The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

Directed by: Justin Lin | 90 minutes | action, crime, drama, thriller | Actors: Lucas Black, Zachery Ty Brian, Lil Bow Wow, Nathalie Kelley, Nikki Griffin, Brian Goodman, Sung Kang, Brian Tee, Sonny Chiba, Lynda Boyd, Leonardo Nam, Konishiki, Keiichi Tsuchiya, Kazutoshi Wadakura

drifting. Anyone who is well acquainted with racing games, especially the “Ridge Racer” series for the various Playstation platforms, already knows what this means: taking turns by letting your car skid sideways. It seems to be very popular in Japan, and now they are trying to get the West excited about this trend through this new ‘Fast & The Furious’ movie. So, it’s over with all those 10-second cars, nitrous oxide injections, and fast straightaway races that we saw in the first two movies. Glide gracefully or violently on twisty tracks, whether in a garage or on a mountain.

The potential power of the film is related to the power of this new method. And that means that the film will make few racing hearts beat faster. That is to say, the drifting itself might be exciting and appealing, but this film isn’t one that conveys this enough. The action scenes are simply not exciting enough. With the exception of the opening scene, in which Sean takes on a cheeky high school girl in the “traditional” way, then in America, our hero spends the first half of the film mastering drifting and there is hardly any competition . And that is what the spectator desires: neck-and-neck races with intense close-ups of man and machine, a lightning-fast look inside the car’s engine when nitrous oxide is injected again, and the subtle, and less subtle, visual speed cues, such as a brief jitter due to the cars speeding by and the blurring of the environment from the cars shooting away. And, if possible, some overview shots or handy montage that makes it clear which racer is where.

However, the excitement in this version of ‘The Fast & The Furious’ is pretty hard to find. In Sean’s first drift race in the parking garage, we see when drifting can be useful, but the spectator isn’t exactly seduced by this hip, new trend. Drift king Brian Tee demonstrates how to get out of the long, narrow garage nicely by drifting, but it doesn’t deliver the required adrenaline rush. Halfway through the film, we see how elegant drifting can be when Neela (Nathalie Kelley) takes the viewer to the mountains, where groups of chasing drifters gracefully glide through the bend, but it looks more drab than tough. It’s only when a story-driven chase takes place towards the end and Sean really needs to master his drifts to get around a busy crowd in Tokyo that we see at the same time how exciting and practical drifts can be. There are also some tense moments in the final game of the film, the big showdown between Sean and the Drift King in the mountains. But it is not much, and strange falls and maneuvers do not contribute to a strong experience for the viewer.

It’s a shame director Lin couldn’t have used his greatest assets, the babes and the pimped out cars, more effectively. They are both still very much present, but that’s about all. Then nothing splashes off the screen. In the first two ‘Fast and the Furious’ films, in addition to the pure (female) eye candy, there were also captivating female characters that made a contribution; the feisty race babe Michelle Rodriguez and the charming and lively Jordana Brewster in part 1; Devon Aoki with her pink racecar and Eva Mendez as the intelligent love object in part 2. Here we have to make do with a pretty face with no appearance or substance in the form of Nathalie Kelley, who has no chemistry, and little intimate interaction with our hero Sean . But Sean himself is also part of the problem. The blond surf boy Paul Walker has not been chosen, but a black-haired rough bolster with a southern accent, but it has not become an inspired casting choice. You will even long for Walker’s performance in the previous films, including his overuse of the word “bro”. It shouldn’t get any crazier. Would actors and characters still have any interest in (also) these films? That this is a fact is apparent from a brief cameo at the end of the film, which briefly introduces a charm and attitude that had been absent until then. A character that provides the necessary energy boosts. Someone who pumps laughing gas through his veins, as a cop typified it in part 1.

The fact that the story takes place in Tokyo (“Japan”, is stated in the film to be sure) is of little importance. We do get to see some nice local color, for example at the school Sean has to attend, or through returning older men watching Sean practice his drifts and commenting on it, but in the end it’s just an excuse to do something” dramatic” about outsiders, and to get the yakuza involved in the form of Sonny Chiba. There is nothing wrong with the latter, because Chiba is pretty much the only fascinating presence in the film. Dressed as the Godfather, he walks about, occasionally meddling in the affairs of his incompetent nephew, the Drift King. However, his role is too small to keep the film interesting, and the way he gets involved in the story at the end is rather absurd. A dispute, in which money for this yakuza plays an important role, Sean wants to settle through a race, and Chiba agrees. Another character that manages to add something is, miraculously, Bow Wow. It is not an acting light, but he still manages to bring some humor and liveliness. However, its role is also very limited.

‘Tokyo Drift’ is not an outright failure. There are quite a few nice racing scenes in the film, as well as some eye candy here and there and the sporadic comic moments, but it has not become a hit. The series has quite a bit of potential, but more needs to be done with the new locations and race variations; or better yet, with the story. The most important thing, however, is that the races themselves must be able to stimulate. If that doesn’t happen, you won’t be left with much.