The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

 

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

Teenager Sean Boswell (Black) loves streetracing. After racing gets him in trouble again, he is sent to Japan to live with his father (Goodman). His father has simple rules: go to school, get home at a reasonable time, and no racing.

The last rule is broken immediately, when Sean discovers drift racing. Despite warnings from his new friend Twinkie (Bow Wow), Sean clashes with the "drift king" Takashi (Tee), literally destroying a car. The wrecked car belongs to Takashi's business partner Han (Kang), who takes Sean under his wing.

Han, Twinkie, and their friends teach Sean to drift and warn him to stay away from Takashi, who has dangerous connections. But that is difficult as Sean grows closer to Takashi's girlfriend Neela (Kelley). Can Sean master drifting and survive until graduation?

This is the 3rd film in the Fast and the Furious franchise, following The Fast and the Furious (2001) and 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003). To date there are 7 subsequent films in the franchise: Fast and Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast and Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), F9 (2021), and Fast X (2023).

The Good:

Sung Kang steals the show as Han. He is charismatic and the best part of every scene.  

The fishermen commenting on Sean's drifting practice are entertaining, brief but memorable. 

The Bad:

The acting is still rough. Lucas Black is fine as Sean, but he looks too old to be in high school... which is true for most of the "teenage" characters.

Still has a lack of female characters. There are plenty of women on the screen, but they have no purpose other than being part of the scenery in tiny and tight clothes. 

Other Comments:

-This is director Justin Lin's first film in the franchise. The character of Han Lue was originally introduced in Lin's film Better Luck Tomorrow (2002).

-This film feels more like a standalone film, as it has a brand new cast and different style of cars and racing.

-Features a brief cameo by Vin Diesel's Dom 

-An 11th and final film is planned for the franchise. 

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) 104 minutes

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

Director: Justin Lin

Starring: Lucas Black as Sean Boswell

Bow Wow as Twinkie

Sung Kang as Han Lue

Brian Tee as Takashi "D.K.".

Nathalie Kelley as Neela

Sonny Chiba as Kamata

Leonardo Nam as Morimoto

Brian Goodman as Lieutenant Boswell