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In an era of endless reboots and sequels, The Devil Wears Prada 2 managed to do the impossible: stay true to its roots while evolving for a new generation. In our latest episode of How It Hits, we take a look at the "legacy sequel" phenomenon through the lens of one of cinema's most stylish comedies.

Senior editor Shannon Connellan breaks down the return of Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt, and look at how the shift from print to digital journalism provides the perfect backdrop for the continued power struggle between Miranda Priestly and Andy Sachs. Groundbreaking? Actually, yes.

It's hard to believe that foldables have been around for long enough (and gotten good enough) that I can use one that's totally fine and think to myself, "Eh, you can do better."

That's been my experience during early testing for the new Motorola Razr Fold. The $1,900 device has pretty much everything you'd want in a book-style foldable: it's reasonably comfortable in the hands, the displays are high quality, and it's got a battery that dwarfs the competition. But in actually using it, I've still found myself preferring the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 from a year ago, while also considering the upcoming, heavily rumored iPhone Fold.

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Motorola Razr Fold $1,899.99 at Best Buy
  Pre-order Here at Best Buy Pre-order Here at Motorola US The first impression: This is a serious foldable with serious competition Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

Here's my takeaway from early testing: the foldable market is getting really crowded, and with such a high price, I'm not sure the Razr Fold has done enough to stand out against the competition just yet.

What I liked: It feels great in the hand, is easy to use, has killer displays, and boasts strong performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset.

What I didn't like: Not as thin as the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and like the competition, it has a steep price tag; my testing unit also experienced a battery issue.

Key specs:

• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset

• Battery: 6,000mAh

• Displays: 6.6-inch pOLED cover display (up to 165Hz refresh rate) / 8.1-inch LTPO OLED (up to 120Hz variable refresh rate) with HDR10+

• Cameras: 50MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP telephoto, 20MP inner camera, 32MP cover camera

• Charging: 80W charging, 50W wireless, reverse wireless charging

• AI tools: Google Gemini, Perplexity, Moto AI, Microsoft Copilot

• Brightness: 6,200 nits

• Price: $1,899.99

Motorola Razr Fold feels good, but not quite as good as Galaxy Z Fold 7 Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

Last year, I fell in love with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 primarily because of its form factor. It was easily the thinnest and lightest book-style foldable I'd used at the time, and now. It's a new measuring stick for this type of phone in my mind, and that's also the first place where the Razr Fold comes up just short.

To be more specific, Samsung's foldable last year weighed just 215g and measured in at a mere 4.2mm when unfolded and 8.9mm when folded. Motorola's device, on the other hand, weighs 243g and measures in at 4.5mm when unfolded and 9.89mm when folded. In the grand scheme of things, those aren't huge disparities, but having used both devices, you can definitely feel the difference.

Last year's ultra-thin Galaxy Z Fold 7. Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

The Razr Fold is noticeably heavier and a little more bulky, and in a world where Samsung has shown how thin book-style foldables can be, I'm not sure I can ever go back.

Having said all of that, this is still a reasonably comfortable phone to hold and use, especially compared to older, meatier foldables. Razr Fold's Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset keeps everything running smoothly, with social media and streaming apps working pretty much flawlessly in my limited testing so far.

The 8.1-inch AMOLED inner display with a 120Hz refresh rate is also crisp and clear, as is the 6.6-inch outer display, which has a blistering fast 165Hz refresh rate. As with pretty much every other book-style foldable on the market, this is the best way to watch videos and read things on a phone right now.

While I haven't done a ton of stress testing with the multitasking features yet, they do work pretty intuitively. Like some other foldables in this category, there's a horizontal app toolbar along the bottom of the inner display. While running one app, you can simply drag another one from the toolbar up into the main display itself, choosing where you want it to go. You can go halfsies or you can even turn one app into a free-floating window that you can resize and reposition to your heart's content, while the other one stays open behind it.

This isn't especially groundbreaking, but it is useful and works well.

TBD if its most distinctive features give it an edge Credit: René Ramos / Mashable

I still need more time with the Razr Fold before writing a full review, and part of that has to do with the phone's biggest potential edge over the competition: its battery.

The Razr Fold has a huge 6,000mAh battery inside it, significantly larger than the 4,400mAh cell inside my beloved Z Fold 7. If the Razr Fold can deliver notably longer battery life than other foldables, that could be a huge feather in its cap. Unfortunately, I am not in a position right now to judge that, as the review unit Motorola sent us has an issue where it will not charge correctly. I've been told this is not a common problem and Motorola is sending us a replacement, but this does mean that I simply can't analyze the battery right now.

One other potential advantage this phone has over something like the Z Fold 7 is that it natively supports the Moto Pen Ultra stylus accessory. I am not a stylus user by nature, and I haven't spent enough time using the Moto Pen Ultra on the Razr Fold yet to see if it's a game-changer, but Samsung sacrificed official S Pen stylus support on the Z Fold 7 last year in order to make the phone thinner. You can still use third-party pens, but Motorola having an official option that should work nicely with the phone is a big leg up for a lot of folks.

After a handful of days testing the Razr Fold, it's clear that this is a solid foldable phone that doesn't have anything catastrophically wrong with it, at least as long as the charging issue I encountered is an isolated incident. I'll have more to say on this soon.

Motorola just happens to be in an unlucky position here, with other major phone manufacturers having already matured in this space over the past several years, all while Apple takes its sweet time cooking up something that will almost certainly be very good, too.

The Motorola Razr Fold is available for pre-order starting May 14 and will be released May 21 for $1,899.99. You can order the foldable from Motorola and Best Buy.

Dell pulled back the curtain on its new entry-level Alienware gaming laptop on May 14, four months after teasing it at CES. It's called the Alienware 15, which might ring a bell, and it's now available for purchase on Dell starting at $1,299.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dell Alienware 15 (AMD Ryzen 5 220, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $1,299 at Dell
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That price is somewhat higher than expected. In a January blog post foreshadowing its arrival, Dell said the then-unnamed Alienware 15 would be sold "at our most accessible price point yet." That would put it around $1,000 or less, given that last year's Alienware 16 Aurora started at $1,099.99. But the base Alienware 15 is ultimately $200 more expensive than the 2025 base 16 Aurora. That's the laptop market for you.

"The rising cost of RAM is affecting pricing across the industry," a Dell representative told Mashable, referring to the ongoing RAM shortage fueled by global AI center construction. "The Alienware 15 is priced to be competitive against this new backdrop."

Here's the 2026 Alienware gaming laptop lineup (so far). Credit: Dell

The Alienware 15 is still the cheapest model in the 2026 Alienware lineup by several hundred bucks. It joins the now-mid-range 16/16X Aurora and the flagship 16/18 Area-51 gaming laptops, which start at $1,639.99 and $2,599.99, respectively. Moreover, Dell plans to run "regular promotions" on the Alienware 15, the company rep added.

On the non-gaming front, Dell is also launching some new mid-range consumer laptops called the Dell 14S and 16S. They feature slim aluminum builds, OLED display options, and up to 26 hours of battery life. They're available for purchase from May 14, starting at $1,269.99 and $1,319.99 in Intel Core Ultra Series 3 configurations. Additional variants with AMD Ryzen AI 400 Series CPUs will arrive later this month.

Alienware 15 features and specs The Alienware 15 has a 15.3-inch 165Hz display. Credit: Dell

If "Alienware 15" sounds familiar, it's because Dell's new entry-level gaming laptop shares a name with a 15-inch PC of yore. The company sold several iterations of an Alienware 15 from 2015 to 2018 starting around $1,199.99 to $1,299.99. But whereas those laptops were flashy and chunky — CNET called the 2016 model "a tank covered with Christmas lights" — the 2026 Alienware 15 is relatively svelte and demure.

Dell bills its design as an "essentials-only aesthetic." It has a metallic Nova Black finish and a holographic logo on its lid, and that's pretty much it. Instead of showy RGB accents, you just get white keyboard backlighting. This isn't necessarily a bad thing: It's not too "gamer-y" to use in an office or classroom.

The Alienware 15's keyboard features plain backlighting and a numpad. Credit: Dell

The Alienware 15 measures 0.81 to 0.9 inches thick and weighs 4.85 to 4.96 pounds, depending on the configuration. It's not especially thin, but it's much lighter than Alienware's Aurora and Area-51 models. (For what it's worth, Dell is also planning on launching new ultra-slim gaming laptops sometime this year.) It has a different hinge design with a simple rear exhaust system instead of a rear thermal shelf, similar to the Auroras.

The Alienware 15 is the lightest laptop in the current Alienware lineup. Credit: Dell

The Alienware 15 has a polycarbonate resin (plastic) lid and bottom cover, but Dell promises it has the same solid build quality as its higher-end machines. "We put the Alienware 15 through the same gauntlet of internal stress tests as every other laptop in our lineup," said Matt McGowan, Alienware's Head of Product. That includes hinge, keyboard, spill, and drop testing.

Under the Alienware 15's hood, you get a last-gen Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor or AMD Ryzen 200 Series processor. (The AMD options are cheapest.) Graphics card options include Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, 5050, 4050, and 3050 GPUs, with the latter arriving sometime down the road. The RTX 50 Series models will have a "Cryo-Chamber" thermal structure that allows for more airflow.

Left: It's VERY subtle... Credit: Dell Right: ... but the RTX 50 Series models have a slightly different bottom thermal setup for better airflow. Credit: Dell

Here's the rundown of the rest of the Alienware 15's specs:

• Storage options: 512GB or 1TB SSD

• Memory options: 8GB to 32GB RAM

• Display: 15.3-inch, 1920 x 1200 panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio, a 165Hz refresh rate, 300 nits of brightness, and AMD FreeSync support

• Ports: Ethernet port, HDMI port, two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, and a headphone jack

• Webcam: 720p

• Connectivity: WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2

Dell has been on a mission to make its gaming gear more accessible in 2026. Last month, it released a 27-inch OLED gaming monitor that's only $350.

Disclosure: CNET and Mashable are both owned by Ziff Davis.

Windows laptops aren't the only computers getting more expensive amid the global RAM shortage. Two PC makers have quietly raised the prices of their premium Chromebooks.

As of mid-May, two configurations of the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 and one variant of the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 were up to $250 pricier than they were at launch last year:

• Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 (MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910, 16GB RAM, 256GB UFS) — was $749.99, now $999

• Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 (MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910, 12GB RAM, 128GB UFS) — was $649.99, now $829.99 (but sold out)

• Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910, 12GB RAM, 256GB UFS) — was $699.99, now $749

A second configuration of the Acer model has remained steady at $799.99 since its release in September 2025, though it was out of stock at the time of writing.

Lenovo and Acer haven't formally announced these price hikes, which were first reported by the tech site Chrome Unboxed.

When reached for comment, an Acer spokesperson issued the following statement to Mashable:

Acer is adopting flexible pricing and promotional strategies to support demand and stabilize product availability as component costs increase. With any given model, as existing inventory sells out and new product is manufactured, there may be increases beyond Acer’s original MSRP guidance. This pricing will change based on demand, supply, as well as component costs at the time of manufacture.

A representative for Lenovo acknowledged Mashable's request for comment and said they'll follow up soon. We'll update this story once we hear back.

Both Chromebooks are best-in-class machines (we've tested them), but they were already costly at their original MSRPs. The now-$999 Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, in particular, is impossible for me to recommend at full price despite its beautiful OLED display and peppy processor. An on-sale M5 MacBook Air is a vastly smarter buy.

If nothing else, these Chromebooks make Apple's new budget laptop, the Mashable Choice Award-winning MacBook Neo, look like even more of a bargain at $599 (or $499 for education buyers). But it might not be available at that price for much longer.

The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a really nice Chromebook — but for $999, just get an on-sale MacBook Air. Credit: Sarah Chaney / Mashable

A surge in RAM and SSD demand for AI data center construction has led to a shortage of those components, driving up prices for the chips themselves and, by effect, the consumer electronics that require them. The RAM crisis has gotten so dire lately that scammers have started selling fake RAM modules, and it's expected to get worse next year.

In April, Microsoft announced price hikes of up to $500 for its Surface Laptops and Surface Pro convertibles, blaming "recent increases in memory and component costs" in a statement to Windows Central. Meanwhile, the modular PC maker Framework has adjusted its RAM and SSD prices every month since December. Most recently, it told customers that it's seen some stability this spring, but cautioned that it's likely just "a temporary reprieve."

For its part, Apple has been largely immune to "RAMageddon" so far, though it discontinued the cheapest configuration of its Mac mini desktop computer earlier this month. The base MacBook Neo might soon suffer the same fate, according to tech analyst Tim Culpan.

UPDATE: May. 14, 2026, 7:37 a.m. EDT This story has been updated with a statement from Acer.

Androids have become fortresses that can stop threats and protect data when powered off. However, they haven't consistently given us the ability to easily and quickly lock down a single, sensitive file, which would make it as secure as possible. It's strange when you think about it, since it's a very old feature that should be possible without any tricks. Luckily, there is a straightforward solution to client-side file protection. You just have to look outside the apps you are given.

It can be hard to convey information in your smart home in an effective yet subtle manner. Mobile notifications work well for some things, but they can be easy to miss, and most of us receive too many of them anyway.

When people build a home audio system, they tend to prioritize raw output and deep bass. It's common, and I've even done it. It is easy to think that bigger is inherently better, and overspending on a single, massive unit that dominates your floor space won't create distortion. However, theater-level bass is really only needed in theaters; it won't do well in your home. By moving away from the temptation of the massive single box, you can get professional-grade audio without the premium price tag.

If you use ChatGPT, you already have access to Codex. At the time of writing, it’s available to both free and paid users. You can download it as a desktop app for Windows or macOS. It’s incredibly powerful, but most people ignore it because they assume it’s only meant for programmers. I understand why—after all, the word “code” is right there in its name—but Codex is too useful to overlook. Here are three reasons why I prefer it over the regular ChatGPT app.

Stephen Colbert has really put Barack Obama through the wringer. As well as challenging him to a rematch of wastepaper basketball and taking him on in a Wordle head-to-head, the Late Show host also gave the former U.S. president his famous "Colbert Questionert".

In the clip above Obama answers quickfire questions on everything from "favorite smell" to "earliest memory".

The sweetest answer? Probably his response to "Describe the rest of your life in five words", for which Obama uses three for his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha.

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Ncuti Gatwa is set to host the final episode of SNL UK Season 1 on May 16 and the regeneration jokes are out.

The Doctor Who star will join musical guest Holly Humberstone to close out first run of the UK version of Saturday Night Live, and the above teaser suggests it's going to be a delightful last ep.

Joining cast members Emma Sidi and Larry Dean, Gatwa appears on the SNL UK stage as a regeneration of last week's host, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, in full Fifteenth Doctor style (though for apparent copyright reasons, they can't mention the BBC show).

SNL UK has had a successful run in its first season with previous hosts Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Riz Ahmed, Jack Whitehall, Nicola Coughlan, and Aimee Lou Wood.

The show has been renewed for a second season, coming this September.

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It's no secret that I'm a Windows user, although Linux is catching up fast in my house. I've been using Windows since the Windows for Workgroups days, so I've lived through more Start menu redesigns, control panel reshuffles, and "future of computing" experiments than I can count. I'm not someone who thinks every older version of Windows was automatically better. In a lot of ways, modern Windows is more stable, more secure, and more capable than it has ever been.

Amazon's Alexa is now available on the company's shopping app and website in the US, bringing a wide range of new capabilities. Customers can now visit the Amazon app or website to have Alexa support them with suggestions, guidance, and a couple of useful features while shopping.

These days, chances are you're learning about new experiences, attractions, and hotels through a social app, so why not book all those things directly through that app?

That appears to have been the line of reasoning for TikTok, which just announced TikTok Go, a new feature that lets you book local travel and tourism services in the TikTok app.

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TikTok Go allows you to book hotels (via partners such as Booking.com, Expedia, and Viator), as well as tours and various attractions. In an example provided by TikTok, a user sees someone posting a video from a hotel in San Francisco; a couple of taps later, the user is booking a room in that very hotel, all without leaving the TikTok app.

“Every day on TikTok, millions of people discover where to eat, where to stay, and what to do next. TikTok GO connects that moment of inspiration directly to the businesses behind it," Adam Presser, CEO of TikTok USDS Joint Venture (the American company established to oversee TikTok's U.S. operations), said in a statement.

There are benefits for content creators here, too, as they can earn commissions by featuring hotels, attractions, and other local services in their posts.

There are certain caveats, though. Users must be 18 or over to use the feature, and it's only available to users in the U.S. (for now).

Featured Video For You Is U.S. TikTok censoring its users?

Windows 11's April update made several tangible improvements to the operating system which made it a bit easier to use. However, they didn't solve the main reason that I tweak the registry: customization. There are too many customization settings without easily-accessible toggles, and until that changes, the registry will be one of my go-to tools.

SAVE OVER $500: As of May 14, the Hisense 50-inch Hi-QLED S7 CanvasTV is down to its lowest-ever price of $798.99 at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Hisense Hisense 50-Inch Hi-QLED S7 CanvasTV $798.99 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $501   Get Deal

The 50-inch Hisense Hi-QLED S7 CanvasTV launched just last month, and already Amazon is offering a stellar discount. If you've been hoping to grab this smaller sized art TV for your home, now is an excellent time to do it.

As of May 14, the Hisense 50-inch Hi-QLED S7 CanvasTV is down from $1,299.99 to $798.99. This marks its lowest-ever price at Amazon.

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We consider these our favorite budget art TVs in our roundup of the best art TVs, with Mashable's Leah Stodart writing: "The most well-known dupe for The Frame, the Hisense Canvas' value is hard to pass up if budget is a consideration at all."

This Hisense CanvasTV offers excellent picture quality for watching your favorite shows and movies. Boasting 4K resolution and QLED Color, alongside an anti-glare display that gets rid of reflections, every image is brought to life with vibrant, stunning detail. And for those who love to stream, it also comes with Google TV so you can access your favorite apps in one place.

If you've been searching for a new TV, this is a great opportunity to save on the Hisense 50-inch Hi-QLED S7 CanvasTV at Amazon.

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Not intent with merely beating the former president at wastepaper basketball (twice), Stephen Colbert also challenged him to a Wordle race during their recent interview.

In the clip above the two sit in near-silence while trying to complete the puzzle. Obama manages to get it in three, while Colbert claims to have managed it in two — although some text on the screen suggests he's actually cheated his way to victory.

Obama's response? "You seem intent, every time I'm on the show, to exert your superiority in some fashion."

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TL;DR: Walmart has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Display Box up for preorder at $244.77 with free shipping, putting it $20.33 under TCGplayer’s current $265.10 market price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Box $244.77 at Walmart
  Pre-order Here

As we get closer to Chaos Rising’s launch, some prices are starting to climb as leading retailers. But not Walmart, where you have a rare chance to get the expansion’s biggest lot of booster packs for under market price. 

As of May 14, Walmart has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Box listed for preorder at $244.77 with free shipping, sold and shipped by Revolution Sports Marketing. This will arrive a little later than Chaos Rising’s May 22 release date, with shipping expected to arrive by May 29.

TCGplayer’s current market price is $265.10, so Walmart is beating that by $20.33 before tax. The cheapest unopened presale listing on TCGplayer is also higher at $261.73 shipped, while the listed median is $268.08. Amazon is steeper, with its preorder price sitting at $296.43.

Each Chaos Rising Booster Display Box contains 36 booster packs from the new Mega Evolution expansion. At Walmart’s $244.77 preorder price, that works out to roughly $6.80 per pack before tax.

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The upcoming expansion includes more than 120 trading cards to collect, more new Mega Evolution Pokémon ex, over 25 Trainer cards, and more than 35 Pokémon and Trainer cards with special illustrations. The general theme is that Mega Floette ex is bringing trouble to the city, while Mega Greninja ex, Mega Pyroar ex, and Mega Dragalge ex are among the featured Pocket Monsters from Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

You can also grab single packs of Perfect Order on sale at Amazon. For more from Chaos Rising, single boosters are available for just over $13. 

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly announced Pitch Black expansion is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

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Defying gravity is the default in the Fast & Furious films.

For 25 years, the series has sent vehicles of every shape, size, and price tag soaring into the air — whether a Lykan HyperSport jumping between multiple skyscrapers or a rocket-modified Pontiac Fiero being sent into actual orbit. 

Why drive the whole way to a rescue mission when you can airdrop your team in their own cars from a plane? Why stealth a heist from a police station when you can drag the whole safe out behind your car? Torpedo incoming? Just steer it with your own bare hands.

SEE ALSO: 'Fast X' review: How do you top blasting a car into space? Two words: Jason Momoa. 

Here, in chronological order (yes, to show you how chaotic things become), are the most ridiculous, physics-defying, jaw-dropping, or just plain silly stunts that have happened in the Fast & Furious franchise. You'll note there's nothing from the very first film, The Fast and the Furious, because there's nothing ridiculous about the best movie of the series.

Haven't seen the films? Well, before the below spoils it all for you, read Mashable's guide on where to watch all the Fast & Furious films.

1. The scramble in 2 Fast 2 Furious

Evading Miami's finest and intending to flee with villain Carter Verone's (Cole Hauser) millions, Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and Roman Pierce (Tyrese Gibson) pull a scramble on the cops. Leading a Blues Brothers–worthy chase across the city, the pair drive into a garage, and with the help of Tej Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) and Suki (Devon Aoki), hundreds of cars emerge. The switcheroo confuses (and smashes into) the cops, letting Brian and Roman escape the watchful eye of the FBI with the loot.

2. Muscle car smooshes luxury yacht in 2 Fast 2 Furious

In order to save undercover FBI agent Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) from Verone, Brian and Roman drive a 1969 Yenko Camaro SYC from land in the Florida Keys into the air and onto the villain's speeding luxury yacht. Luckily, Monica was below deck when they landed. The whole thing has The Man With the Golden Gun corkscrew jump energy. 

3. The Shibuya Crossing drift in Tokyo Drift

Racing through the world's busiest pedestrian crossing, Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing, Han (Sung Kang), Sean (Lucas Black), and Neela (Nathalie Kelley), pursued by Takashi Kamata (Brian Tee), drift around one of the corners in slow motion without hitting a single pedestrian. It's simply beautiful to watch.

Credit: Universal / Kobal / Shutterstock 4. Dom scooching under a tanker in Fast & Furious

Eight years after the original film, the main cast is back together and still hijacking trucks, this time in the Dominican Republic. When everything goes wrong with a gas tanker target, we end up in a situation where Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) are staring down the face of a burning, tumbling tanker coming straight for their 1987 Buick Grand National. Picking the absolute last moment, Dom stomps the accelerator and manages to scooch just underneath the perfectly bouncing blaze of doom. 

5. Dom drives out of a moving, burning train in Fast Five Credit: Universal / Kobal / Shutterstock

After their great train robbery goes pear-shaped at the start of Fast Five, Dom drives a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport out of a moving carriage with a perfect landing, then manages to drive close enough to save Brian from a burning rig before he gets smooshed by the upcoming rail bridge. With no room to brake, Dom drives the frankly stunning car off a cliff as Brian and Dom leap from the car in slow motion free fall. 

6. The exploding toilet in Fast Five

As part of their plan to rob the police station vault and drive away with Reyes' cash, Tego Leo (Tego Calderón) and Rico Santos (Don Omar) are tasked with blowing up the facility's plumbing in order to gain access to the station's surveillance system. Finding the right pipe in the basement, the pair set the charges as we watch an evidence technician (Carlos Sanchez) unknowingly wander into the bathrooms with a newspaper, set for a long stay. Yes, whatever you're thinking is exactly what happens. A brown plume of excrement and putrid water explodes through the stalls and all over the officer. Noice.

Featured Video For You Feast your eyes on what claims to be the fastest 3-wheeled EV on the planet — Future Blink 7. The safe drag in Fast Five

When the opp for subtlety goes out the window in the Reyes heist in Fast Five, DSS allies Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky) bust into the police compound using an armored vehicle and plunge straight into the wall where the Brazilian drug lord's vault sits. Following closely behind, Dom and Brian attach strong cables to the safe and their cars. You know where this is going. Our heroes pull that thing right out of the wall and drag it through the streets of Rio pursued by every cop in town. Suffice it to say, corners prove a curse and a blessing for this supersized flail.

8. The tank flip-and-catch in Fast & Furious 6

During the final chase sequence in Fast & Furious 6, when villain Owen Shaw's (Luke Evans) crew attacks a military convoy, the bad guy drives a tank through the front of an armored vehicle, then starts firing on Dom and his team and driving through civilians. Roman ends up in front of the tank, but is saved by jumping onto Brian's car, but not before he ties his own Mustang to the tank with a cable. Using this as an "anchor," Brian shoves the Mustang off the raised highway bridge. It'd be a good plan if Letty hadn't been standing on top of the speeding tank when it gets flipped. Luckily, Dom opens his own car door just as Letty gets flung into the air between two raised highways. Dom slams his own car into the barrier, flies through the sky, catches Letty, and lands on the hood of a car on the opposite road. What aim!

Credit: Universal / Kobal / Shutterstock 9. The airborne multi-car drop in Furious 7

In order to rescue hacker Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), who has been captured by terrorist Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou) for her facial recognition technology God's Eye, the team decides to use the element of surprise by launching their vehicles from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules plane. In a highly complicated stunt devised by stunt veteran Spiro Razatos, the Family airdrops their cars over Azerbaijan's Caucasus Mountains. We're talking Dom's 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, Brian's 2012 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Tej's 2015 armored Jeep Wrangler, Letty's 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT, and Roman's 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, all just dropped from the sky.

10. Brian's close call in Furious 7

In a scene reminiscent of Uncharted or The Lost World, Brian finds himself at the edge of a cliff in a teetering bus-like vehicle during Ramsey's rescue in Furious 7. Getting out of that thing at the last minute and running up its length, Brian makes a last-minute jump and grabs Letty's conveniently timed rear spoiler, saving his ass.

Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock 11. The "cars don't fly" triple skyscraper jump in Furious 7

This has to be one of the best stunts in the entire Fast franchise.

Watching Diesel drive a $3.4 million dollar Lykan HyperSport through not one but two of Abu Dhabi's Etihad Towers is, genuinely, just one of the major stunts in Furious 7. But folks, it's fucking beautiful. "Dom, cars don't fly," Brian insists before Dom makes them do exactly that, eventually sending the prince's car plummeting to the ground in an audibly sad moan. 

12. Dom's strangely effective street stomp in Furious 7

After Jakande's helicopter sends a missile into the parking garage where Dom and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) are wrench fighting, the floor cracks. Dom says the line, "Thing about street fights. The street always wins," and stomps on the concrete so Shaw falls into an abyss. Perfect.

13. Dom and Hobbs' team helicopter takedown in Furious 7

With a broken arm released from its cast with an outstandingly ridiculous muscle flex — "Daddy's gotta go to work" — Hobbs not only drives an ambulance off a bridge into a drone, but drags its minigun down the street to fire at Jakande's helicopter. Dom outruns the collapsing parking lot in his car, drives up a ramp, does a jump toward the helicopter, hangs a bag of grenades neatly on the side of it, then crashes. Hobbs then shoots said bag of grenades with his pistol. It's a little too good.

14. Dom's shitbox car race in The Fate of the Furious

In the opening sequence of The Fate of the Furious, Dom stands up for his cousin Fernando (Janmarco Santiago) by challenging Raldo (Celestino Cornielle) to a race through the streets of Havana. Problem is, he's got to use his cousin's car, a 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline falling apart at the seams. Letty and Dom add a little NOS under the hood, which works but also makes his engine burst into flames, so he drives the thing backwards.

Credit: Universal / Kobal / Shutterstock 15. Tej's wrecking ball bowling in The Fate of the Furious

Hobbs requests Dom and team to meet in Berlin for a job involving the theft of an EMP and blowing up a facility in Berlin. As the crew spilt in their cars at the perfect moment, Tej releases a giant wrecking ball right into the German police cars pursuing them — and back again. 

16. The night of the living remote-controlled cars in The Fate of the Furious

"It's zombie time." In pursuit of the Russian defence minister, cyber terrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron) takes control of every chip within a three-mile radius in Manhattan, meaning every car becomes under her control. "Make it rain" means cars fly out a skyscraper garage window like giant, metal drops.  

17. Hobbs steering a torpedo with his bare hands in The Fate of the Furious

When Cipher's submarine launches torpedoes at the Family speeding across the ice, Hobbs asks Roman to take the wheel of the enormous armored vehicle they're both in, gets out, holds the torpedo that's speeding across the ice with his bare hands, then has Roman turn the wheel left and back to point it at one of the enemy vehicles. It's so casual it should be banned.

18. Roman's underwater rescue in The Fate of the Furious 

During the ice pursuit, Roman is spinning out on ice in his Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. As their enemies send missiles and create a massive hole in the ice, Roman's Lambo goes in nose-first. Tej, driving an army tank, grapple-hooks Roman's door and pulls him through the ice with his door like a sled. 

Credit: Universal / Kobal / Shutterstock 19. Dom blowing up a military sub in The Fate of the Furious 

Cipher's prize, the nuclear missile on a Russian military submarine, means a wonderfully ridiculous sequence of events that leads to the villain hitting the green button on heat-seeking missiles aimed at Dom's car (after she's broken the ice with it). Unfortunately for Cipher, Dom leads them right to a much bigger target, the submarine she's attempting to get to open water, leaping over it in his custom Dodge Charger and surviving the subsequent explosion.

20. Shaw's baby rescue in The Fate of the Furious

Shaw brothers reunited! Dom trusts new ally Deckard Shaw with Cipher's plane coordinates, allowing him to infiltrate the villain's base with his brother Owen, the villain from Fast & Furious 6. His target? Dom's surprise son, who Cipher has kidnapped. Finding the wee bairn, Shaw pops some baby headphones on his little head, plays "The Chipmunk Song" by Alvin and the Chipmunks, and gives the little one a wink before beating and shooting the shit out of Cipher's henchmen. It's weirdly adorable.

Credit: Matt Kennedy / Universal / Kobal / Shutterstock 21. Roman's land mines scrape in F9

In the jungle of Montequinto, the landmines “how fast do we have to drive to beat them” sequence in F9 is some highly stressful action. Driving over a mine, Roman's dramatically armored vehicle gets caught, explodes into the air, and becomes wedged between two enormous boulders hanging over another landmine. Roman slowly edges his way out of the truck, comes face to face with the mine, and rolls away, seemingly smooshed by the truck during the explosion. But he's OK! "How in the hell are you not dead?" asks an incredulous Tej. 

Credit: Universal Pictures / Moviestore / Shutterstock 22. The feeble rope bridge swing in F9

Driving a heavy vehicle over a rope bridge seems like a decision, and it's one that ends up exactly how you think it will in F9. During the Montequinto sequence, a tumbling vehicle cuts off the rope bridge while Ramsey, Tej, and Roman are crossing it, but they manage to drive up the last few planks. When Letty and Dom try to use the same bridge to escape their pursuers, Dom somehow sweeps up the singular rope left from the broken bridge in his wheel to swing across the chasm in their car.

"Well that was new," says Letty.

23. Tej and Roman go to space in F9

This is the big one, folks. SPACE.

In order to destroy the satellite Cipher is planning to use, Roman and Tej are tasked with becoming real, actual, genuine, sort of astronauts. In a rocket-modified Pontiac Fiero equipped by the Tokyo Drift team, Tej and Roman blast off through the atmosphere and successfully enter orbit while screaming the classic Han Solo line, "PUNCH IT!"

Credit: Universal Pictures / Moviestore / Shutterstock 24. Dom's magnet sandwich in F9

Magnets get a good run in F9, including when non-driver Ramsey makes a meal out of Edinburgh during a chase sequence, pulling smartphones and keys from school kids along the way, and pulling villain Otto's (Thue Ersted Rasmussen) car through a building.

But the best sequence is the epic chase scene, which includes Dom's magnet sandwich — when two enormous armored vehicles get stuck to Dom's Charger, then propelled away, totalling a stream of parked cars.

25. Dante's Indiana Jones-style bomb through Rome in Fast X

Perched in his marble tower with a remote control device, a cackling Dante (Jason Momoa) unleashes a giant spherical bomb upon the streets of Rome. Singing Neapolitan opera classic "O sole mio," into the Family's earpieces, Dante has a rather dramatic target in mind. "What are we blowing up?" Dante teasingly asks his captive henchmen. "The Vatican? Wow. You guys are going to hell."

As the bomb picks up speed rolling toward St. Peters, the whole scene has the effect of a Raiders of the Lost Ark–style ball chase, as Letty tries to evade it on her motorbike, and Dom drives backwards down ancient Roman stairs to get out of its way. It's all ridiculous.  

Credit: Universal Pictures

At one point, it hurtles past an outdoor restaurant. In pursuit, Dom, not one to let diners get fried, manages to pull what's known as a skiing stunt (driving on two wheels on one side of the car) to drag the awning of the restaurant down with his car, blocking the fiery inferno. Such manners.

26. Dom's crane bomb pinball in Fast X

It's got to be one of the best stunts in Fast X.

As Dante's flaming bomb hurtles toward St. Peters and Vatican City, Dom hits the NOS button and charges into a crane on a bridge, which whips around and pinballs the bomb straight into the Tiber River seconds before it explodes. 

Credit: Universal Pictures 27. Jakob's vodka-powered aircraft in Fast X

Escaping assailants on their flight, Jakob (John Cena) and Little B ((Leo Abelo Perry) get help from a flight attendant (played by Paul Walker's daughter, Meadow), who places three tiny bottles of vodka on Jakob's tray. "It's good to have friends in high places,” says Jakob, before taking Little B into the hold, where a tiny aircraft is waiting — Jakob had disguised it as a kayak for check-in. Those three tiny 50 milliliter bottles of vodka? The fuel for the plane. Now, I'm no scientist, but how this plane makes it to a safe landing is beyond me.  

28. Dom's plane drop in the Charger in Fast X

This one feels like a throwback to the plane drop in Furious 7. As Dante pursues Jakob's cannon-customised 1967 Chevrolet El Camino in order to kidnap Little B, Dom figures the fastest way to reach his enemy is by airdropping his Dodge Charger on top of the car of one of Dante's henchmen. He lands it and drives right into the race.

Credit: Universal Pictures 29. Dom leashed by two helicopters in Fast X

During the final showdown between Dom and Dante, Dom's Charger is leashed by two helicopters. Casual. How would a Toretto get out of such a predicament? NOS, of course. Dom hits the button and launches off the highway he's on, which pulls the helicopters together and makes them smash around and hit a bunch of cars. In all this, Dom manages to catch his son Little B midair, jumping from the villain's car into his father's.

"Did you hit me with a helicopter back there? Ow! Ya big brute," is all Dante can say about all this. 

Credit: Universal Studios  30. The dam slide in Fast X

The minute you see the dam in Fast X, you know where this is going. Dom finds himself in the centre of the top of Aldeadávila Dam in Salamanca, Spain, with Dante's remote-controlled semi-trailers at each end. As the trucks hurtle toward Dom and Little B, there's only one option. Dom floors it, drives off the edge of the dam and down its face as an enormous explosion chases them. Tires burning, Dom hits the NOS, and makes it to the water below. 

Now, here's how to watch every Fast & Furious movie online.

UPDATE: May. 14, 2026, 11:08 a.m. This story originally published in 2023 and has been republished for the 25th anniversary of 'The Fast and the Furious.'

It's been 25 years since Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) ordered the crappy tuna on white, stocked up on NOS at The Racer's Edge, and lived a quarter mile at a time on the streets of Los Angeles. Since then, the Family has blown up Russian submarines, dragged giant vaults all over Rio with their cars, chased giant bombs through Rome, and even been to actual space.

The Fast saga is now 10 adrenaline-fuelled films, one spinoff, and over $6.2 billion earnings into its mighty, mighty franchise, with a slew of formidable villains, memorable allies, and hundreds of wrecked, highly expensive vehicles in its wake.

So, all roads lead to this: the ultimate ranking of Fast and Furious films from least-best to absolute-best (they're all winners in the end). Once you're done, here's how to watch every single film.

10. Fast and Furious (2009)

We had to start somewhere, and the fourth installment of the Fast saga never had me. It never had its car.

Written by Chris Morgan, the film is the second Fast directorial run for Justin Lin after the third film, Tokyo Drift. Fast and Furious handbrake turns back to the full original cast — but it's not a great time for any of them. Fuelled by Brian Tyler's angsty guitar score, the film feels weighed down by its own seriousness this time around, with everyone reeling from grief and blame (mainly at Brian). Brian and Dom are awkwardly reunited while attempting to infiltrate the powerful Mexican cartel of villain Arturo Braga (John Ortz) after the murder of one of our favourites.

Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

Michelle Rodriguez's iconic Letty Ortiz plays a much bigger role in the story than ever before, though spends the majority of the film in the rear mirror after supposedly being murdered. Dom's on a quest for revenge with his suddenly CSI-level forensics. Meanwhile, Brian has rejoined the FBI, back to chasing criminals across downtown Los Angeles and pissing off his boring unit enemy, Stasiak (Shea Whigham). The Brian we left in 2 Fast 2 Furious giggling over a belt full of stolen cash with Roman Pierce (Tyrese Gibson) is a Serious Cop again. The film's new characters are strong too, including Gisele (Gal Gadot) who is working for Braga, and dynamic duo Tego Leo and Rico Santos (Tego Calderon and Don Omar).

SEE ALSO: 'Fast X' review: How do you top blasting a car into space? Two words: Jason Momoa. 

Stunt-wise though, Fast and Furious doesn't disappoint, from the film's opening hijacking sequence in the Dominican Republic ending with Dom and Letty narrowly scooching underneath a burning gas tanker, to a chaotic street race through the unclosed streets of LA. But nothing in this film is as impressive as the various dashes across the U.S./Mexico border through a claustrophobic tunnel at high speed, all intensified by cinematographer Amir Mokri, fresh from Bad Boys II, and swift edits from action movie veteran Christian Wagner and future Tarantino go-to Fred Raskin.

Plus, Fast and Furious also gives us our first ever "ride or die" from Letty to Dom.

9. The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Excluding Tokyo Drift, The Fate of the Furious is the first Fast movie released without Paul Walker, following the actor's tragic death during the making of Furious 7. Diesel and Rodriguez lead the team, with Roman, Tej Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), and Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) reunited to take on Charlize Theron's unblinking cyber terrorist Cipher, one of the more memorable of the series: "People are scared of the hacker group Anonymous, but Anonymous are scared of her."

But the Family are up for their hardest task yet, as Dom is forced to fight with Cipher under threat. "Dominic Toretto just went rogue," Hobbs declares. However, Jason Statham near steals the entire show, returning as the dastardly Deckard Shaw, along with a curveball addition to the franchise: his mum, Madeline Shaw, played by Dame Helen Mirren. Bravado levels are sky high in this film, with Hobbs and "tea and crumpets eatin criminal sumbitch" Shaw laying down one-liners as furiously as their roundhouse kicks. 

Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

Fuelled by CGI and pure grunt, the action sequences in The Fate of the Furious are both ridiculous and spectacular, from Dom's street race through Havana in a shitbox car on fire, to Cipher's night of the living self-driving cars in New York, to Johnson and Statham in full melee mode during the film's outstanding prison break sequence. And all of that before Hobbs steers a torpedo with his bare hands and Dom blows up a submarine with a heat-seeking missile and a NOS-fuelled jump.

Unfortunately, the film's narrative drags a little and takes some screeching turns that leave the audience with whiplash at best, deep cringe at worst. Yes, I'm talking about the dreaded soap opera secret baby twist.

8. Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

Following the perfect heist action that is Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6 plays its best card by bringing back an absolute audience favourite. On behalf of the fans and the franchise, thank fuck.

Directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan, the film begins with the extremely welcome news that Letty is, in fact, not dead as we thought in Fast and Furious. Using the classic soap opera move of "character with amnesia," Rodriguez gets to triumphantly drive back into the fold.

Credit: Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Enjoying Reyes' thieved millions, Mia (Jordana Brewster), Gisele, Dom, Roman, Tej, Han, and Brian are all individually living the good life until the team gets an offer they can't refuse: working with Interpol to get Letty out from the clutches of decent new villain, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Armed with a big tech bomb, Shaw is the main target of DSS agent Hobbs and his new 2IC Riley (Gina Carano). This means a bigger budget and slick government-seized gear for the Family, and Fast & Furious 6 marks the first time the team has gone up against an enemy more powerful than a local drug lord.

Mainly set in London, the film involves some serious driving and action sequences, with higher tech than we've seen in the series. (As Roman says, "So now we got cars flying in the air? On some 007-type shit? This is not what we do!") From a hectic chase through the streets of London to the epic final highway sequence involving a tank, the film heaves with smart stuntwork and CGI action. Plus, the film remembers how effective hand-to-hand combat scene are, from Brian's intense prison confrontation with Fast and Furious villain Braga to Letty's hectic Tube fight with Riley.

Credit: Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

But nothing is more jaw-dropping than the film's final airport sequence, which doesn't stop for breath within or outside a speeding military plane attempting to take off. We're talking two versus twos, punch-ups on jeeps hanging in the air, and a car driven through a flaming aircraft nose. This act also sees one of the most devastating losses in the whole franchise.

7. F9 (2021)

Yes, this is the one where they go to space. But it's not all the team do, with explosive action and family drama aplenty in the ninth installment of the franchise. 

As Dom and Letty live off grid and in literal overalls with his surprise son, Little Brian, they're thrust back into the action thanks to Cipher (Charlize Theron) who's back for another round of global terrorism.

Credit: Universal Pictures/Moviestore/Shutterstock

By F9 everyone's roles are pretty set: Dom and Letty take the lead, Ramsey and Tej dominate the tech, Roman's all bravado, and Mia somehow locates the gang and kicks some ass along the way. With the team in place, including the triumphant return of fan-favourite Han, the film looks to the unresolved past, taking the deepest dive into Dom's family history yet — particularly the loss of his father Jack on the race track (a storyline unexplored since The Fast and the Furious). Here, F9 adds John Cena for some sibling rivalry as Dom's long-lost brother Jakob and the film's villain.

F9's action sequences can't be understated, from outrunning land mines and feeble rope bridges in Montequinto to magnetised vehicle pursuits across Edinburgh, to Tej and Roman becoming literal astronauts and entering orbit, this film takes things to a ridiculous level. It's a strong reminder of how far these characters have come — we first met Tej and Roman in 2 Fast 2 Furious, one running the Miami underbelly, one under house arrest. Here, they make it to the International Space Station in a rocket car full of snacks.

Credit: Universal Pictures/Moviestore/Shutterstock

It's also a cameo-packed film, which is a fun element in its own right. There's a fantastic cameo from the Tokyo Drift crew, and Helen Mirren gets a sweet police pursuit through London, returning as Madeline Shaw. And Cardi B even makes an appearance.

6. Fast X

Two words: Jason Momoa. For the first part of the final chapter of the Fast franchise, the Aquaman star steals the entire show as the theatrical Dante Reyes in Fast X. As the vengeful son of the Brazilian crime lord the crew robbed and killed in Fast Five, Momoa leads this action-packed extravaganza with all the silk scrunchies and unhinged one-liners we can eat. 

Dante is hell-bent on destroying anyone involved with his father's demise, which means Dom's Family, and particularly his young son Little B (Leo Abelo Perry). As Mashable's Film Editor Kristy Puchko writes, "Momoa refuses to be forgotten. Where they zig, he zags, creating a foe that is fearsome, but more classic Disney villain than dastardly Dom doppelganger."

Credit: Universal Studios

With director Louis Leterrier putting every last dollar of its $340 million budget to good use, Fast X's stunts are nothing short of spectacular. From Dante's remote controlled terrorist attack on Rome and Vatican City to an explosive street race in Rio, all the way to the final showdown involving two tankers and a dam, Fast X is an extremely ridiculous and fun ride.

And we haven't even mentioned all those cameos.

5. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Released just two years after the smash hit original film, 2 Fast 2 Furious is somewhat of a polarising instalment in the series. But as someone who paid $40 whole Australian dollars for this DVD from HMV on release, then watched it over and over, I'll always love this film. The comedic alternative to the original with everyone barking into their Nokia flip phones, the sequel is often overlooked for some of the bigger budget, stunt-laden epics of the later years. But friends, this film is a riot. 

Credit: Eli Reed/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Directed by Joe Singleton, with a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, 2 Fast 2 Furious sets the formula for the early films in stone, repeating techniques from the first film (though upping the stakes to a $3,500 street race buy-in and literally raising a bridge in the first race). With music video-style cinematography by Matthew F. Leonetti and rapid editing by Bruce Cannon and Dallas Puett, the film tries to mirror the same driver cam, close ups, gear shift zooms, and starting lineup pan as the original, with a lot of Joe Budden on the soundtrack.

2 Fast 2 Furious takes the seriousness of the original and dials up the comedy. As perpetual pain in the ass Roman Pierce, Gibson brings much needed humour to the series. Donning various impeccably crisp t-shirts, Walker bounces off this energy, as his gleeful, hooting reactions to stunts are a delight — plus, Walker delivers the infamous "stare and drive" sequence with all the dumb bravado it deserves.

Credit: Eli Reed/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Gibson isn't the only new face who'll stick around for the series; Bridges makes his compelling screen debut as Tej Parker, "the man to know in Miami." There's also fan favourites like Devon Aoki, who brushes off rampant sexism in the street racing world as the kickass Suki with her all-women crew. Eva Longoria keeps the operation going as Monica Fuentes, working for pretty one-note forgettable bad guy and drug cartel importer/exporter Carter Verone.

But honestly, the best thing about 2 Fast 2 Furious is the driving. Still in the "car film" phase of the franchise, the driving here is so good it literally bonds the protagonists and the villains: "You're supposed to be a stone-faced killer, you're over there grabbing your seat belt," Roman says to henchman Roberto (Roberto Sanchez). Brian and Roman pull extreme stunts in traffic just to flip the bird to each other. Chaotic street racing scenes build to Blues Brothers-worthy cop chases and one of the best switcheroos in the franchise. No submarines here, the most extreme stunt in this film involves driving a muscle car onto a luxury yacht, but it's absolutely glorious. 

4. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

If you're a Tokyo Drift fan, you're probably screaming one word right now: "HAN!"

Released three years after 2 Fast 2 Furious, the film marks the arrival of director Justin Lin and fan-favourite Sung Kang as Han. And while the original cast members like Walker and Rodriguez don't make an appearance in this one, there's a cheeky Diesel cameo. 

Credit: Sidney Baldwin/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Instead, Tokyo Drift hinges around high schooler Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), a wise-talkin' cowboy and street racer with a big problem with authority. Sent to Tokyo after pulverising a rich student bully in a street race to Kid Rock's "Bawitdaba," Sean spends much of Tokyo Drift in a "fish out of water" state before finding his comfort zone through new friend Twinkie (Bow Wow) — the underground street racing world. 

Honestly, the script is pretty damn terrible — "Boys: all they care about is who's got the biggest engine" — and the "romantic" storyline between teen Sean and his classmate Neela (Nathalie Kelley) is dull at best, but the driving stuntwork in Tokyo Drift is near unbeatable. As the title suggests, the film is a shrine to drifting, with plenty of learning montages, unfathomably fast garage races, and that Shibuya crossing drift, all leading to the final mountain race with bad guy and Yazuka heir Takashi "Drift King" Kamata (Brian Tee) — one watched by onlookers on their tiny flip phones.

Credit: Sidney Baldwin/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

The real star of Tokyo Drift, though, is Kang, who Lin had worked with on 2002's Better Luck Tomorrow. Amid Sean's teen problems, Han shines through as the good guy behind the big bad, while losing himself in hedonism for reasons that become apparent in Fast & Furious 6. Han's time is cut short, however, showing Sean the ropes before tragically dying in a crash that'll be explained as a decoy in later films.

3. Furious 7 (2015)

"Dom, cars don't fly." Watching Diesel drive a $3.4 million dollar Lykan HyperSport through not one but two of Abu Dhabi's Etihad Towers is, genuinely, just one of the major stunts in Furious 7. But folks, it's fucking beautiful. 

From Dom and Ramsey's Thelma and Louise cliff escape from main terrorist Jakande (Djimon Hounsou) to Brian's Uncharted-style close call in an armored bus, to Hobbs breaking out of his own cast with a flex, to the frenetic final showdown on "the streets we know best" in downtown Los Angeles, Furious 7 is one hell of a ride. 

Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

We've got lavish, Ocean's 11-style party scenes that end in a fight between Letty and UFC icon Ronda Rousey as royal henchwoman Kara. We've got the introduction of Emmanuel as savvy hacker Ramsey (unfortunately also with the beginning of Tej and Roman's useless battle for her affections). 

Furious 7 boasts both one of the best villains in the whole series and the most underused, with Statham smashing into the franchise on a quest for revenge as Deckard Shaw and casually pulling a grenade at the dinner table. He's working alongside a severely underwritten Djimon Hounsou as Jakande, who barely gets a look-in except for the final batshit sequence in LA.

Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

Importantly, the film remembers its roots, with several references to the original film — Brian "going old school" by doing Letty's under-the-truck stunt from The Fast and the Furious, and Brian and Mia reminiscing crappy tuna sandwiches. Furious 7 also marks Walker's final film, as the actor tragically died during its production, and the film's final tribute to the actor and send-off of Brian's character is beautifully done, all scored with Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's heart-puncher "See You Again." As Dom says, "It's never goodbye." 

2. Fast Five (2011)

Arguably best heist film in the Fast franchise, Fast Five is a surefire action home run with director Justin Lin back at the helm. 

With our heroes hiding out in Rio de Janeiro, Fast Five sees Dom, Brian, and Mia running not only from the FBI but big bad drug lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). The action here reinvents classic action sequences, kicking things off with nothing less than a great train robbery and ending with one of the franchise's most iconic and destructive chases — the safe-drag scene. Fast Five parkours the franchise back on track after the sombre Fast and Furious, with a fun script, high octane stunts and combat, multiple switcheroos, and satisfying new characters. 

Credit: Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Fast Five boast the unsubtle introduction of DSS' finest, Luke "put your funderwear on" Hobbs, stealing every single scene with flawless stuntwork and an endless arsenal of one-liners. He's working alongside patrol officer Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky), who's motivated by personal revenge and lukewarm chemistry with Dom.

Old favourites return, including original The Fast and Furious family member Vince (Matt Schulze) with every last anti-Brian shoulder chip still firmly wedged, as well as the dream heist team that will define the series going forward: Tej, Gisele, Roman, Han, Tego, and Rico. The plan? An impossible heist! Ten on the same mark! No one else is stupid enough to rob the most powerful man in Rio! With eyes and ears all over, it's time to gather around blueprints in an abandoned warehouse and roll reconnaissance montages. 

Credit: Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Fast Five is so good they invented Jason Momoa's storyline in Fast X from it. Beat that. Oh, wait…

1. The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Ask any racer — any real racer. It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning's winning. And that includes this list. Directed by Rob Cohen with a $38 million budget, the original film, 2001's The Fast and the Furious, gets the number one spot. Cast your mind back to a perpetually golden-filtered East Los Angeles, where semi-trailers were filled with Panasonic TVs ripe for the Honda Civic hijacking, Limp Bizkit was everywhere, and high-speed quarter-mile races were as extreme as things got. 

Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

There's a reason this film gets quoted in almost every other Fast movie — writers Ken Li, Gary Scott Thompson, and Erik Bergquist nailed it the first time.

The original cast were green as hell, but put everything they had into their performances. Fresh-faced Walker enters the scene as Brian undercover as Brian Earl Spilner — "sounds like a serial killer name" — demanding NOS from Harry at The Racer's Edge and regularly ordering a crappy tuna on white, no crust, from his crush Mia at Toretto's Market and Cafe. Rodriguez has a pretty relaxed start as Letty, alongside the pre-Tej engineer of the bunch Jesse (Chad Lindberg), the Billy Butcher-esque Vince, and that other guy, Leon (Johnny Strong). Some of the film's best bits come from the chemistry between this young cast, throwing barbs in the garage about Brian's piece of shit Toyota Supra or mocking Ja Rule's Edwin.

As possibly the most "car film" of all the Fast movies, there's ample respect paid to the art of customisation, with laptops, multimedia screens, and video game consoles oozing out of each car. The pristine stunt driving and sharp editing in The Fast and the Furious' street racing scenes would define the series from the start. Those car line-up shots in every film? The NOS ignition animations? The driver seat cams and all the trash talk that goes with them? All here.  

Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

Granted, this was a film where women are literally credited in the role of "Hot Chick," and there's a few lines that haven't aged well from the 2000s. Dom refers to Letty as "my trophy," and Mia cleans and cooks while "the boys" watch movies, but the franchise thankfully addresses (some of) this sexist bullshit in later films.

Narrative-wise, this film beats other Fast films with its simplicity — aside from the FBI, the biggest villain is local motorbike gang leader Johnny Tran (a highly compelling Rick Yune). Far from the ISS and cyber terrorism threats of the later films, it's a more everyday set-up: sour business deals, Corona-fuelled house parties, backyard barbecues, Race Wars in the desert, power plays within the family, all the way to the iconic final showdown between Brian and Dom. The main drama hinges on Brian keeping his cover intact, and he's honestly pretty bad at it. But the film itself plays with the audience, waiting 35 minutes to pull the switch that Brian is a cop. 

The stakes in this film are lower than they'll ever be in this franchise, but the performances, scripting, editing, and stuntwork make it feel bigger than launching a rocket car into space. At this point in the series' street race stakes, it's a $2,000 buy-in, winner takes all — the crew would take home $11 million each heisting in Fast Five. The biggest "twist" in this film is genuinely truck drivers fighting back hijackers with shotguns. The biggest stunt is the final heist, which goes all kinds of wrong but ends up as one of the all-time car stunt sequences, and there's not a drop of music.

Sure, the later films would rip apart the block and replace the piston rings, but The Fast and the Furious defined it all.

Honorable mention: Hobbs and Shaw

The first and only spinoff of the Fast saga, Hobbs and Shaw takes the two beefcake adversaries who bonded in The Fate of the Furious, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), and sends them on a hell of a ride against big bad tech villain Brixton (Idris Elba). Director David Leitch delivers as much furious action as bravado banter between the eponymous leads. And the third lead, Deckard's sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), kicks everyone's ass.

Credit: Frank Masi/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Now that you've made it this far, you owe me a 10-second car.

Here's how to watch every 'Fast and Furious' movie online.

UPDATE: May. 14, 2026, 11:00 a.m. This story originally published in 2023 and has been republished for the 25th anniversary of 'The Fast and the Furious.'

I felt the Unihertz Titan 2 was too big, too ugly, and too janky—but the Unihertz Titan 2 Elite may just be the biggest glow-up across one generation I've seen in my entire career of covering Android phones.