Five Changed The Franchise’s Tone (But Its Action Was Still Grounded)
Fast Five Is Regarded By Many As The Best Fast & Furious Movie
Even thoughFast Fivewas a dramatic shift in tone for the franchise, it did not include as many unrealistic action sequences asFast & Furious 6. In fact,most ofFast Five’saction sequences are quite grounded.Fast Fiveis a pretty traditional action movie that builds towards a major heist. Obviously, Dom and his crew dragging a massive safe through the streets of Rio de Janeiro isn’t completely realistic, but it was believable enough for the story of the film.
Fast Fiveis the last film in the franchise that featured action scenes that felt like they actually had stakes.
Fast Fivealso features some of the most intense sequences of the entire franchise. For example,the favela chase scene inFast Fivekeeps audiences on the edge of their seats as it feels like characters like Dom, Brian, and Mia are genuinely in danger. This is perhaps the last time audiences have any reason to worry about these characters in theFast & Furiousseries, as the other films in the franchise treat them like they’re superhuman. Therefore,Fast Fiveis the last film in the franchise that featured action scenes that felt like they actually had stakes.
Things Only Got Weirder In The Fast Saga After Fast & Furious 6
The Fast & Furious Movies After The Sixth Film Are Even More Over-The-Top
After the numerous over-the-top action scenes inFast & Furious 6, future movies in the series had to continuously one-up the previous films.Furious 7wasted no time proving that it could include more ridiculous sequences thanFast & Furious 6. About halfway throughFurious 7, Dom jumps a car between multiple skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi. Throughout the series,the crew successfully drive cars out of planes and land them on the ground, contain a giant wrecking ball in Rome, and two characters even go to space in a car.
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
55%
37%
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
38%
29%
78%
71%
82%
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
67%
59%
Fast X (2023)
57%
For a long time, it was a joke that theFast & Furiousfranchise would go to space. However, the ninth film in the series figured out a way to actually send Roman and Tej to space. This sequence, and many others, proves thattheFast & Furiousfranchise is much more focused on over-the-top action than telling a genuinely compelling story. This wasn’t always the case, but 12 years after the sixth film released in theaters, it is clearer than ever that it completely changed theFast & Furiousfranchise.
