Director Justin Lin has not only made numerous classic movies in the Fast & Furious franchise but also has some impressive small-screen efforts that earn a comparison to his big-budget blockbusters. Justin Lin is one of the foremost creative minds behind making the Fast & Furious franchise. Lin turned the racing movie series into an over-the-top action extravaganza, making the franchise into the blockbuster juggernaut it is now.
Since then, Lin has reaped the rewards at the box office, beginning with 2011’s Fast Five. However, before that, Lin also directed the more conventional Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift and Fast & Furious. The helmer also worked on numerous TV shows such as Community, Scorpion, SWAT, the Magnum PI reboot, and True Detective season 2.
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With the Fast & Furious saga’s two-part ending on its way, now is the perfect time to compare Lin’s earlier work with his recent outings. The director’s career trajectory has seen him move from indie comedies to earnest drama before finding a home in action, but not every project pre-Fast & Furious was an unquestionable success. However, Lin is now one of the biggest names in the action genre, something he has more than earned via the many movies and TV shows ranked below.
11. Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift
![The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/The-Fast-and-the-Furious-Tokyo-Drift.jpg)
2006’s Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift was Lin’s first contribution to the franchise, not that anyone would know from its pedestrian action. Despite moving the action across continents, Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift is otherwise a by-the-numbers addition to the series that adds little not found in its pair of predecessors. The Fast & Furious movies succeeded where XXX struggled precisely because Lin later moved away from director Rob Cohen’s safe, bland action, and this ponderous sequel proves that the franchise would have been doomed if he wasn’t given more freedom to do so.
10. Annapolis
Starring James Franco as a forgettable hero who hopes to join the Navy, Annapolis is a dull drama with little to recommend in its padded runtime. Self-serious and earnest military action is far from Lin’s strong suit, as proven by the critical mauling Annapolis was met with upon release. Unfortunately, most of the ire was earned by this bland and predictable outing, which ended up disowned by even the real-life Navy.
9. Fast & Furious
There is objectively not a lot wrong with 2009’s Fast & Furious, save for the fact that it isn’t Fast Five. The fourth movie in the franchise will forever pale in comparison to its followup, which allowed Lin to reboot the series as a larger-than-life, surreally silly chase series. With Justin Lin’s trademark sense of fun held back, Fast & Furious is just fine, which makes for a passable addition to the series but means it can’t hold a candle to the later, more shamelessly silly sequels.
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It is hard to fault the 1997 indie comedy Shopping For Fangs for ambition. A rom-com/thriller/sort-of horror, Shopping For Fangs tells the bizarre intersecting stories of a man becoming a werewolf, a frustrated housewife, and an LGBT affair. As the above synopsis implies, it’s a messy affair, but Lin’s debut has energy and style to spare and John Cho is typically charismatic in his first major role.
7. Finishing the Game
Savaged by critics upon release, 2007’s Finishing the Game is evidently a passion project for Lin and one where the director’s enthusiasm for the subject matter shines through its admittedly patchy elements. A mockumentary about Bruce Lee’s final unfinished movie, Finishing the Game is mostly Lin’s chance to take Hollywood and the movie industry to task for racism. The project pulls its punches when it should get serious, but there’s a lot to like about this underrated 2007 release nonetheless.
6. F9
F9’s flaws aside, the long-awaited Fast & Furious sequel is an undeniably fun romp. Charlize Theron’s villain Cypher is wasted in the franchise outing, but there are a string of inventive action sequences to cover up that fact and the cast is as game as ever. F9 is unlikely to be any fan’s favorite installment of the series but, divorced from the hype, it is a fun sequel and feels fresher than any eighth sequel has a right to.
5. Better Luck Tomorrow
Comfortably Lin’s darkest effort to date, Better Luck Tomorrow is a stylish teen thriller. The familiar plot of a good kid getting in with a bad crowd has been before and better, but Better Luck Tomorrow is more believable than Brick and less unwatchable-y harsh than the comparable Bully. It is not as gripping as the superficially similar Alpha Dog, but this is a tense and effective effort that marked Lin out as a talent on the rise.
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4. Warrior
HBO Max’s Warrior is Lin’s most ambitiously dark effort since Better Luck Tomorrow, and fortunately, it is even better than that early outing. Set in 1870s San Francisco, Warrior tells the tale of a martial arts fighter who comes to America in search of his sister and finds far more. Unfortunately for protagonist Ah Sahm, “far more” here translates to the most brutal fighting contests since Tony Jaa’s movie heyday. Brutal and bruising, Warrior is also a compelling if sometimes heavy-handed character drama that balances action and quieter moments with grace and finesse.
3. Star Trek: Beyond
While not as fun as Tarantino’s proposed “Star Trek gangster movie,” Star Trek: Beyond is a more than serviceable addition to the long-running franchise. Lin’s ambitious sequel manages to outdo earlier Star Trek reboots with its focus on fun, although a sprawling cast makes the focus of Star Trek: Beyond a touch too all over the place. Still, as a slice of blockbuster sci-fi action, Star Trek: Beyond more than delivers, and is proof of Lin’s talent for combining propulsive action, humor, and heart even outside of his most famous franchise.
2. Fast & Furious 6
After the critical success of Fast & Furious 6 in 2013, Lin graciously stepped aside for his frequent collaborator James Wan (master of the jump scare and car chase alike) to direct Paul Walker’s franchise swan song. The emotional impact of Furious 7 often overshadows its immediate predecessor, but Fast & Furious 6 is a wild, cartoony romp that deserves to be seen as one of the best in the series. A demented heist movie filled with ever-more-ludicrous stunts, Fast & Furious 6 is a funny, action-packed, and memorable contribution to the franchise.
1. Fast Five
2011’s Fast Five saw Lin take a major risk by switching the focus of the Fast & Furious movies. After four installments of racing drama, Fast Five reignited interest in the series by turning the Fast & Furious movies into goofy, outrageous heist movies whose escalating action made for addictive viewing. While one star often got credit for saving the series, Jungle Cruise’s failure to replace Pirates of the Caribbean proved that the Rock alone was not responsible for Fast Five’s success. Behind the camera, it was the director’s assured vision for the series that saved Fast Five, making this Justin Lin’s most assured and enjoyable effort so far.
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