When, Exactly, Did The Fast And Furious Franchise Become About 'Family'?

"Fast & Furious" is one of our greatest movie franchises, one that isn't afraid to let go of continuity for the sake of reinventing itself. Perhaps more than any other series of movies — other than "Mission: Impossible" — the "Fast & Furious" films are guided by only one principle: the rule of cool. Whether that's racing a submarine, driving on an endless airport runway, or literally going to space, there is no limit to what the family can do. 

We are nearing the end of the road for Dominic Toretto and his family, with "Fast X" just around the corner. So, it is time to look back on the "Fast & Furious" franchise and how we got here. After all, the franchise we have today is not the same as it was in 2001 when "The Fast and the Furious" premiered. So much has changed, the crew has grown, the cars got faster and more furious, and at some point, the franchise stopped being about illegal car racing, and became a saga about family. The big question is, when did that happen? Was the franchise secretly always like this, and we just didn't notice? Or was there a specific turning point? 

By "family," we mean the characters caring more about their little group than competing amongst themselves or personal profits. This shift also happened in audiences, with many fans starting to care about the characters more than the cool stunts — because true fans know the car stunts are cool, but the real draw is "family."

Like a good detective, let's first check the suspects.

The logical first suspect would be the original film, "The Fast and the Furious," which elevated what is otherwise a clear copy of "Point Break" to a poignant movie about brotherhood and racing. This is the first time we meet the members of the family, including the true heart and soul of the franchise, Brian O'Conner, Dominic Toretto, and more, but despite this being our first look at the family barbecue, the characters aren't yet a family. Dom and Brian sort of respect each other, and Brian and Mia start their romance, but they're just getting to know each other, and they all part ways by the end of the film.

What about the sequel, then? "2 Fast 2 Furious" does add to the franchise in significant ways, like giving us Tej and Roman, and its follow-up, "Tokyo Drift" is clearly the best film in the franchise, but Dominic Toretto is not in either of these so they can't be the answer since the family is lacking its grunt-enthusiast dad.

The other possible turning point is "Fast & Furious 6," which is when the plot starts to get personal. By this point, Dom has figured out Letty is still alive, and he tries to get her back. It is also with this movie that the franchise starts giving us villains with personal stakes and personal connections to Dom and the gang, with the plots directly impacting the family in a personal way, driven by vengeance or resentment. Even the bad guy, Owen Shaw, recognizes that Dom's code is about family, so word has definitely spread.

The problem, however, is that by this point, family is as much a part of the franchise as the cars — and the audience knows it, so it can't be "Fast & Furious 6." Likewise, the turning point has to be before "Furious 7." Despite that being the movie that gave us the "I don't have friends, I got family" line, this is the movie where we lose Brian, and there is no family without Brian, so it has to come before.

The logical conclusion would be "Fast & Furious," the fourth film in the franchise and the one that not only reunites Dom and Brian, but also introduces Gal Gadot, Leo, and Santos. This movie's plot is all about family, as Dom investigates and tries to avenge Letty's apparent murder, and it is the film that fully turns these movies into Hollywood's most Latino franchise out there.

The problem is that Dom and Brian are still not friends. In this movie they are rivals, and you can't call this "family" if the two dads are not friends.

And so, we arrive at the only possible correct answer, "Fast Five." This is it, this is the movie that changes everything for the "Fast & Furious" movie. While many elements we now associate with the franchise were actually introduced in the fourth film, "Fast Five" perfected them. 

This is the film that turned the franchise from low-budget movies about racing to massive, multi-million-dollar endeavors with ever-growing budgets about spies (that also drive cars). It is here that we meet Agent Hobbs, and Elena Never, the future mother of Dom's child. 

Most importantly, it is in "Fast Five" that Brian and Dom fully become brothers, with Brian leaving his life as a federal agent behind and breaking Dom out of prison. It is in this film that we see the entire team come together for the first time, including Roman and Tej from the second movie, Han and Gisele from the third and fourth movies, and even Vince from the very first movie. Family turned from just a cool thing Dom says to becoming his whole identity, as he gives his best speech in "Fast Five," where he "salud, mi familia" with the entire group together.

It is also "Fast Five" where the perception of the franchise changed, where critical reception skyrocketed and "Fast & Furious" became a saga that could ground even the most ridiculous concepts thanks to "family."