Over 18 years, the Fast & Furious series has become one of the biggest film franchises in the world, grossing a total of US$5.9 billion (HK$46.2 billion). With new spin-off Hobbs & Shaw playing onboard this month, we look in the rearview mirror at some of the series’ most memorable locations.
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, US
The series had its standing start in Los Angeles. The first race, in which Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) faces off against Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), begins in the car park of Dodger Stadium, home of baseball team the Los Angeles Dodgers. In Furious 7, the gang returns to the stadium’s car park, which overlooks the LA skyline.
1000 Vin Scully Avenue, Los Angeles
Toretto House, Echo Park, Los Angeles, US
Dom’s Los Angeles home, which appears throughout the series, is an actual residence in Echo Park, a neighbourhood in Central Los Angeles. Even though the house was blown up in Furious 7, the real house – including Dom’s standalone garage – is still there today.
722 East Kensington Road, Los Angeles
Torque Spice & Herb, Table & Court, Tokyo, Japan
While most of Tokyo Drift, the series’ third film, saw Los Angeles standing in for Tokyo, the team did film several scenes in the real Japanese capital. The scene in which Han (Sung Kang) has a heart-to-heart chat with young racer Sean (Lucas Black) was filmed at Torque Spice & Herb, Table & Court, a futsal court and restaurant on the fourth floor of the Shibuya Stream building, which overlooks Shibuya Crossing.
3-21-3 Shibuya, Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan
Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico
One of the reasons for the Fast & Furious series’ enduring success was a shift from street racing action films to big-budget, spectacle-filled heist flicks in Fast Five. The movie’s final car chase sees the heroes dragging a giant bank vault down the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Unable to have an 2.5-metre vault careen through the streets of Rio for real, the team filmed the chase in the neighbourhood of Hato Rey in San Juan.
Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
There have been countless crazy stunts in the history of the Fast & Furious series, but the one that tops them all is in Furious 7 when Dom and Brian must escape a luxury suite atop Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Towers. They do so by stealing a Lykan Hypersport supercar and smashing through the windows to leap from tower to tower.
Corniche West Street, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Havana, Cuba
The Fast & Furious series made history with the opening sequence of its eighth film, The Fate of the Furious. Made as US-Cuba relations were warming up, the production was able to secure permission to film a car chase in Havana. The chase covers El Curita Park, the Capitolio building and the Malecón esplanade on the shoreline.
