Director Justin Lin says F9 is the best Fast & Furious film yet

By Derek Lawrence

I currently write about Fast & Furious, The Office, and Will Smith. One day, I will write Hitch 2.

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Published on May 21, 2021 09:00AM EDT

It's hard to believe someone could make a better movie than *Fast Five*, but Justin Lin thinks he's pulled it off.

Appearing on the latest episode of *EW's BINGE: The Fast Saga*, the filmmaker looked back on his past *Fast & Furious* films and ahead to the upcoming *F9* (out June 25). Lin's interview comes after his *F9* star Chris "Ludacris" Bridges told *BINGE* hosts Derek Lawrence and Chanelle Berlin Johnson that he hadn't yet seen the new film but that Lin "looked me in my eye twice and said, '*Fast 9* is the best out of the entire franchise.'" So does Lin standby that bold declaration?

"In my gut and my mind, yes," he says. "Look, it's always hard to compare because I also have the experience of what happens behind cameras. I sit there and sometimes you overcome the weirdest things just to be able to ultimately finish that movie that nobody else sees. But I do think that *F9* is a culmination of all our work through the years. I like to think that my next movie is always my best movie — that's what I strive for. But I also think that on so many levels with character, it was great to reconnect with everybody. Yeah, in my heart, I feel like *F9* is the best film. It's part of our evolution. But that's until we do *Fast 10*, right?"

Giles Keyte/Universal

After directing four straight *Fast* movies, Lin walked away in 2013 with *Fast & Furious 6*, but he now returns for *F9*, which (again) revives Han (Sung Kang), while also introducing the family's greatest threat yet: Jakob Toretto (John Cena), the long-lost brother of Dom (Vin Diesel) and Mia (Jordana Brewster).

"Maybe it's me coming back, but having everybody just know their characters so well, and being away never felt like I was away," adds Lin. "But also to get the butterfly in the stomach. That to me is so important so that it's not like we're just doing what is expected. We might be on the cusp of fiasco, but we're doing something."

**To listen, subscribe to *EW's BINGE: The Fast Saga* feed via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also subscribe to EW's YouTube page to catch all the video interviews, and stay tuned to EW.com for even more *Fast *coverage — including next Friday's chat with Jordana Brewster about the legendary *Fast Five*.**

**Related content:**

- Lucas Black on appreciating the 'unique' legacy of *Tokyo Drift*, reuniting with *Fast* family for *F9*

- Ludacris reflects on last-minute *2 Fast 2 Furious* audition, initially playing himself 'to a degree'

- Vin Diesel reveals why he wanted to do *The Fast and the Furious*, and then why he almost didn't

- EW's Binge Podcast Episodes

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