These street racing/heist/revenge action films are more popular than ever and have featured what feels like the most frequent action cues. So rev up your engines and let's take a look back on the films score by score.
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Music by BT
Composer and musician Brian Transeau was well established in the electronica world, but film scoring was still relatively new. His score features some non-traditional writing techniques and included complex rhythm patterns on car chassis parts. Clearly the techno style has followed through most of the later films. Since the original focus was the song soundtrack, only a few tracks appear on the More Fast and Furious album. (Just listen to: Race Wars, Nocturnal Transmission, The Fast and the Furious Theme)
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Music by David Arnold
Director John Singleton brought David Arnold to this less than desirable sequel, with a few action James Bond films under his belt. Arnold matched the glowing street racing musically with a hard rock influence of drum loops and electronic elements. Unfortunately no score tracks were released on any official albums.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Music by Brian Tyler
Tyler continued the mix of electronics and orchestra, letting guitars and brass stay in the forefront of the constant action cues. Tyler does include a bit more thematic material that threads through the score. His action writing led to Tyler basically taking over the franchise's overall sound. (Just listen to: Neela Drifts, Downtown Tokyo Chase, Symphonic Touge)
Fast & Furious (2009)
Music by Brian Tyler
More symphonic than the last, the score never loses its roots in the guitars and electronic rhythms and hints of techno. Welcome slower moments include Letty's acoustic guitar theme and love theme. (Just listen to: Letty, The Showdown, Suite)
Fast Five (2011)
Music by Brian Tyler
The orchestral side of the score is more dominant. The drumset, guitars and electronic loops give the score a bit more edge. The new main theme will become a film mainstay while new characters (like Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs) lead to some new thematic motifs. Overall, Tyler continues his typical action chops, with some memorable cues that don't feel like retreaded material. (Just listen to: The Perfect Crew, Dom Vs Hobbs, Train Heisht, The Vault Heist)
Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Music by Lucas Vidal
With Tyler stepping aside for other projects, young composer Vidal stepped with an equally action-packed score that blends nicely with the past scores. In fact, themes and full cues from Tyler's scores of films 4 and 5 appear. In addition, no official score album was released.
Furious 7 (2015)
Music by Brian Tyler
For film 7, Tyler returned with possibly the freshest of the scores while still developing past material. The main theme returns as does the theme for Hobbs, and a menacing theme for villain Shaw. Choir makes an appearance in this score, seemingly upping the score just like the films themselves. The emotional side of the series has popped up occasionally, but with Paul Walker's touching tribute, Tyler's emotional aspect exactly hits the mark. (Just listen to: Furious 7, Battle of the Titans, One Last Stand, Farewell)
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Music by Brian Tyler
Containing some of the betrayal and vengeance parts of the film, Tyler connected several past themes for Letty and Dom in slighty darker moments. All of the Tyler essentials appear at full blast. This score doesn't add much to the musical world we've heard already as the long album moves along. (Just listen to: Zombie Time, Davidaniya, The Return)
Check out the others in the SPOTLIGHT ON.... SERIES!
Spotlight On Series: Harry Potter, Batman, James Bond, Star Trek, Marvel, Pixar, X-Men, Spider-Man, Superman, Jack Ryan, Transformers, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes, The Hunger Games
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