RECENT WATCHES: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

Vin Diesel passed on “2 Fast 2 Furious” because he thought the script sucked. He compared it to an eighties style sequel, where familiar characters are slotted into an unrelated story to keep the money train rolling. That's actually a fair description of the film but the sequel still made 236 million worldwide. Universal execs must've come to the conclusion that “The Fast and the Furious” didn't need Vin Diesel. Perhaps a sequel didn't need any of the established characters. This theory would be tested in “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” a movie more-or-less unconnected to the previous films save for the premise of street-racing. 

17-year-old Sean Boswell can't seem to stay out of trouble. One day while leaving school, he earns the scorn of Brad from “Home Improvement.” This results in a drag race that ends with the jock injured and Sean's car totaled. Fed up, his mom ships him off to Tokyo to live with his dad. Sean doesn't stay out of trouble for long though. He soon makes of acquaintance of grifter Twinkie, who introduces him to Han. A star mechanic in the world of drift racing, Han soon takes Sean under his wing as his driver and courier. Sean catches the eye of Neela, the girlfriend of local racing star (and nephew of a Yakuza boss) Takashi. Rivalries intensify, things get more dangerous, and Sean is embroiled in the world of underground Tokyo drift racing. 

On paper, “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” is really no more-or-less preposterous and derivative than the previous two entries in the franchise. The opening race scene sets up a ludicrous series of events. The likelihood of Sean encountering the two other people who speak English in the middle of this bustling Japanese metropolis seems low. The minute Han first gets a look at the kid, we know the exact beats of their mentor/student relationship that are coming. Furthermore, you see how the pieces are going to fall into place on the path to that climatic race scene early on as well. The fish-out-of-water premise is never fully utilized, Sean integrating himself into Japanese culture very quickly. The exotic setting doesn't go too far beyond the lay-out of the tracks and the color of the supporting cast. The final race doesn't even take place in Tokyo but on a nondescript mountain. 

All of this is obviously true but I still found myself a lot more involved in “Tokyo Drift” than its predecessors. Sean Boswell is a ridiculous character, a supposed high schooler who looks like he's pushing thirty. Lucas Black's country-bumpkin accent is only the most obviously ridiculous element of this cartoonish character. However, I have to admit the movie got me to like Sean. He stands up for his friend – the absurdly named Twinkie, played by the artist formally known as Lil' Bow-Wow – when they are bullied by one of Takeshi's generals. He also never gives up. He keeps pushing through the opening drag race, after the bully starts to slam his car into his. He drags his scrapped vehicle up the parking garage during his first drift race. That kind of tenacity, not to mention a willingness to stand up for a little guy, can't help but endear this goofball to me.

Universal managed to lure in up-and-coming filmmaker Justin Lin to direct “Tokyo Drift.” You can tell Lin put his own stamp on material that he was not initially enthusiastic about. The most obvious of these touches is the character of Han, who originates in Lin's earlier film, “Better Luck Tomorrow.” Sung Kang, as Han, is acting on a different level than everyone else in the movie. There's a lived-in quality to his performance that makes it more real, more nuanced than the pulpy material around him. This makes the totally expected friendship that forms between him and Sean a lot more involving. The film definitely looses something once Kang exits it, though Lin is smart enough to put Sonny Chiba in a prominent role to drum up further interest. 

It's not like anyone was watching the third “Fast and the Furious” movie and expecting rich characterization and award-winning acting. Nah, this is a car movie. In that regard, “Tokyo Drift” definitely delivers as well. Perhaps learning a lesson from the abuse of CGI in “2 Fast 2 Furious,” Lin makes sure to mix real cars and digital replicas with a lot more subtly this time. There's only a few moments of obvious blue screen work and notable computer graphics here. Otherwise, “Tokyo Drift” is happy to deliver some high speed racing, shiny Japanese vehicles swerving around turns and weaving through traffic. The editing is fast paced but not incoherent, the camerawork and cutting doing a good job of putting the viewer in the seat of the cars. The wrecks are pretty spectacular too, with lots of twisted metal and spinning bodies. 

In other words, Justin Lin was given a shit assignment with “Tokyo Drift.” The disconnect from the rest of the franchise – if not for a literal last minute cameo, there would be no link to the earlier films at all – combined with the goofy high school premise made this seem like one of Universal's direct-to-video sequels given a big budget boost. Out of this less than inspiring material, the filmmaker managed to put together a pretty entertaining flick. The stunt work is strong, directed and assembled nicely. While I would not go so far as to say there's much in the way of pathos here, “Tokyo Drift” has more heart in it than expected. That goes a long way in a franchise so terminally brainless up to this point. [6/10]