The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

Director:

Justin Lin

Writer (WGA):

Chris Morgan (written by)

Release Date:

16 June 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

If You Ain't Outta Control, You Ain't In Control.

Plot:

In order to avoid a jail sentence, Sean Boswell heads to Tokyo to live with his military father. In a low-rent section of the city, Shaun gets caught up in the underground world of drift racing.

Plot Keywords:

Drift Racing | Car | Yakuza | Illegal Street Racing | Tokyo Japan

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Lucas Black	...	Sean Boswell
Damien Marzette	...	High School Security Guard (as Damien Marzett)
Trula M. Marcus	...	American Math Teacher (as Trula Marcus)
Zachery Ty Bryan	...	Clay (as Zachery Bryan)
Brandon Brendel	...	Clay's Buddy #1
Daniel Booko	...	Clay's Buddy #2
David V. Thomas	...	Clay's Buddy #3
Amber Stevens	...	Cheerleader #1
Ashika Gogna	...	Cheerleader #2
Christian Salazar	...	Chubby Hispanic Kid
Kevin Caira	...	Auto Shop Bully #1
Trey Sanford	...	Auto Shop Bully #2 (as Julius Trey Sanford)
Danny Ray McDonald II	...	Auto Shop Bully #3
Nikki Griffin	...	Cindy - Clay's Girlfriend
Vincent Laresca	...	Case Worker

Also Known As:

The Fast and the Furious 3 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for reckless and illegal behavior involving teens, violence, language and sexual content.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:12A | Finland:K-11 | Australia:M | Denmark:11 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42737) | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (edited version) | Malaysia:18SG | Germany:12 | France:U | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Hungary:14 | Argentina:Atp | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:12 | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:12A (original rating) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Hawthorne Plaza - 12124 Hawthorne Blvd., Hawthorne, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

When Sean is racing against the school bully in the parking garage, a AE86 Panda Trueno, Keiichi Tsuchiya's (Drift King of Japan) car of fame makes its own cameo, parked conspicuously at a corner.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the scene when Sean and Han are both in his Evo as he's learning to drive on the pier, the camera zooms in on the right left tire. Coming from the right of the screen are sparks from the camera boom hitting the pavement

Quotes:

Han: Life's simple, you make choices and you don't look back.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

Soundtrack:

Welcome To Tokyo

Fast, furious and a very entertaining ride from start to finish

In my review for 2 Fast 2 Furious, Tokyo Drift's immediate predecessor, I praised the film for indeed being fast and furious but lambasted it for being ridiculously idiotic and poorly-made. This proved to be the film's biggest problem and mired it significantly; naturally I had fears that its sequel, Tokyo Drift would suffer from the same problem and henceforth kill the Fast and the Furious franchise. My fears, I'm happy to say, were vanquished and erased as I watched Tokyo Drift, and I'm also happy to say that it's an improvement from it's vapid predecessor.

None of the original cast returns for this third instalment in the series, and whilst that may seem like a downer (I was starting to warm up to them) the movie surprisingly doesn't suffer much from their absence. The guy in the driver's seat this time around is Sean Boswell, a racing and car enthusiast just like our old friend Brian O'Connor. In the film's opening we're introduced to Sean and his infatuation with the world of driving, evident from his immediate desire and eagerness to race when offered. A typical scenario is played out where Sean talks to the girlfriend of the hunky school captain; he notices his foreplay, gets angry, clenches his fist and commences to mow Sean down in a sea of moronic rage typical of jocks. However, they decide to settle this with a good old-fashioned race, and from this moment on Tokyo Drift puts its foot on the accelerator and fails to let up.

It's a thrilling race to say the least, and watching this scene I could tell this movie wasn't going to be as moronic or mindless as its predecessor. The race scene was very well-made, frequently using rapid shots and cuts but using them well; in fact, the entire scene was exceptionally well-shot, as well as being well choreographed and not too dependent on CGI. As a result of this newfound 'intelligence' and craftsmanship in the movie, I immediately started to take a liking to the film, and could enjoy it to the full.

Sean ends up winning the race; however it isn't without wrecking the good part of a real estate housing development and being caught on camera. The police pick him up, and we learn of Sean's troubled past; having been arrested thrice in the past, Sean and his mother have always avoided his conviction by moving to another town; however, Sean's run out of 'get-out-of-jail-free' cards, and it looks like Sean is either going to jail or moving in with his estranged father – naturally, he takes the latter option without hesitation. The catch is that Sean's father lives in Tokyo, Japan. Here Sean is completely exposed to a whole new culture, including a whole new underground driving scene which revolves around a concept known as 'drift'. Sean inevitably becomes caught up in this whole new racing world, and experiences both the good, the bad and the ugly of this whole new world.

The technical excellence that I was so fortunately exposed to in the opening moments of the film remained with Tokyo Drift for its entirety, and from start to finish I thoroughly enjoyed the well-made and thrilling action scenes. That said, Tokyo Drift isn't anything special or outstanding, and is under par to the action-packed and exhilarating ride that was the original Fast and the Furious film. However, the movie still manages to overcome its faults – it's major one being the highly clichéd story, you'll see what I mean when you watch the film – and in the end its entertainment value is the movie's greatest asset.

Tokyo Drift may not be the best entry in the Fast and the Furious series, and it still may lack the brain it needs to be a truly great action film, but it's a remarkable improvement from its insipid and bland predecessor, and comes close to beating the original. Most of all, it's an absolute delight for rev-heads, motor buffs, action junkies and just any film-goer looking for some entertainment, and that's what counts most.