Random Dumbest Decisions In The ‘Fast And Furious’ Saga (11 items)

• 

  (#11) Tej Tries To Off His Racers ('2 Fast 2 Furious')

  Whether hacking into a metropolitan grid or taking bets on water sports, Tej Parker has a gift for giving the people what they want. He's a born crowd pleaser, and that's never clearer than in the opening of 2 Fast, when he promises his audience a "surprise" finale to the four-way race among Brian, Suki, Slap Jack, and Orange Julius.

  Tej delivers on that promise by taking over the drawbridge at the end of the race to make it rise up as the racers approach it. It makes for a great set piece, but within the reality of the film, it's a highly dangerous and potentially lethal obstacle to put in a driver's path.

  Of the three cars that make the jump, Brian's Nissan Skyline is mostly unscathed, because he's our hero, but Suki's Honda S2000 takes significant damage and Slap Jack's Supra is totaled, leaving him limping out of the wreck. Surprise!
• 

  (#8) Brian Sneaks Back Into The US ('Fast & Furious 6')

  Here's a situation we can all relate to: Have you ever been an internationally-wanted criminal, and suddenly discovered that one of the most important people in your life, who you thought was dead, wasn't dead? You'd probably want to know what happened to her, and why she doesn't seem to remember you, and also why she's working for an evil British dude. 

  This is the situation Brian and Dom find themselves in when they discover Letty is still alive and working for Owen Shaw. Brian, feeling responsible for Letty's fate after Fast 4, stops the plot of the movie cold to go on a highly dangerous side quest to America. 

  The logistics of how Brian pulls this off are never explained. He's been on the lam for two whole movies, has a wife and child overseas, and puts his entire mission and crew at risk, only to end up with a few crumbs of information that Dom dismisses immediately.
• 

  (#5) Dom Abandons Letty ('Fast & Furious')

  After a job to swipe oil from a tanker truck goes explosively pear shaped, Dom decides it's time to stop putting his loved ones in danger. Yet, after kindly telling his buddies to pack up and go home, Dom decides the best way to protect Letty is to take off without saying a word and leave her a few thousand bucks on the nightstand. Yikes.

  Dom abandoning Letty is, by itself, a crummy thing to do to a person who left a comfortable, law-abiding existence in California, USA, to go be with the love of her life. (Letty knew what she was getting into when she tracked you down, Dom. She literally says, "Ride or die!") Yet it's the long-term consequence of this abandonment that really twists the knife.

  In hopes of clearing Dom's record, Letty agrees to go undercover for Brian, which leads to a series of extremely unfortunate events for the whole crew over multiple installments in the franchise. Dom's decision becomes even harsher in hindsight when we discover, in Fast 7, that he married Letty at some point in the past. This means Dom didn't just abandon his long-time lover in Fast & Furious, he walked out on his wife. Double yikes.
• 

  (#4) Elena Doesn't Tell Dom About His Son ('The Fate of the Furious')

  Dom and Elena hook up at the end of Fast 5, then part ways in Fast 6 after Dom learns Letty is still alive. In Fate of the Furious, Elena says she found out she was pregnant around the same time, and decided not to share the news with Dom until after he and Letty got back from their honeymoon. Cipher nixes that plan when she abducts them.

  Alright, let's rewind for a second. If Dom's baby is around six months old, as the child actor who portrays him is, and Elena had a nine-month pregnancy, that means she's been sitting on this secret for 15 months. Even if Elena is the most saintly and understanding ex-girlfriend on Earth, and would rather not harsh Dom and Letty's buzz with something as consequential as, y'know, bringing a human being into the world, there's one very good reason she should have told Dom right away: People try to attack him and his "family" all the time. Elena and her baby get snatched by Cipher because of course they would be.

  Dom, being a multi-millionaire and freelance government agent, would have the resources to protect them - if he knew. Also, if he knew, he could have saved Elena six months of awkwardly telling people she's waiting for her baby daddy to give the kid a first name.
• 

  (#3) Dom Runs A Heist Without His Full Crew ('The Fast and the Furious')

  In the first Fast and Furious film, Dominic Toretto and his crew are covertly swiping DVD players and digital cameras from container trucks. Brian O'Conner, then a wet-behind-the-ears LA cop, just can't believe Dom's the bad guy, because he's so cool and in control.

  On the latter two counts, Brian's not wrong. Despite Dom's imposing frame, he's more of a thinker than a bruiser. That's why it's strange that he orders Letty, Vince, and Leon to go through with a heist they're clearly not ready for. This happens after Jesse freaks out and flees from Race Wars, leaving them short a man. Dom's sister tells him not to go, but Dom ignores her. Later, Leon says things don't feel right, but Dom shuts him up. Even Letty objects, but Dom just won't listen.

  The heist ends in a spectacular failure, with Vince nearly bleeding out, Letty injured, and Brian revealing he's an undercover cop - shattering his relationship with Dom for several years.
• 

  (#10) Dom Leaves Vince's Share Of The Money On His Kitchen Table ('Fast 5')

  This is another instance when Dom's nobility stumbles on the execution. It happens like this: Vince loses his life during the course of Dom and Brian's Rio job, which is a common hazard among people who cross their path, but Dom promises to take care of Vince's family no matter what. Cool. Unfortunately, Dom decides the best way to do this is to leave a large sack of money on Vince's kitchen table for his wife, Rosa, to find.

  Let's set aside the fact that Rosa has no idea what happened to her husband at this point, and the fact that "Uncle" Dom offers no explanation beyond "I'll see you soon." The bigger problem is that Dom figured it would be cool to leave several million dollars just sitting in front of an open window, in a neighborhood that appears to be fairly crime-ridden. 

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking