Fast and Furious

In the beginning, there were illegal street races and high speed heists, and Vin Diesel looked upon that which had created and saw that it was good. But as the franchise continued, the stakes became a little more… let’s say a little more insane. Cars parachuted out of the sky. Characters leapt their vehicles between skyscrapers. Tanks exchanged missiles with a submarine. As each movie has progressively upped the wow-factor of the franchise, there seems to be only one natural outcome for the Fast and the Furious family: they’re definitely going to head into space.

If you, like most of us, live in a capitalist society and are sometimes distracted from an action movie by the thought of how much it must have cost to clean up after that car chase or that oil drum explosion, you’re not alone. A couple folks took it upon themselves to estimate exactly how much damage the Fast & Furious Family has accrued over the last seven movies, and the final tally might make you a little squeamish.

More than fast cars or fistfights or crime-committing while crime-fighting, the Fast and Furious movies are about one thing: family. And family, as we all know, means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. Vin Diesel really wants to make sure we don’t forget about the late Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Connor, because apparently he wants to find some way to bring him back.

To honor the 15th anniversary of the movie that started it all, Universal is re-releasing The Fast and the Furious in theaters nationwide. Revisiting your introduction to Dom, Letty, Brian and the magical world of NOS should help make the wait for Fast 8 a little easier, but you’ll only have a limited time to see the original film on the big screen.

Breaking news: people all over the world really like fast cars, movie stars, and constant references to family. Related: Furious 7 has just become the third highest grossing movie of all time, overtaking 2012’s The Avengers.

Finally, some good news regarding 'Fast and Furious 7.' After the tragic death of star Paul Walker, the production stalled and struggled to get back into gear, but now the latest installment in one of our favorite action franchises has wrapped shooting a little early -- which means it's going to premiere a whole week early.