The Definitive 'Fast and the Furious' Character Power Ranking
Every 'Fast' character, ranked.
Image via Complex Original
15.
How is it that a seventh Fast and Furious film is upon us, 14 years after the original? One of the not-so-secret ingredients has been an increased focus on making the most ridiculous, insane, unbelievable, and yet spectacular action setpieces imaginable. Another: going full ensemble. From Fast Five on, the series has morphed into a high-octane, trill Ocean's Eleven. Furious 7 alone is bursting at the seams with upwards of 13 characters, and that's excluding awesome action cameos from the likes of Tony Jaa and Ronda Rousey.
Much has been made of ranking each film in the series (Is the original truly the best? Is Tokyo Drift underrated?) but we're more interested in a different debate: the ultimate character power ranking. Don't let anyone argue that character is a low priority in this series—they clearly don't know what they're talking about. If that were true, the fate of the series wouldn't be in constant question since the tragic, untimely death of co-lead Paul Walker.
We've assembled all the major players across seven films and definitively determined their places in the series. The only caveat: the character has to have appeared in at least two films, which thankfully removes us from having to acknowledge the existence of Bow Wow's unfortunately named Twinkie. Read on to see just how crucial Tyrese is and who rounds out the top five.
14.Rico and Tego
Portrayed by: Don Omar and Tego Calderón
Appears in: Los Bandoleros; Fast & Furious; Fast Five
Badass Level: 5 Coronas out of 10
I mean...they're cool, but did you miss them (let alone even notice their absence) in Fast & Furious 6? Didn't think so.
13.Elena Neves
Portrayed by: Elsa Pataky
Appears in: Fast Five; Fast & Furious 6; Furious 7
Badass Level: 6.5 Coronas out of 10
Five and 7 offer Elena enough badass moments for her to make a mark in the series. But ultimately, she's just another woman who fell hard for Dominic Toretto's charms, only to be understandably cast aside in favor of Ghost Letty. She's always welcome as Hobbs' partner, but far from crucial.
12.Sean Boswell
Portrayed by: Lucas Black
Appears in: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift; Furious 7
Badass Level: 3 Sapporos out of 10
Basically Forrest Gump, if he knew how to drive really well, drift, and had a country twang bordering on King of the Hill level self-parody. Nah, b.
11.Monica Fuentes
Portrayed by: Eva Mendes
Appears in: 2 Fast 2 Furious, Fast Five
Badass Level: 5 Coronas out of 10
First things first, she barely makes the cut by the grace of the credits scene in Fast Five, the one that teases Letty's return in 6. She's not terribly memorable—she's essentially teased to be in 6, then isn't, much to absolutely nobody's chagrin—but in the moment, that patented Eva Mendes allure shines through to make her just as compelling a love interest as she needs to be. Plus, anybody from 2 Fast 2 Furious automatically gets bonus points because, unlike Tokyo Drift, that film actually deserves cult-championing. If they're looking for old blood to breathe life into F8st, no one ever objects to more Eva.
10.Mia Toretto
Portrayed by: Jordana Brewster
Appears in: The Fast and the Furious; Fast & Furious; Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6; Furious 7
Badass Level: 4 Coronas out of 10
Mia would fail the Bechdel test. All of her conversations are literally about Brian O'Conner. Sometimes Dom. Maybe Vince (remember him?). She's the wrench in Brian's sting, then the object of his affection, then the prize waiting at the finish line of whatever harebrained scheme he and Dom are pulling, with a cute kid for added resonance. No shots, though. Everyone can't be a badass; there has to be at least one innocent worth fretting over, saving, and coming home to. But after Furious 7, the powers that be could just as easily "retire" Mia along with Brian (which they probably will, tbh) and the series wouldn't suffer for it.
9.Tej
Portrayed by: Ludacris
Appears in: 2 Fast 2 Furious; Fast Five; Fast & Furious 6; Furious 7
Badass Level: 7.5 Coronas out of 10
Back when Luda had the fro and was one of the nicest rappers out, he "jumped in [2 Fast 2 Furious] to get a big ass check" but nonetheless foreshadowed his impending foray into acting because his performance had so much spark. When Fast Five reintroduced him to the fold, it was with newfound hacker skills and as one half of a black musician comedy relief team with Tyrese's Roman Pearce. Everyone needs a purpose, but on the comedy front, Tyrese kills him in the last three installments, unequivocally.
8.Deckard Shaw
Portrayed by: Jason Statham
Appears in: Fast & Furious 6; Furious 7
Badass Level: 14 Coronas out of 10
Jason Statham's Older, Meaner Shaw doesn't quite live up to the promise of that awesome, loop-closing introduction in the credits scene in Fast 6. He's basically just a British Terminator that's always on Dom's heels wherever the team goes. And even still, he's the series' first truly memorable bad guy since that wananbe thug Johnny Tran. Everyone else, from his lil bro Owen on down, has basically been a blank means to an action-fueled end. Whatever route F8st ends up taking, the new bad guy has big, bald shoes to fill.
7.Vince
Portrayed by: Matt Schulze
Appears in: The Fast and the Furious; Fast Five
Badass Level: 6 Coronas out of 10 (minus one given to Brian)
Vince is everything you want in a douchebag foil, that asshole antagonist in sting situations who's totally right about something being off—in this case, Brian—but is too much of a loud asshole ("The buster!") to get anyone to listen. And he wants Mia, too. You feel a mix of emotions watching Brian play Dom, but man it's gratifying every time he sons Vince. Even better: when he finally returns in Five, he's both a welcome sight, nostalgically (the movies were 10 years apart, after all), and convincingly eager for redemption, which of course means he's either a rat or tragically doomed. Who would have thought, watching the original, that we'd end up glad it was the latter?
6.Gisele
Portrayed by: Gal Gadot
Appears in: Fast & Furious; Fast Five; Fast & Furious 6
Badass Level: 8 Coronas out of 10
Initially Gisele was a henchwoman who had lightweight hots for Dom and ended up flip-flopping, as women susceptible to Vin Diesel's piercing gaze and gleaming dome are wont to do. But in her next two films she became much more interesting, buoyed by the D-story subplot of her burgeoning romance with Han. Not to mention, she arguably did the impossibe: out bad-assed Michelle Rodriguez. It's pretty much a given that the core four are always guaranteed a happy ending, which means some secondary character has to take the fall. That inevitablity didn't make her death in 6 any less of a gut punch.
5.Letty
Portrayed by: Michelle Rodriguez
Appears in: The Fast and the Furious; Los Bandoleros; Fast & Furious; Fast & Furious 6; Furious 7
Badass Level: 10 Coronas out of 10
If it's an action movie, and Michelle Rodriguez is in it, it's a damn guarantee she's a solid factor in its awesomness. The fact that an honest ranking of each character leaves her just shy of top five is only proof of how stacked this cast is. No spoilers but, Furious 7 included (and save the original), your girl Letty is lowkey the heart of each film
4.Han
Portrayed by: Sung Kang
Appears in: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift; Los Bandoleros; Fast & Furious; Fast Five; Fast & Furious 6
Badass Level: 11 Coronas out of 10
Without Han's sage wisdom and mysterious demons, the backwards country boy and Bow Wow-anchored Tokyo Drift would totally fall apart. Is Sung Kang's magnetism the reason why Justin Lin chose to set all ensuing films behind Tokyo Drift, so as to plausibly keep Han around? If so, I don't blame him. Han makes for a cool mentor and an even cooler sidekick. And when Gisele dies and he finally goes to Tokyo and closes the loop, just, wow. His death goes from tragic and untimely to fuckawesomeomgwowitsStatham plot device. Of course, the trade-off is no more Han, because you can only pull the fan-favorite-character-survives-fatal-car-crash card once.
3.Roman Pearce
Portrayed by: Tyrese (Gibson)
Appears in: 2 Fast 2 Furious; Fast Five; Fast & Furious 6; Furious 7
Badass Level: 7.5 Coronas out of 10
Who would have ever bet that Tyrese would be the winning comic relief in an action franchise? He's whatever in the Shia LaBeouf-era Transformers, but in F&F? Fam gets better with each film. Of course, he could've never permanently replaced Vin Diesel as 2 Fast suggests, but where Dom glowers and growls, Roman is all wide smiles and wisecracks. He brought a different energy to 2 Fast, and since the series has gone full ensemble-piece, his levity has become, dare I say, crucial.
2.Luke Hobbs
Portrayed by: Dwayne The Rock Johnson
Appears in: Fast Five; Fast & Furious 6; Furious 7
Badass Level: 65 Coronas out of 10
Straight up, this series would be in the gutter without Dwayne. The fourth film, Fast & Furious, is a decent return and reset, but The Rock's addition as alpha male fugitive hunter Luke Hobbs (so ridiculously G.I. Joe that the fledgling G.I. Joe movie series tried to use The Rock cheat code) is a shot of adrenaline that raises both the stakes and the quality, kicking things into the high gear and insane action the series is known for. Case in point: his following two appearances are limited compared to his introduction in Five, and his reduced presence is sorely felt. Every action franchise should include The Rock.
1.Brian O'Conner and Dom[inic Toretto]
Portrayed by: Paul Walker
Appears in: The Fast and the Furious; 2 Fast 2 Furious; Fast & Furious; Fast Five; Fast & Furious 6; Furious 7
Badass Level: 30 Coronas out of 10 (plus one thugged from Vince)
Portrayed by: Vin Diesel
Appears in: The Fast and the Furious; The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift; Los Bandoleros Fast & Furious; Fast Five; Fast & Furious 6; Furious 7
Badass Level: 36 Coronas out of 10
Both are the beating hearts and de facto co-heroes of the series. Brian is, honestly, a pretty shitty undercover cop, but nonetheless the everyman to counter the hulking, Dom Toretto. The quality dipped when their characters were separated, and dipped even further when the series tried to do away with them completely. It's impossible to settle on who gets the top honor, because from the fourth film onward, they've turned the series into the Watch the Throne of action franchises. Of course, with Dom still at the helm, a F8st is feasible. But conversely, no one would blame the shotcallers for shutting down the money machine instead of trying to do a film sans Paul/Brian. Brian and Dom's bond and increasingly improbable combat skills have become the backbone of the series. Despite a happy ending and exhilarating action sequences, Furious 7 will forever be drenched in somber overtones. And a possible F8st will be inevitably...off. RIP Paul.