Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift

FILM: 7.0 Rewatching the 2006 film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, I find myself enjoying it more than most people seem to. So, here's an unpopular opinion: Tokyo Drift ties as my third favourite film in the series. The film ramps up the fun straight away, ditches the cheese of the second instalment, and goes for an original plot.

One of the aspects I appreciate most about Tokyo Drift is its unique setting and storyline. Shifting the focus to Tokyo and introducing the world of drift racing feels fresh and exciting. The races and chases are some of the series' best, with a kinetic energy that keeps me engaged throughout. The soundtrack is another highlight, with its thumping beats perfectly complementing the high-speed action.

I know people heap crap on it for not keeping it in the "family," but it's an undeniably fun ride. The absence of the core characters initially feels strange, but the new cast manages to hold their own. Lucas Black as Sean Boswell brings a different kind of protagonist to the table, and I find his journey from outsider to drift racing aficionado quite compelling.

The character of Han, played by Sung Kang, is a standout. His cool, mentor-like presence adds depth to the film and makes for some memorable moments. The Tokyo setting is visually stunning, and the film makes excellent use of its locations, showcasing the vibrant cityscape in a way that's both thrilling and immersive.

What I like about Tokyo Drift is its ability to balance the adrenaline-pumping action with a story that feels grounded. The film doesn't rely on the over-the-top stunts that the later entries in the series do, and that simpler approach works in its favour.

Overall, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a fairly positive experience that brings something fresh and exciting to the franchise. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, I find it to be a fun and engaging film that stands out in its own right.

FORMAT: Blu-ray

VIDEO: 9.0 1080/24p presentation Detail level: Excellent Colour reproduction: Excellent Level accuracy: Excellent Encode: Good Master condition: Good

AUDIO: 10.0 DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio Dialogue reproduction: Excellent Soundtrack & effects clarity: Excellent Dynamics: Excellent Surround sound presentation: Excellent LFE content: Excellent

MOOFIEMETER: 7.0.

Usually when a film has a Part III, it leaves you with, "Why did they make a third film?" Case in point, "Smokey & The Bandit". Now I am dating myself if that's the only film I can come up with when it comes to trilogies. But car movies are seldomly done in trilogies. Star Wars, The Godfather, Lord of the Rings and Back to the Future are the only exceptions that have worked in the past because there's an on-going story line.

Tokyo Drift was a good film. Good plot line (if you disagree, then you're a "Too much to think" film-goer, stay with chick-flicks then). Good action. And of course, cool cars. The fact that it strayed away from Part I & II was a good idea. And film director, Justin Lin did an great job getting his vision to film. The mounted camera on a super-fast go-cart gave some spectacular shots.

It's a good escape film with the "new kid in town, gets beat up or loses in some sort of competition, learns from a local to be better then wins in the end." But for a trilogy film it's excellent compared to other Part III films that have been released.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Directed by Justin Lin Starring: Mitsubishi Evo 9, Nissan Silva, Ford Mustang, RX 7, Toyota Chaser, Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Nathalie Kelly, Sung Kang, Sonny Chiba

I think the Mitsubishi should get a best actor nomination for next year's Oscars.

Nice cars. Nice music. Nice bodies. Nice cityscape.

Brainless story. But that's what I watched it for, to have my brains parked outside the cinema and let the brainlessness drive me through a two hour entertainment.

The RX7 has more expression than all the actors.

C - Because it served its purpose in entertaining me with awesome drifts, over-sized exhaust pipes, and kick butt photography for a car racing film.

"The Fast And The Furious" series opened the cinema for a whole new way to make car movies. This 3rd movie from this series added the cherry on the top of a sweet cake. Lots of action during the whole movie and, I must say, a very good argument. Way better than the 2nd movie with some characters very well created and also their evolution through out the movie.

Although, sometimes, it seams that the story walks a bit too fast and things happen too early, this 3rd movie has one of the best arguments of the 3. And I'm still undecided if it is better or not than the 1st movie.

Some really good change in this 3rd movie was the feature of drifts instead of pure racing (shown so far in the previous series). THAT is the main innovation in this series as long as in cars movies. The creators of "The Fast and The Furious" were PROBABLY pioneers in making underground car movies and they were surely the first doing a movie about drifting.

I must say that Tokyo was indeed a very good place to film this kind of driving.

Just to finish, I just wanna say there's a great surprise at the end of the movie!!! ;)

The first film was BREAK POINT with cars. The second one was Miami VICE with cars. This is REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE... with more cars. To be honest, I kinda liked this one better than the last two, despite Lucas Black somehow beating Paul Walker as the least charismatic actor in a starring role. What I mainly like is the direction by Justin Lin. The focus on police undercover stories is dropped in favor of the street racing culture and its connections to the mob. Was actually delighted to see Sonny Chiba appear, I must have missed his name during the opening credits. Purely as a movie about car action, I think it succeeds better than the first two. There's a goofy quality to it that kinda helps one go along with things. Best to sum that up is Lucas Black smiling like a dork with blood on his teeth, living for the thrill. That's probably what this film series needed, and less soap opera/undercover drama. Consider me surprised.