The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Review

by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)
June 20th, 2006
"Tokyo Drift" is Fast and Furious
by Homer Yen
(c) 2006

Nitrous Oxide injection system to give you that
added boost to go from 0 to 160MPH in less than
10 seconds: $7,000. Modified suspension system
to allow you to aggressively corner at 50MPH:
$10,000. Drifting down a curvy, mountain highway
with the girl of your dreams: Priceless

The interesting thing about the third film of the "Fast and Furious" franchise is that this one
isn't just about the sound of revving engines and
sexy females that use their buttocks to buff
speedy little cars. Sure, there's plenty of
that, which we come to expect. But under the observant eye of director Justin Lin, "The Fast
and Furious: Tokyo Drift" allows us to look up
every once in a while to notice the beauty within
this world and away from the hubris and
testosterone that is ever-present and
over-oozing.

At odds with one another are an American student
named Sean (Lucas Black) and the I'm-bad-really-really-bad leader of a group of
Asian thugs. I seem to notice that Asian males
aren't portrayed very nicely in these films.
They weren't portrayed very nicely in the Joy
Luck Club either. The Karate Kid 2 as well!
What's up with that? Anyway, I digress.

Sean befriends a fast-talking entrepreneur (Bow
Wow) who introduces him to the world of drifting.
It's an art form of driving that seems about as difficult as driving through turns on a
snow-covered road. The car frames are light, braking/shifting/pulling the emergency brake must
be done with exact precision, and special tires
seem to be needed to allow you to glide over the asphalt. You watch films like these and you're tempted to get into your car and try it. But a disclaimer at the end of the film warns us that professional stunt drivers were used. Plus,
buying all those specialty tires must cost a lot!
Nonetheless, that four-story parking garage
seems pretty tempting.

Its bright part involves the mutual respect
between Sean and an Asian rival. The seeds of a
story are being sewn here. Despite all of the
girls, glitz, and glamour, a thug's life can get boring without a steady and true friend. It
gives the film some poignancy when the film isn't filled with vroom-vroom.

Did I like this film overall? Yes, sort of. The storyline seemed to be a little too busy. There
are lots of characters and lots of cars. There
are friendships, betrayals, wandering lustful
eyes, involvement with the Yakuza, and a bunch of
race sequences which deliver its promise of being
fast and furious. Mostly, the film slalomed its
way through the plot in the same manner that
these fast little cars slalom through downtown
Tokyo traffic. The 'drifting' aspect put a new
twist on how to drive a car, emphasizing beauty
and finesse rather than raw horsepower. It's a
novel approach and keeps us engaged. I still
liked the original one the best which was more character-driven. However, this one is better
than the second installment (2 Fast 2 Furious).
You do find little pleasures here and there that
you might otherwise miss if they were just
barreling down a straightaway.

Grade: B-

S: 1 out of 3
L: 1 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3

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