The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

I’d heard that “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift” was the worst in the series, but I went in ready to give it a chance. I didn’t even let the fact that technical issues forced me to re-write my entire review affect my rating. This 2006 Justin Lin picture is so goofy, so dumb you can’t help but have fun at its expense.

17-year-old Sean (Lucas Black) gets kicked out of his mother’s home after his latest racing stunt. Sent to Tokyo to live with his father, he becomes fascinated with Tokyo’s signature racing style – drifting. Under the tutelage of Han (Sung Kang) and with the help of his friend Twinkie (Bow Wow) this white teenager might just have what it takes to become the DK (Drift King) and win the heart of the prettiest girl in school, Neela (Nathalie Kelley)

“Tokyo Drift” doesn’t feel like a “Fast and Furious” movie. Yes, the cars and the sexy ladies lounging over the hoods are there, but there’s more this series than just what’s on the surface. I’m talking about the characters and their interactions. This feels like a dusty old plot that was rejected years ago, dug up later and retroactively turned into a sequel. Either that or a prequel that was tweaked at the last minute. I kept waiting for Sean to change his name to Brian. Why else would you set an "F & F" movie… in high school?!

The good news is that this third film is a lot of fun. There are so many issues present you can’t help but laugh. You can poke fun at the movie high school where teenagers can get away with anything they want, the illogical developments found throughout, the clunky dialogue, the fact that so many plot points are introduced and then dropped… but you can’t deny the awesome the car stunts and driving sequences. The way drifting is shot, displayed and highlighted by cinematographer Stephen F. Windon is so good it’s dangerous. You want to hop into your car and try it yourself. Thankfully, the picture's so removed from reality your brain kicks in and prevents you from killing yourself in a fiery wreck.

“The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift” is not a good movie. You can’t ignore the wooden performances, the ludicrous plot and weak story. It doesn’t reward you for having seen the first two films and squanders easy opportunities to do so, meaning it’s not even a good “Fast and Furious” movie. Seriously, why isn’t Devon Aoki in this film? She was in “2 Fast 2 Furious”… If you're viewing it as a film that's ironically comedic and also contains awesome car sequences, it's enjoyable throughout. (On Blu-ray, March 26, 2017)