Fast and the Furious : Tokyo Drift

Review by Clint Morris

You can only go so far on half-a-tank of petrol, as evidenced by the slothful first sequel in the money-spinning Fast and the Furious franchise – a tale of hot rods and hot bods, aimed squarely at the infantile rev-heads - but what do you get if your tank’s still only half-full, but full of ‘premium’ juice, instead of the atypical ‘unleaded’?

Essentially, you get a flick that ends up pretty much at the same spot as its predecessor – in this case, the weak-as-a-gastro-suffering-weightlifter 2 Fast 2 Furious - but whose journey is both significantly more tolerable, and enjoyable.

Taking a cue from the ol’ Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 book, Universal’s Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift catapults original series’ star Paul Walker (and Vin Diesel, of course, but he left after the first film) from the eject seat, and brings in a new lead to manoeuvre that brake, clutch and gear-changing permutation. As the passenger, you may even appreciate the change of guard (unlike Bandit 3, where many a super-sized Coke were thrown at the screen once Burt Reynolds exited the screen five minutes into the movie) with young Lucas Black (grown up quite considerably since playing devilish young Caleb on TVs American Gothic) proving he’s much more than a weak filler that’s straight out of the school of Jerry Reed (he, being the Reynolds’ replacement in Bandit 3).

Black plays incendiary Sean Boswell, an L.A native whose been playing musical chairs with the American school system – every time he gets intro trouble (usually because of road racing), he just jumps to the next institution. After his latest inopportune brush-with-the-law (in which two others are injured in a car accident), Shaun’s mother decides enough is enough, and forces him to pack his bags for Tokyo – where his NAVY dad’ll hopefully straighten him out.

Fortunately for him, unfortunately for the other chaps on the road, Tokyo has some pretty hot cars, too – and Boswell doesn’t think twice before putting his hand up for a place on the grid. Within a day of starting up his new school, he gatecrashes the underworld car-racing club – almost instantly making enemies out of the ringleader, the nephew of a local mobster (Sonny Chiba, effectively cast), but taking a shine to the way the local kids drive: the title-referencing ‘Drift’ style.

Plot has never been one of the strong points of the Fast and the Furious franchise, and this latest one is no exception, with the plot about as thin as a carefree super-slim. What Tokyo Drift does have though, is a likeable and credible lead (Lucas Black looks much more believable as a seditious revhead than Paul Walker, ever did) and some amazing car sequences, that don’t look like they’ve been spat straight out of a computer programme and scalded into the frames of the film – which you’ll recall, was the weakest aspect of 2 Fast 2 Furious.

At the same time, Taiwanese director Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow) applies his trademark slick-shot ways and creative capturing to give the film that funky, well-polished look. His cinematographer, Stephen F.Windon, may even deserve a bigger chunk of the praise, capturing both the beauty of bustling Tokyo as well as the burning tyres and whisking side-panels of the cars. Together, they’ve managed to take a rather thin script – it’s essentially The Karate Kid Part II but with muscle cars instead of Miyagi - and give the audience a reason to keep watching.

At the end of the day though, the question remains: is the franchise that good that it deserves to keep doing lap after lap? No.Still, it could be worse – it could be  Smokey and the Bandit Part 3.

3 out of 5

Fast and the Furious : Tokyo Drift
Australian release: 15th June, 2006
Cast: Lucas Black, Shad 'Bow Wow' Gregory Moss, Sung Kang, Brian Tee, Jason Tobin
Director: Justin Lin
Website: Click here.