'You'll always be my brother' 10 times The Fast and Furious will make you cry like a baby

Cape Town - With 'Fast 8' wrapped up at local cinemas, I thought I'd reflect on the previous installments as they never fail to delight serious fans.

Ahead of 'Fast 8', DSTV posted a pop-up channel to rev-up some excitement for the latest  installment of the popular racing franchise.

Spanning 16 years, 'The Fast and Furious' movies is to car fans what the Harry Potter series is to fans of fantasy. By that same token, 'Dom', 'Lettie' and 'Brian' are to petrolheads what 'Edward', 'Bella' and 'Jacob' are to Twilight fans.

Reach for the tissues

Apart from the vehicular lunacy on screen, the Fast and Furious franchise is filled with many touching moments.

I was left in tears at some of the most heart-breaking scenes throughout the series, despite having watched all seven preceding movies more than several times each. I have to add that I laughed a heck of a lot more than I cried, especially at the non-stop banter between Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce) and Ludacris (Tej Parker).

Here are 10 scenes from the Fast and Furious series that always make me shed some tears:

1. The Drive-by - Jessie returns from Race Wars in the Fast and The Furious (2001)

Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker) face off after its revealed Brian is actually an undercover cop. Dom is searching for Jessie, the mechanic who showed up at Dom's house when he was 15 and never left. He lost his white VW Jetta in a 'pink-slip' race to Johnny Tran at RaceWars. He arrives home, apologises to Dom, and is killed in their driveway by Tran and his henchman. It's truly heart-breaking movie as it's easy to love Jessie's characters.

2. When Brian calls the cops for help... 

I couldn't help balling my eyes out  at the scene when Brian calls for medical assistance to help Vince  - the very person whom had been warning Dom of Brian's deceit. Dom looks like he could murder him for betraying his trust and is wracked with pain after failing to listen to Vince.

3. When Han dies in Tokyo Drift (and at the start of Fast 6, huh?)

The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift 2006 (3)

Yes, Han's (Sung Kang) death is super confusing, and I'm not going to explain it - because if you're a FF fan, you'll know the correct sequence of events. It's still sad to watch Han die made even more  heart-wrenching because he was such a cool character. Who could hate him? Giselle completely fell for his charm and witty sense of humour as did most viewers.

4. The day Lettie died and broke Dom's heart...

Dom and Lettie are like peas and carrots, you can't have one without the other. So when Lettie 'was killed' in Fast 4, we all felt for Dom and a little piece of our hearts died too. Yet, no one knew what was coming at the time... 

5. Brian comes clean with Dom, it's all "his fault"

This is probably one of the most emotional scenes from all the movies. After Brian betrayed Dom in part 1, it's evident that he had worked with Lettie to try and get Dom back out of hiding. He also hadn't made any contact with Mia in five years. hen they found out that Lettie was murdered, Brian comes out with the truth. It was pretty brutal. 

6. "Where's Lettie, Dom!?" 

This scene is equally gripping. Dom finds out Vince was trying to steal the chip for the bad guys, but he's still a good guy. They have words, and still feeling a bit of resentment for being right about Brian being a cop all along, he puts Dom on a guilt trip about Lettie and blames him for all that has happened.  

7. When Dom saves Agent Hobbs...

What really got to me was Dom realising Vince has been fatally wounded after that ambush scene. 

8. The 'Father scene' in Fast Five.

Dom and Brian talk about their respective dads after finding out Mia is pregnant. Dom paints a wonderful picture of his father, the things he used to do and his love for fast cars. Brian however only has bad memories. Dom then reassures Brian that he's going to be an awesome father...

9. When Giselle lets go...

Giselle lets go to save Han's life and he loses his soulmate in Fast and Furious 6. Han and Giselle were a spectacular couple. They were sensual, great-looking and a perfect fit on screen. They were hardcore in their own right, romantic and a winning team. At the end of Fast 5, they talk about settling down and going back to Tokyo. It was a beautiful moment. So on that long runway scene, when Giselle lets go of Han's hand to save his life... Yep, I balling my eyes out. 

10. The awesome tribute to Paul Walker in Fast 7.

Due to Paul Walker's huge affect on the franchise, this was the most fitting and most respectable tribute. His family and friends sit on the beach at the end of the film and talk about him and address his "death" albeit indirectly. The ending where Dom drives off and Brian heads in the opposite directions driving his beloved Supra... Dom says: "You'll always be with me, you'll always be my brother." 

It gets me choked up, every single time:
 

Special mention: When Elena dies for love

I'd add a last one for Fast 8, the tragic scene where Cipher has Elena killed. It's too heartbreaking to even watch and yet it gets the emotions going to see Dom finish off Charlize Theron, the primary antagonist. We can only guess what Fast 9 will be about in 2018.