The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

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

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 14	10:30 PM	TNT
Sun. Nov. 15	4:00 PM	TNT

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 Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | 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:

600 Asian extras were used during the LA filming days for the street scenes.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Sean's father is credited as being "Major Boswell". In a scene where he is in Naval uniform, his shoulder board clearly displays the two full stripes of a full Lieutenant and the collar insignia, while improperly gold, also is the two bars of a Lieutenant. The rank of full Lieutenant in the Navy is O-3. Major is not a Naval rank but used in the Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force and is O-4 and equivalent to that of a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. Major is denoted by a gold oak leaf cluster instead of twin silver bars. A Lieutenant Commander in the Navy also carries the gold oak leaf cluster on his collar and the shoulder board carries two full strips and one half strip between.

Quotes:

Shawn Boswell: Drift?
[Elevator doors open, two cars pass drifting right in front of the door]
Twinkie: Still need a dictionary?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (#13.8)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Bawitdaba

Well, it was fast and it was furious - but it wasn't very good

Now it is time again; for the third time racing drivers drive furiously and recklessly on the streets - racing for things like power, prestige, money and women. While Tokyo Drift may sound like 'just another movie about cars', it is much different from the previous two Fast and Furious installments, shifting from the hot streets of Californa to Tokyo, Japan. The protagonist is no longer surfer-boy Paul Walker, but Lucas Black as 17-year-old Sean who always escapes his problems by moving away.

But Sean decides to stay in Tokyo this time to deal after gets entangled in a dirty Yakuza mess when he races against a Yakuza boss's nephew, and steals his girlfriend (unforgivably annoying Nathalie Kelley). The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) thus sees American Sean and his crude ways juxtaposed with the sleek technology of Tokyo. It is an effective contrast, and the Tokyo background provides visual stimuli throughout the film, elevating it above generic formula.

But ultimately, this is ALL that is good about this film because the acting is atrocious - not any of the leads should ever be allowed to act again, even with better writing. The exception and stand-out performance in Tokyo Drift is the sexy Sung Kang as the guy who takes Sean in when he comes to Tokyo, and teaches him in the ways of 'drifting'. However, I have always seen the Fast and Furious franchise as an elaborate excuse to parade fast cars and fast women, and Tokyo Drift is no different here.

5/10