Throughout the last 20 years, the Fast and Furious franchise has changed tremendously. Where the first movie was centered on fast cars and racing, the final few have seen they engage in government-operated heists. Where the biggest villain was a small-time gangster, now they are taking down cyber-terrorists and druglords.
However, most fans will agree the biggest change that has occurred would be between the characters. In some form or another, all characters had evolved. But whether it was for the better is still up for debate. Some may not realize but you can tell a lot about a character just by their dialogue.
Megan Ramsey
"Stay away from me" - "When you guys figure it out, I guess you can let me know."
While Megan Ramsey didn't exactly have the most iconic entrance in Furious 7, the hacker has shown a lot of promise in terms of character development. Revealed to be the creator of "God Eye," Ramsey has proven to be one of the most intelligent people in the series, with her strengths mostly highlighted through her computer and deduction skills. She has also been seen to have great chemistry with the other crew members too.
The only issue fans would say is that they still don't know anything about her backstory. As her last line suggests, while she does feel comfortable around "Dom's crew," they hardly know anything about her. They didn't even know her full name. She has so much potential that, hopefully, won't go wasted.
Luke Hobbs
"All right, listen up. The men we're after are professional runners." - "Looking forward to it Shaw."
Luke Hobbs may not class himself as a member of Toretto's crew, but his relationship with them all has come a long way. When he was introduced in Fast Five, he was deadset in bringing all of them in and sending them to prison.
However, this soon changed once he realized how corrupt certain government sectors were and became a lot more open-minded to the crew's activities. Still, this doesn't mean that he will compromise his morals for anyone. If he thinks an individual, like Shaw, is dangerous and needs to pay for their crimes, he will continue with his pursuit and bring them to justice.
Gisele Yashar
"Driver's license." - "Sh*t!"
As fans can tell from her first and last line, Gisele was a great character that was extremely undervalued in the franchise. She was an amazing fighter and a highly skilled member of the team. Problem was, she ended up only being used to serve another character's arc.
When she was initially introduced to the franchise, she was intended to be the love interest of Dom Toretto. By the fifth and sixth movie, her arc ended up being tied to Han's. Although fans will forever remember her for sacrificing herself to save Han, they probably won't remember anything significant in her life - which was disappointing.
Han Lue
"That means a lot coming from you." - "You would still be shaking down tea houses for chump change if it wasn't for me."
One of the more underrated character arcs in the franchise, Han has become one of the favorites in the entire franchise. Introduced in the Fast & Furious short film prequel "Los Bandoleros," it is clear to all that Han and Dom have a great bond as they are seen to be laughing and joking about each other's appearance. It is also quite apparent that Dom and Han highly trust each other, which was quite the opposite of Han's relationship with Takashi (D.K).
After Han moves to Tokyo, the viewers learn he has a close friendship with Takashi. However, it turns out that Han may have been using him for one of his bolder scams. While Han does stand his ground when D.K. confronts him, it has become clear that he may have become too arrogant and known, which 'cost him his life."
Mia Toretto
"Tuna on white, no crust, right?" - "Yeah, good job."
Who would think that a simple question about a sandwich would end up being one of the most important moments in her life? While Mia was initially introduced to be the "love interest" of Brian and sister to Dom, her role didn't exactly get better. Most of the time, Mia disappeared into the background, doing her best to stay out of her brother's heists.
Her protective and maternal instincts for the group may have brought her into the fold on more than one occasion, but after she became a mother, her character arc was reduced even further. Hopefully, she will be included far more in the F9 plot.
Roman Pierce
"Only my homeboys call me Rome, pig." - "Welcome to the family Brian."
Introduced in 2 Fast 2 Furious, Roman Pearce was seen to be the former childhood best friend of Brian. However, after Roman went to prison for a string of thefts and holding stolen goods, he grew to hate everything that Brian embodied and insisted they were no longer friends.
Nevertheless, his vendetta didn't last very long as he and Brian soon reconnected once the former FBI agent helped him clear his criminal record. From that point on, the two were practically inseparable. So when Dom informed everyone that his son was called "Brian," he was thrilled.
Tej Parker
"Serious, Ray, you're making me lose money" - "Hey, Mrs. Parker"
When the audience first met Tej in 2 Fast 2 Furious, straight away, it was made clear that Tej liked to make money wherever he saw an opportunity arise - whether that be in street racing, gambling, or mechanical repairs. However, by the end of the seventh movie, the audiences have learned a lot more about him.
He's skilled with technology, is a great strategist, and is extremely funny. As the movie series goes on, the writers have started to use his friendship with Roman to provide comic relief for the movies. Fans couldn't imagine the series without him
Letty Ortiz
"Chill out bro. He's just slinging parts for Harry, man." - "He's beautiful."
When the audience was first introduced to Dom's crew, Letty was deemed to be the more rational and level-headed member. As soon as Vince spotted Brian's truck, she was the first one to try and ease his anger by telling him to not jump to conclusions.
Unfortunately, as one can remember from her last line, Letty hasn't had much of an arc of her own. Sure, she has been involved in a few fight and action sequences. The writers just seem to always manage to tie her arc back to Dom's. While fans would like to see how Letty, Dom, and Brian work as a family unit, it would be good to see Letty has an individual story too (even Rodriguez agrees).
Dom Toretto
"What'd you put in that sandwich" - "Okay, I guess it's my turn to say grace."
Considering that Brian was meant to be investigating a hardcore criminal, that wasn't the first impression the fans got. Rather, they got to meet the humorous and light-hearted family man, who had a great relationship with his sister. While Dom could be dangerous and a little reckless sometimes, this adrenalin-fueled attitude stopped after a few years. He may partake in the occasional mission to help the government, but Dom prefers to settle down and just spend time with his family.
Brian O'Conner
"I don't know. How is it?" - "Hey. Thought you could leave without saying goodbye?"
As fans know, the first spoken lines in the franchise were in an interaction between Mia and Brian. While the film did reveal that Brian had initially scoped the cafe to try and get closer to Dom, Brian later told Mia that he ordered "a lot of those sandwiches" because he wanted to get to know her more.
Ordering that sandwich proved to be the best decision of his life as he found the family he always wanted with the Torettos. Sadly, the franchise decided to retire the character in Furious 7 after Paul Walker's untimely death, which meant his last line was more poignant and meaningful than the others.