I thought when those movies came out they all sucked. It wasn't till the fourth installment that i saw some type of plot building that made me want to go back and re-watch them. Then i thought... not bad. I went and saw fast 5. Though i was disappointed in the amount of cars, racing or lack there of... I thought they maximized the storyline and turns out the series in a whole, though cheesy, in many aspects is a shytload of fun to watch. Cars, guns, action, hot chix and illegal racing... it doesnt get much better than that for near-brainless superficial entertainment with cool yet mediocre heist sub-plots.
I embrace F&F for what it is... JDM/muscle fanboi action fluff and its cool when in the mood.