Review of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) by William C — 28 Aug 2015

Drifting is a strange kind of racing, one that could if given its chance be very nicely done and fun to watch, unfortunately this film although giving it a good go fails to capture that incentive. Yes Fast and Furious movies don't get more random than this, a complete off shoot with a plot not wholly predictable but still just downright basic. My problem with this lies very much in the hands of the director Justin Lin whose reckless directing of a well, reckless movie makes this just too poor to be even OK.

Our story is set in Tokyo of course, a young man by the name of Sean Boswell is sent to live with his father in the city because he is one bad kid apparently. Boswell is a bit obsessed with racing, something that puts him at odds with his father but also gets him into trouble at times with the local gangs. The plot was just too average to be anything more, tired old lines about racing very quickly extinguish any skill the movie may have, and that's not to mention the horrible way in which it is directed. Justin Lin is not on any form here whatsoever, he does nothing to make this better nor explore the script for any actual differences between this and what has been done before, I won't doubt the race scenes and some stunts, but his work in the more serious moments is just downright bad.

As for the actors well it is really quite a mixed bag, some are poor some are OK with no one ever really reaching heights. Sung Kang is for me the best actor here, calm is the name of the game when it comes to him and I felt the scenes in which he(as the character of Han) is in, are much better than others. Boswell is portrayed by Lucas Black and he is very bland, not really bad but just doesn't do a lot, I felt it was quite a strange choice of main character. Cast such as Bow Wow make it slightly more fun but don't add much at all to the story, in the end the actors have to ride a long on a plot too dumb to be positive.

I did however enjoy the style of the movie, in fact for parts of this engagement levels can be high, but for others not so much. It did feel to me the kind of flick which could at one part be sending you to sleep and the next be getting you pumped up; I think it is Lin yet again who is the cause of the more dull moments. Chris Morgan writes this and does a job I can only describe as under par, the screenplay is not well made, doesn't completely fall flat but still has those lines I mentioned which are just old and stale and have no place in films over and over again.

Would I watch it again?, well maybe not because I didn't like it pure and simple, not the kind of movie I had deep dislike and definitely not hate but still a certain degree of disappointment. I think fans of the series up to the point of this film if you are indeed a fan of the first two will enjoy this, I can't see this topping their lists but still has that style again and the music and clothing to match them as well. Overall The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a bit of a waste, a missed opportunity to fully explore the Japanese racing scene and all it has to offer, instead bringing us the same old kind of stuff we are used to and that for me makes this a let down.