9 Reasons You Should Give the 'Fast & Furious' Films a Try

This month marks the release of F9, the ninth film in the Fast & Furious film franchise — or the 10th, if you count the 2019 spin-off Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. What began as a relatively simple movie about illegal street racing evolved into a series about spies and heists and, of course, many shiny cars; it has since expanded into a global media juggernaut that now includes video games, a television series, theme park attractions, and live shows.

On the surface, these are big, dumb action movies (not exactly the kind that would get nominated for our AARP Movies for Grownups Awards), but that doesn't mean you should ignore them. They've collectively grossed more than $6.1 billion worldwide, making them the seventh-highest-grossing franchise in film history, just after James Bond. If you're in the mood for some high-speed thrills, here are nine reasons to give Fast & Furious a try.

1. At their core, the films are all about family

Sure, these films are about driving, but at their core they're really about the power of an adopted family. Throughout the series, the motley crew of gearheads hammers home this central theme as they discuss loyalty, spend time hanging out at backyard barbecues, and dispense greeting-card-quality quotes like this classic by makeshift patriarch Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel): “Money will come and go. We all know that. The most important thing in life will always be the people in this room. Right here, right now. Salute, mi familia.” According to a 2017 Bloomberg article, the first seven films include 29 hugs, while the words “family” or “team” are uttered a whopping 63 times. Aw.

2. The films’ racial diversity reflects the reality of America today

(Left to right) Charlize Theron, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Anna Sawai, Vin Diesel, Justin Lin, Jordana Brewster, Shad Moss and Sung Kang attends the Universal Pictures "F9" World Premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 18, 2021 in Hollywood, California.

Rich Fury/WireImage

When the series began, it focused on different gangs of street-racers, divided mainly along race lines, competing in the streets of Los Angeles. Soon, however, the “family” of racers began to coalesce, and it was made up of actors of all different races and backgrounds, including Diesel, the late Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Tyrese Gibson, and later Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson. “It doesn't matter what nationality you are,” Diesel told Entertainment Weekly in 2015. “As a member of the audience, you realize you can be a member of that ‘family.’ That's the beautiful thing about how the franchise has evolved.”

3. ... and that diversity continues behind the camera

Director Justin Lin on the set of "F9."

Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

According to UCLA's latest Hollywood Diversity Report, nonwhite directors helmed 25.4 percent of American films last year, but the Fast & Furious franchise has a significantly better track record. Of the first nine films in the series, one (number 2) was directed by the late John Singleton, the first Black person to be nominated for a best director Academy Award (and the youngest, at 24) for 1991's Boyz N the Hood; one (number 7) was directed by James Wan, an Australian director of Malaysian Chinese descent; one (number 8) was directed by F. Gary Gray, 51, the first Black director with a film that grossed over $1 billion worldwide; and five (numbers 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9) were directed by Taiwanese-American director Justin Lin. Now if they'd only hire a female director ...

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