Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The Review

"Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The" reviews

Movie

Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-10-06 22:47:09

Rating

2.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

The high octane Tokyo Drift is a worthy third installment in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Of course, the story is pretty predictable and farfetched but that's not why you're seeing this. It's all about the drift, baby!

Story

Although Tokyo Drift may not be as straightforward as the first Fast and Furious, it is at least more credible than the second, incorporating a nice fish-out-of-water element to its story. High schooler Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) loves to street race but unfortunately, it gets him into a lot of trouble. After his latest stunt, it's either go live with his estranged military father stationed in Tokyo or go to jail. Sushi sounds nice. Once there, however, it doesn't take long for Sean to be introduced to the underground world of drift racing by his new American buddy Twinkie (Bow Wow)--and boy, does Sean get hooked. It's perfect for his rebel style. But it doesn't come easy to him. He has to put in his dues first and inevitably, as rebels are wont to do, ends up rubbing the some of the local drift-racing denizens the wrong way, including D.K. (Brian Tee), the reigning champ who has ties to a Japanese crime syndicate. That's OK, though. Sean will win the race and get the girl, no worries. Oh sorry, did I give too much away?

Acting

Many of you might remember Black as the cute but tough little kid Billy Bob Thornton's Karl befriends in Sling Blade. But now all grown up, the actor is definitely becoming a likable screen hunk, with turns in films like Jarhead and Friday Night Lights. Obviously, the comparisons to Fast and Furious regular Paul Walker are expected, but Black definitely has his own style and charisma, thanks to that distinctive Southern drawl. Bow Wow is a tad under utilized as the relegated sidekick, while the token girl part is played by the bland but beautiful newcomer Nathalie Kelley. Sean's adversary, Tee (TV's Zoey 101) is pretty badass, though, and Sung Kang (Better Luck Tomorrow) does a nice job as a smooth drift racer and small-time hood who is more sympathetic towards Sean. Veteran Japanese actor Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill Vol. 1) makes a memorable appearance as D.K.'s nefarious uncle. But make sure you stay until the end for a well-placed--and crowd pleasing--surprise guest cameo.

Direction

So what is drift racing exactly? According to the notes, it's an exhilarating balance of speeding and gliding through a heart-stopping course of hairpin turns and switchbacks. Whatever the definition, it looks pretty darn cool up on the big screen. Director Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow) gives us some exhilarating racing sequences, going from close-up cuts to slo-mo shots as cars zip, flip, glide and burn as much rubber as possible. One particular scene has the guys racing through the streets of Tokyo, in which they have to drift their way through a large crowd of people. Seat-clenching stuff. Lin also does a fine job showing Japanese culture and how street racing is treated there. At one point, Sean passes some cops going 197 mph. Wondering why they aren't chasing him, his Japanese passenger explains that since he was going so fast, the Toyko police won't even try to chase him because they know they'd never catch up. Wouldn't that be nice? Oh, and there's a disclaimer at the end: All the racing done in the movie was handled by professional stunt drivers and we shouldn't attempt to do any of this on our own. You mean I can't drive home from the theater, drifting around the cars on the highway? Darn my luck!

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 2 1/2 stars.

Movie

Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-06-15 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

In order to avoid a jail sentence, American Sean Boswell (Black) heads to Tokyo to live with his military officer father. In a low-rent section of the city, Sean gets caught up in the underground world of drift racing, the art of taking sharp corners at full speed by slipping round the bend on locked wheels. After losing a race to Yakuza-connected Drift King, Sean has to enter the Tokyo underworld to find a way to pay off his debt.

Let's not kid ourselves here; very few people who go to "Fast And The Furious" movies are there for the plot , they're far more interested in the pimped up rides and pretty girls. And they certainly shouldn't be disappointed , as the kind of spectacular stunts and break-neck automotive action we've become accustomed fills the screen. A familiar face even pops up at the end, a surprise cameo which is guaranteed to bring a smile to "Fast And The Furious" fans faces.

Also, despite playing up to rather stereotypical images of the Japanese and the Yakuza, you get the feeling that the US producers have tried harder than usual to try and understand the film's location and the use of local language and culture.

Movie

Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-06-15 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

It's always a challenge for franchises to keep momentum going when they reach the tough third film. But the producers behind "The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift" seem to have overcome that problem by bringing in new blood , including a new leading man in Lucas Black, a new director (Justin Lin - "Better Luck Tomorrow "), and a batch of new writers. In order to avoid a jail sentence, American Sean Boswell (Black) heads to Tokyo to live with his military officer father. In a low-rent section of the city, Sean gets caught up in the underground world of drift racing, the art of taking sharp corners at full speed by slipping round the bend on locked wheels. After losing a race to Yakuza-connected Drift King, Sean has to enter the Tokyo underworld to find a way to pay off his debt. Let's not kid ourselves here; very few people who go to "Fast And The Furious" movies are there for the plot , they're far more interested in the pimped up rides and pretty girls. And they certainly shouldn't be disappointed , as the kind of spectacular stunts and break-neck automotive action we've become accustomed fills the screen. A familiar face even pops up at the end, a surprise cameo which is guaranteed to bring a smile to "Fast And The Furious" fans faces. Also, despite playing up to rather stereotypical images of the Japanese and the Yakuza, you get the feeling that the US producers have tried harder than usual to try and understand the film's location and the use of local language and culture.