Fast & Furious movies have terrible streaming problems

Fast & Furious movies have terrible streaming problems

I'd like to watch all the "Wild Speed" films again in time for the June release of F9, but numerous streaming services are getting in the way. Don't get me wrong - I love my freedom of choice as much as Dominic Toretto loves his family. But anyone who tries to watch the "Wild Speed" films in order knows that these films are harder to find than Dom himself.

Fast Family is in a tougher spot than other popular franchises: if you subscribe to Disney Plus, you can watch the Star Wars movies in order and most of the Marvel movies in the MCU in order (thanks to Disney's deal with Sony, Spidey coming soon), and if you subscribe to HBO Max, you can watch all of the Saw films.

"Wild Speed" faces a more complicated conundrum. Different movies are not on the same service, and some are stored in places you don't know.

If you want to watch the movies in order of release, you would start with "Wild Speed" HBO Max and watch "Wild Speed" 2 Fast 2 Furious - and probably think that HBO Max will take you to the finish line, checkered flag and rival streamer You'll think you're taking the pink slip. You might also notice that Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, an excellent spin-off movie worth a laugh, is also on HBO Max. You might think that this solves all problems.

However, you will soon realize that you are wrong. The following "Wild Speed" movies are on Fubo TV, a live TV service loaded with sports channels, and while Fubo TV is one of the best streaming services out there and we love it, it doesn't feel like a home for movies. It costs a whopping $65/month. For that price, we'd rather buy the 8-film 4K/Blu-ray box set (now $69 on Amazon), which also includes digital downloads via Movies Anywhere.

However, Fubo.TV is currently showing the next two "Wild Speed" films, "Wild Speed: Tokyo Drift" and "Wild Speed. And equally infuriatingly, these films change homes at a moment's notice, as if a tank of nitro were attached to the streaming rights.

Next comes the most perplexing streaming situation. Fast Five, one of the best "Fast" movies and arguably one of the best action movies of its era, is not on any streaming service; it is only available for purchase or rental on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, etc.

And the first franchise finally goes where all should live: the Peacock Premium. There, you can stream "Wild Speed 6" without a bill.

Somehow, it's back to Fubo TV for "Furious 7," which is almost understandable when you compare it to its next home.

The Fate of the Furious: Wild Speed, the eighth film, is streaming exclusively on Spectrum On Demand. Yes, cable provider Spectrum has one "Wild Speed" movie in its pocket for some reason.

No one would subscribe to Spectrum just for "Wild Speed". Heck, I would make a similar bet about Fubo. And the locations for these films feel so wrong.

These movies do little for fans if they are stuck in far-flung destinations. As much as I hate to encourage exclusive behavior like Disney Plus collecting Marvel movies, like Thanos getting the Infinity Stone, it's a much better option than what's in franchises like "Wild Speed."

Putting Tokyo Drift on Fubo is a big problem. Tokyo Drift is one of Han's (Sung-Kang) biggest F&F films, and his return to the first franchise with the upcoming film is a big deal. How will audiences understand the joy of seeing Han in an F9 trailer when they know so little about his character?

How are we supposed to understand what Dom lost with the departure of Brian O'Connor without seeing all their adventures? To understand his complicated family history, you have to watch "Fate of the Furious". To understand how annoying Tej Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) is, you have to watch ...... Well, that makes a little more sense.

I am going through this exact situation right now. I'm starting a podcast about John Cena's (who made his "Wild Speed" debut on F9) movie. And that he has to make an annoyingly expensive investment to prepare for that chapter of "The Cena Files" (when I came up with that name, I had to make the show).

I'm not saying that all these films should be made available for free, they are so much fun they shouldn't be stolen. But the current situation is so bad that I bet more people buy pirated copies, if not all of them, than buy or rent them. Or worse. It is hard to imagine that new audiences will not dive into these films at all. It is a tragedy. It is a tragedy.

The solution is simple. The movie "Wild Speed" is a Universal Pictures production and is under the NBCUniversal umbrella. It is called "Peacock," as you may have heard. Peacock is the home of "The Office" and "WWE" and the perfect distribution destination for the Fast Family.

And these films are a perfect fit for the ad-supported $4.99/month Peacock Premium plan. Otherwise, you'd be spending more than $85 a month ($15 a month for HBO Max, $65 a month for Fubo, and $4.99 a month for Peacock Premium) before you could rent or buy "Fast Five" or "Wild Speed". (Again, stay away from Spectrum.)

Why the "Wild Speed" films are spread so thinly like gruel rationed by a shabby prison lunchroom attendant, I don't know. Perhaps it is due to an existing contract prior to Peacock's conception.

But if Comcast really wanted to put Peacock on the map, it should have brought back all F&F films in time for F9. Sure, Peacock has Harry Potter, but it needs more horsepower (not Hogwarts house power) and something less wizardly for the adults in the room. Put it all back together and the family will regroup. And that is what the "Wild Speed" series is all about.

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