QUARTER MILE AT A TIME: Celebrating 25 Years of The Fast and The Furious.

It’s 2001, and 11-year-old me just had his entire brain chemistry altered in one big canon event in the form of a movie. Should I have been watching this that young? Probably not, however, fast cars, action, and of course, family brought me into what has become one of my favorite franchises of all time and the global phenomenon known as The Fast and The Furious.

We’ve had 10 movies, and somehow what started as boosting DVD players (physical media is king, btw) to watching Dwayne Johnson flexing out of an arm cast to Jason Mamoa playing his version of the Joker as Vin Diesel drives down The Hoover Dam, there isn’t anywhere this franchise is willing to go. How did we go from street racing to where we are now, and what makes this franchise so fun? Let’s discuss.

Humble Beginnings

The first film was released on June 22, 2001, and grossed $207.3M worldwide. In a year which saw Shrek, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Monsters Inc, Jurassic Park III, The Mummy Returns, Ocean’s Eleven, Pearl Harbor, and even The Lord of the Rings, it still finished at an impressive 12th! It beat out Ocean’s Eleven, Tomb Raider, The Princess Diaries, and Cast Away domestically that year. It starred Paul Walker as undercover cop Brian O’Conner, Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, and Michelle Rodriguez as Letty. Looking back now, the cast was fairly stacked, and it was focused purely on street racing for the most part.

It’s hard to pick out my favorite sequences, whether it’s the initial street race in which the buster came back for Dom when the cops arrived, Race Wars, or even the high-stakes final heist. It’s brought us so many incredible quotes and memes. “Dude, I almost had you!” “I ain’t ever narced on nobody!” “I live my life a quarter mile at a time.” And my personal favorite, “You can have whatever you want, as long as it’s a Corona.” I can see how these movies caught on as quickly as they did. It is the perfect turn off your brain and enjoy the ride type of film. It’s not the usual heist or spy type action film we were used to seeing, and we had never had a film full of exotic street cars in this way before. This first film is the sole reason I have always wanted a Mitsubishi Eclipse growing up, and then eventually the Nissan Skyline.

For Family

The franchise started small and has grown beyond anything we ever could have expected. Fast 7 and The Fate of the Furious even crossed the $1B mark, which is an impressive feat. We’ve gone to space, Tokyo, raced down a never-ending runway pulling down the monstrous C5 Galaxy, and we are even getting ready to have a spinoff TV series. There are no boundaries when it comes to Vin Diesel and where this franchise is willing to go. They’ve done a beautiful job honoring the late Paul Walker at every chance, showing how close this cast is with one another. John Cena, Charlize Theron, and Kurt Russel have joined the family, and it seems every movie Dom has a new long lost brother or villain that just can’t help but join their cause.

The 11th installment, yes ELEVENTH, is set to release in 2028, and it’s safe to say, barring the world ending, I will be sitting in that theater. If there are no fans of this franchise left, then that means I have died. There is always room for family, so pull up your cars, your vans, your Corona’s, and join me in celebrating 25 years of The Fast and Furious franchise!

What is your favorite moment of this long-time movie franchise? Let us know below and check out more reviews by Matt!