Poster © Universal Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Crime & Thriller
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 46 mins
ReleasedJune 22, 2001
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorRob Cohen
StarringPaul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez
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The Fast and the Furious (2001)
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| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| The Fast and the Furious's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Crime & Thriller |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 06/18/2001 (Mann Village Theatre); 06/22/2001 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 46 mins |
| Budget | $38M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | "Racer X" by Ken Li |
| Country | United States, Germany |
| Language | English |
| The Fast and the Furious's Interests | |
| General | Street races, nitrous buttons, tuna sandwiches with no crust, backyard barbecues, family. |
| Music | BT, plus a very 2001 soundtrack of hip hop and nu metal. |
| Movies | Point Break (1991). Undercover cop, charismatic crew, surfboards instead of spoilers. |
| Television | Top Gear. The same need for speed, with more British arguing. |
| Heroes | Dom Toretto, who will tell you about family within five minutes of meeting you. |
| The Fast and the Furious's Crew | |
| Director | Rob Cohen |
| Writers | Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist, David Ayer, Gary Scott Thompson (story) |
| Producers | Neal H. Moritz |
| Cinematography | Ericson Core |
| Music | BT |
| Edited By | Peter Honess |
| Production | Universal Pictures, Neal H. Moritz Productions, Mediastream Film |
| Distributed By | Universal Pictures (United States), United International Pictures (International) |
Brian O’Conner eats a tuna sandwich basically every day to get close to a girl, and that’s the most convincing police work in the whole movie. He’s supposed to be undercover. He’s about as hidden as a neon Civic. Paul Walker plays him like a golden retriever with a badge, which is honestly charming, and Vin Diesel grumbles every line from somewhere near the floor. The plot is a cop show. The dialogue is a car magazine read out loud. And yet. The races are loud and goofy and sunny, the nitrous shots turn the camera into a warp drive, and the truck heists at night are legit tense. It’s a $38 million B-movie that knows exactly what it is, and it grew into a franchise that eventually sent a car to space. A 5.6 because it’s dumb fun with a straight face, which counts for something, and not a lot more. $40.85 says you rev your engine at a red light this week and feel embarrassed right after.
What works: The street races, the nitrous rush shots and the nighttime truck heists are loud, sunny, goofy fun.
What doesn’t: The plot is a standard cop show with car parts glued on, and most of the dialogue sounds like it was read off a parts catalog.
Who it’s for: Car people, nostalgia hunters and anyone who wants to see where the whole family saga started.
Spoilers
Brian blows his cover to save Vince during a heist gone wrong, and Jesse is killed in a drive-by by Johnny Tran’s crew. After one last race across the train tracks, Brian hands Dom the keys to his own car and lets him drive away.
Somebody keeps hijacking trucks on Los Angeles highways with a crew of souped-up Honda Civics, and the LAPD wants answers. So officer Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) goes undercover in the street racing scene, working at a parts shop and eating a suspicious number of tuna sandwiches at a little market run by Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster). Her brother Dominic (Vin Diesel) is the king of the street races, with a loyal crew that includes his girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez). Brian puts his own car on the line to get noticed. Rob Cohen directs. One hundred seven minutes, a quarter mile at a time.
Anyone who can build a ten-second car. Tuna, no crust, on the house.
![photo: Georges Biard [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)],, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michelle_Rodriguez_Cannes_2018_cropped.jpg){kind=link}
| Paul Walker | Brian O'Conner |
| Vin Diesel | Dominic Toretto |
| Michelle Rodriguez | Letty Ortiz |
| Jordana Brewster | Mia Toretto |
| Rick Yune | Johnny Tran |
| Chad Lindberg | Jesse |
| Johnny Strong | Leon |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 6.8 / 10 (468,437 votes) → 6.8 / 10 (468,500 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $213M; Domestic box office $149M; Opening weekend $40.1M; Profit / loss (est.) +$49.5M; Rotten Tomatoes 56%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 56% (159 reviews); Metacritic 58 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 6.8 / 10 (468,437 votes); movie.guru score 5.1.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.