# Fast & Furious (2009 film)
**Fast & Furious** (2009) is an American action thriller directed by [Justin Lin](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-lin), the fourth installment of the [Fast & Furious](https://www.edgepedia.org/fast-and-furious) franchise, in which fugitive [Dominic Toretto](https://www.edgepedia.org/dominic-toretto) (Vin Diesel) returns to Los Angeles to avenge a loved one's death and rejoins FBI agent Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), reigniting their feud before the two join forces against a shared enemy.[1](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/fast-furious-2009) It reunited the principal cast of the 2001 original, *The Fast and the Furious*, after two sequels had been made without the full ensemble.[2](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/Critics-Consensus-Fast-and-Furious-Is-Running-On-Empty/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | April 3, 2009 (wide); earliest release April 2, 2009 in 13 markets[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_and_furious) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1013752/credits/) |
| Director / writers | Justin Lin directed the film; Chris Morgan wrote the screenplay; and Gary Scott Thompson received credit for the characters.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1013752/credits/) • [13](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/64883) |
| Producers | Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, and Michael Fottrell; production companies Original Film and One Race Productions[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_and_furious) |
| Cast | Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, John Ortiz, Laz Alonso, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot[1](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/fast-furious-2009) |
| Box office | $155,064,265 domestic, $205,302,605 international, $360,366,870 worldwide, on an $85,000,000 budget[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1013752/credits/) |
| Critical reception | 29% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (175 reviews) with a 67% audience Popcornmeter; Metascore 46 on Metacritic[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_and_furious) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fast-furious/) |
| Rating and runtime | PG-13; 1 hour 47 minutes[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_and_furious) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and cast
The story picks up with Dominic Toretto living as a fugitive in the [Dominican Republic](https://www.edgepedia.org/dominican-republic) with Letty ([Michelle Rodriguez](https://www.edgepedia.org/michelle-rodriguez)). When a crime brings him back to Los Angeles to avenge a loved one's death, his feud with [Brian O'Conner](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-oconner), now working for the FBI, reignites; the two men infiltrate the operation of a heroin importer, played by John Ortiz, and are forced to test their loyalties by working together.[1](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/fast-furious-2009) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1013752/credits/) Jordana Brewster returns as Mia Toretto, with Laz Alonso, Sung Kang, and Gal Gadot in supporting roles.[1](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/fast-furious-2009)
The Washington Post described the film as reconvening the original cast "for a straightforward retread of the first movie," and noted that it arrived just as digital projection was making it possible to release films worldwide instantly, a timing boxoffice.com analyst Daniel Loria credited in the franchise's growth into a worldwide phenomenon.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/04/16/how-the-fast-and-the-furious-franchise-became-one-of-the-few-things-the-world-could-agree-on/)
### Place in the franchise
The 2009 film marked the turning point after which the series recovered its momentum. The two intervening entries had struggled: *2 Fast 2 Furious* (2003) lacked Diesel, and *Tokyo Drift* (2006) earned $62 million total at the U.S. box office, the least successful in franchise history.[6](https://time.com/3770961/fast-and-the-furious-greatest-action-movie-franchise/) By bringing Diesel and Walker back together under Lin and Morgan, *Fast & Furious* set up the run of films, from *Fast Five* (2011) onward, that transformed the property from a mid-budget street-racing crime thriller into a multibillion-dollar action-adventure franchise.[6](https://time.com/3770961/fast-and-the-furious-greatest-action-movie-franchise/) • [10](https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/3950/) In later rankings it remained a low point for critics: Rotten Tomatoes placed it last among the franchise's films, and a 2016 TIME survey of franchise scores listed it as the lowest-scored film of the Fast & the Furious series at 28%.[11](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-fast-and-furious-movies-ranked/) • [12](https://time.com/4604580/best-movies-franchises-rotten-tomatoes/)
## Production
Justin Lin, who had directed the previous installment, *The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift* (2006), returned as director, with Chris Morgan writing the screenplay.[6](https://time.com/3770961/fast-and-the-furious-greatest-action-movie-franchise/) The film was produced by [Neal H. Moritz](https://www.edgepedia.org/neal-h-moritz), [Vin Diesel](https://www.edgepedia.org/vin-diesel), and Michael Fottrell through [Original Film](https://www.edgepedia.org/original-film) and One Race Productions, and distributed by Universal Pictures.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_and_furious) Amir Mokri served as cinematographer, Brian Tyler composed the score, and Fred Raskin and Christian Wagner edited.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1013752/credits/)
**Practical stunts.** Lin and Mokri deliberately favored practical car work over computer-generated imagery. Lin explained that audiences who love chase scenes want stunts done "for real," because once viewers sense a shot is CGI, "the sense of danger goes out the window." The production blocked off six to eight city blocks at a time for night races and chases, with Mokri recreating the lighting of real streets, and veteran stunt coordinator and second unit director Terry Leonard oversaw the driving sequences.[7](https://www.icgmagazine.com/web/power-train/) Actors drove under relatively safe conditions or sat in a cutout car shell in front of a greenscreen where marquee talent could not be put at risk.[7](https://www.icgmagazine.com/web/power-train/)
## Box office
The film opened to $70,950,500 domestically and went on to gross $155,064,265 in the United States and $205,302,605 internationally, for a worldwide total of $360,366,870 against an $85,000,000 budget.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1013752/credits/) TIME reported the worldwide figure as $363 million and concluded that the film earned enough to justify another installment.[6](https://time.com/3770961/fast-and-the-furious-greatest-action-movie-franchise/) A video release followed on July 28, 2009, from Universal Home Entertainment.[9](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Fast-and-Furious-%282009%29)
## Reception
Critical response was negative. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus reads: "While Fast and Furious features the requisite action and stunts, the filmmakers have failed to provide a competent story or compelling characters."[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_and_furious) At the time, TIME called it the worst-reviewed film in franchise history, "a bit of a bore, with low-energy action scenes and too many shots of Diesel moping about," though some reviewers were warmer: Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 46 from 28 critics, with [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) calling it the first film since the original to be smart about how far to stretch logic, and [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly) scoring it 83.[6](https://time.com/3770961/fast-and-the-furious-greatest-action-movie-franchise/) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fast-furious/) Audiences were more favorable, giving it a 67% Popcornmeter score.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_and_furious)
## References
1. [Fast & Furious (2009), Universal Pictures At Home](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/fast-furious-2009)
2. [Critics Consensus: Fast & Furious Is Running On Empty, Rotten Tomatoes editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/Critics-Consensus-Fast-and-Furious-Is-Running-On-Empty/)
3. [Fast & Furious, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_and_furious)
4. [Fast & Furious (2009), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1013752/credits/)
5. [Fast & Furious Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fast-furious/)
6. [Vroom to Grow: How 'The Fast and the Furious' Became Hollywood's Greatest Action-Movie Franchise, TIME](https://time.com/3770961/fast-and-the-furious-greatest-action-movie-franchise/)
7. [Power Train, ICG Magazine](https://www.icgmagazine.com/web/power-train/)
8. [How the 'Fast and the Furious' franchise became one of the few things the world could agree on, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/04/16/how-the-fast-and-the-furious-franchise-became-one-of-the-few-things-the-world-could-agree-on/)
9. [Fast & Furious (2009), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Fast-and-Furious-%282009%29)
10. [Researching Fast & Furious in the franchise era of Hollywood, Hope's Institutional Research Archive](https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/3950/)
11. [All Fast & Furious Movies Ranked, Rotten Tomatoes editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-fast-and-furious-movies-ranked/)
12. [These Are the Best and Worst Movie Franchises of All Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes, TIME](https://time.com/4604580/best-movies-franchises-rotten-tomatoes/)
13. [catalog.afi.com](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/64883)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 2000s › Released 2005 to 2009*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license