"Tokyo Drift" redirects here. For 1966 Yakuza action film, see
Tokyo Drifter.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Wild Speed X3 Tokyo Drift in Japan) is a 2006 film directed by Justin Lin and the third installment of The Fast and the Furious film series. The film features an all-new cast and a different setting (Tokyo, Japan) from the previous two films. The movie was shot in Tokyo and in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, the latter often covered with props and lights to create the illusion of the Tokyo style.
Plot
Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), a young man with a talent for auto mechanics, has led a life of getting into trouble. His single mother has had to relocate to different cities with him every time his problems at school or with the local authorities escalate enough. One day, he gets into a street race against the school quarterback. Although the jock drives a Dodge Viper, he is unable to beat Sean who is driving a heavily-modified Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Both end up crashing and are subsequently taken to the police station, injured. The incident almost lands Sean in jail, and his mother, deciding not to deal with moving again, sends him to Tokyo to live with his father, stationed in Japan as a U.S. Naval officer. At his private school, Sean meets Twinkie (Bow Wow), a fellow American, who hustles pre-owned goods to their Japanese classmates. Twinkie introduces Sean to the world of drift racing. They later become good friends throughout the film.
Sean soon runs into Takashi (Brian Tee), also known as DK (short for Drift King), and his close friend Han Lue (Sung Kang), who was born and raised in America. Sean is seen by Takashi talking to Neela (Nathalie Kelley), Takashi's girlfriend, and when Takashi tells him to back down, Sean challenges him to a race using Han's car. Takashi wins, and Han's car, a Nissan S15 Silvia, is ruined. The next day Han meets Sean after school with his second car, a Mazda RX-7, and tells Sean that he must work for him to repay the damage done to the Silvia. Sean soon learns that Han is involved in a business partnership with Takashi.
Han becomes Sean's friend, and takes him under his wing when he leaves his father's home, teaching him how to drift, and providing him with some financial support. Han does this because Sean is the only one unafraid of Takashi (calling him Takashi's "kryptonite"). Sean slowly builds a reputation in the drift scene, and befriends Neela, who is also Sean's classmate. She reveals that she, like Sean, was also considered an "outsider" once, not being native to Japan. She explains that she and Takashi grew up together after her mother died. However, after seeing Sean with Neela and learning of their time spent together, Takashi beats Sean up and warns him to stay away from Neela. Angry after seeing Sean's bruises, Neela angrily leaves Takashi, to be with Sean.
Takashi's uncle, Kamata, a high ranking Yakuza (portrayed by Sonny Chiba), told him that there is a discrepancy in the books, and that Han must be cheating them out of money. Takashi confronts Han and his group with this discrepancy, and Han, Sean, and Neela flee before Takashi deals with the money laundering. A car chase ensues through the Tokyo streets, with Takashi chasing Han, and Morimoto chasing Sean. Morimoto tries to wreck Sean, but collides with another car, presumably killing himself. Takashi sees Morimoto's car in a massive car pile up, and catches up to Sean, he tries to wreck Sean; however, he is unsuccessful after Han slows him down. Takashi shoots at Han throughout the chase. Han drives across a junction and is hit by a Mercedes S Class, causing his car to flip over. Han's car starts to leak gasoline from the crash, and Han is unable to move due to injuries. As Sean and Neela finally catch up to Han, the gasoline leaked from the car reaches a nearby fire, triggering an explosion and killing Han. Sean and Neela go back to Sean's father's house, and Takashi comes to take Neela and kill Sean, but Sean's father threatens Takashi with his own gun. Neela voluntarily goes away with Takashi.
Much to Twinkie's dismay, Sean attempts to make amends by appealing to Takashi's uncle, returning the money Han stole and offering to challenge Takashi to an "honor race", a duel where whoever loses is run out of town. The race is on a tōge (mountain pass) that Takashi has the advantage on, since he's supposedly the only one to ever make it down to the bottom in one piece. Sean, Twinkie, and Han's crew borrow Sean's father's car, a 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback, and work on it. Since all the other cars were taken by the police, Sean and his team use the engine, an RB26DETT from the S15 Silvia Sean had ruined.
After a long race battle, Sean wins the race while Takashi survives a last-minute crash. Takashi's loss causes him to suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of Sean, whom Takashi still considers an "outsider". Takashi's uncle tells Sean he is free to go, and Takashi presumably leaves Tokyo. Neela gets back with Sean.
Later, Sean is the new Drift King and is hanging out in the underground parking lot from earlier in the film with Han's Silvia (which has been completely repaired) and Neela, who is now his girlfriend. Twinkie comes up to Sean, saying someone wants to challenge him, which Sean accepts only after finding out the challenger knew Han. The mystery car driver who pulls up is none other than Dominic Toretto (portrayed by Vin Diesel, from the first The Fast and the Furious movie). Toretto and Sean hold a brief conversation, with Toretto saying that Han was a close friend of his. Neela counts off the race, the cars take off, and the movie ends without disclosing the race results.
Cast
- Lucas Black as Sean Boswell, a young man interested in street racing and is the protagonist of this film.
- Bow Wow as Twinkie, Sean's first friend he meets in Tokyo, American consumer goods and introduces Sean to drift racing.
- Sung Kang as Han Lue, DK's business partner who befriends Sean and teaches him how to drift.
- Brian Tee as Takashi/DK, Sean's enemy. Also acknowledged as the best drift racer and given the title "Drift King."
- Nathalie Kelley as Neela, Sean's love interest in the movie, who is also Takashi's girlfriend.
- Sonny Chiba as Kamata, Takashi's uncle who is a Yakuza.
- Leonardo Nam as Morimoto, Takashi's close friend and right hand man.
- Brian Goodman as Lieutenant Boswell, Sean's father.
- Zachery Ty Bryan as Clay, the quarterback of Sean's school whom Sean races at the beginning of the film.
- Lynda Boyd as Ms. Boswell, Sean's mother, who, fed up with moving Sean around, sends him to Tokyo, Japan to live with his father.
- Jason Tobin as Earl, one of Han's friends.
- Keiko Kitagawa as Reiko, Earl's friend.
- Nikki Griffin as Cindy, Clay's girlfriend, who suggests that Clay and Sean race to win her.
- Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto (uncredited) cameo appearance at the end of the film.
Reactions
Box office performance
Despite mixed reviews, Tokyo Drift brought in over $24 million on its opening weekend. The movie itself was in limited release in Japan (released under the name Wild Speed 3). As of January 28, 2007, the domestic box office take has totalled $62,514,415 with another $95,886,987 from the foreign box office, resulting in total receipts of $158,401,402.[1] Tokyo Drift did, however, gross lower than its predecessor films.
Critical reaction
The film holds a rating of 34% on Rotten Tomatoes[2] and a score of 46 out of 100 on Metacritic[3]. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film, giving it three stars (out of four), saying that director Justin Lin "takes an established franchise and makes it surprisingly fresh and intriguing," adding that Tokyo Drift is "more observant than we expect" and that "the story [is] about something more than fast cars."[4] Michael Sragow of the Baltimore Sun felt that "the opening half-hour may prove to be a disreputable classic of pedal-to-the-metal filmmaking."[5] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said that "it's not much of a movie, but a hell of a ride."[6]
Michael Medved gave Tokyo Drift one and a half stars (out of four) saying: "There’s no discernible plot [...] or emotion or humor."[7] James Berardinelli from Reel Views also gave it one and a half stars out of four, saying: "I expect a racing film to be derivative. That goes with the territory. No one is seeing a Fast and the Furious movie for the plot. When it comes to eye candy, the film is on solid ground—it offers plenty of babes and cars (with the latter being more lovingly photographed than the former). However, it is unacceptable that the movie's action scenes (races and chases) are boring and incoherent. If the movie can't deliver on its most important asset, what's the point?"[8]
Richard Roeper strongly criticized of the film, saying: "The whole thing is preposterous. The acting is so awful, some of the worst performances I’ve seen in a long, long time."[9] Similarly, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said that Tokyo Drift "suffers from blurred vision, motor drag and a plot that's running on fumes. Look out for a star cameo—it’s the only surprise you'll get from this heap."[10] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said: "[The main character] has no plan and no direction, just a blind desire to smash up automobiles and steal a mobster's girlfriend. [...] As for the racing scenes, who cares about the finesse move of drifting, compared to going fast? And who wants to watch guys race in a parking lot? For that matter, who wants to watch guys race down a mountain, with lots of turns?"[11]
Cameos
Vin Diesel makes an uncredited appearance as Dominic Toretto (his character from the original The Fast and the Furious film), claiming to be a friend of Han's. In the 2009 film Fast & Furious, the opening scene shows Toretto and Han working together to hijack fuel tankers in the Dominican Republic.
Real-life "Drift King" and drift pioneer Keiichi Tsuchiya also makes an appearance during the scenes where Lucas Black's character (Sean Boswell) is learning how to drift. He appears as an old fisherman who makes a side comment on Sean's lack of proper drift technique, which is obviously an inside joke. Drift driver Rhys Millen can be seen talking to a Japanese couple during the transition from America to Japan.
In the uncut edition of the film, Ben Sinclair makes a brief appearance as the famous drifting champion Quinn Jackson. Sean has a short conversation with Ben, whose wisdom helps inspire him to keep trying to make it in the Tokyo underground.
Technical
The RB26DETT motor found in the Nissan Skyline GTR, which powered the Mustang and Nissan Silvia S15 in the film, has been subject to much criticism by automotive enthusiasts. The criticism grew when it was revealed that the car itself barely had any screen time, and regular stunt Mustangs used for the drifting scenes were powered by 351cid Windsor V8 engines.[12] Hot Rod Magazine lamented the possibility that tuners might swap in Japanese motors into American cars.[12] According to SCC, one Mustang received the RB26 swap, while five other Mustangs were created for drifting purposes of which two were destroyed in the process.[13] In addition, the RB26 Mustang was shown to be faster than its V8 powered kin, with times of 0-60 in 5.38 seconds, and the quarter mile in 13.36 seconds at 109.83 MPH.[14]
The S15 Silvia which Black's character trashes in his first race in Japan is depicted as having an RB26DETT engine swap which itself is donated to the Mustang. However, the car used was actually powered by the S15's base SR20DE engine.[15] The Veilside Fortune body-kitted RX-7 driven by Sung Kang's character was originally built by Veilside for the 2005 Tokyo Auto Salon but was later bought by Universal and repainted (the original was dark red, not orange and black like in the film).[16]
SCC tested the cars of the film, and noted that the cars in Tokyo Drift were slightly faster in an acceleration match up with the cars from 2 Fast 2 Furious.[17]
Notable drifting personalities Keiichi Tsuchiya, Rhys Millen, and Samuel Hubinette were consulted and employed by the movie to provide and execute the drifting and driving stunts in the film.[18] Tanner Foust, Kevin Huynh, Calvin Wan, and Alicia Huynh were also brought in when it was revealed that none of Universal's own stunt drivers could drift.[19] Some racing events were filmed within the Hawthorne Mall parking lot in Los Angeles.[20]
Toshi Hayama was also brought in to keep elements of the film portrayed correctly after being contacted by Roger Fan, an old high school friend that starred in Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow, the organizers of the Japanese series, and his former boss at A'PEXi. Among them are keeping certain references in check (the usage of nitrous oxide in straights but not in turns, keeping the usage of references from sponsors to a minimum, etc.).[21] Hayama also claims that a prop car was "stolen" by some of the action stars and taken for an impromptu "Drift Session" and never returned by the stars.[19]
Soundtrack
References
- ^ The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
- ^ The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift reviews, Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift reviews, Metacritic
- ^ "Review, Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, June 16, 2006
- ^ Review by Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
- ^ [Review by Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
- ^ Review, Michael Medved, MichaelMedved.com, 21 June 2006
- ^ Review, James Berardinelli, Reel Views
- ^ Review, Richard Roper, rottentomatoes.com, July 18, 2006
- ^ Review, Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
- ^ Review, Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ a b Hot Rod Magazine "Build Fast. Fabricate Furiously." By John Pearley Huffman July 2006 Pg. 56-64
- ^ Sport Compact Car "Tokyo Drift by the Numbers" By John Pearley Huffman July 2006 Pg. 92
- ^ Sport Compact Car "Ford Mustang GT-R; Pony with a Skyline's Heart" By John Pearley Huffman July 2006 Pg. 84-86
- ^ "IGN Cars: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Car of the Day: Han's S15." IGN Cars Accessed June 19, 2006
- ^ "IGN Cars: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Car of the Day: VeilSide RX-7." IGN Cars Accessed June 19, 2006
- ^ Sport Compact Car "Fast, Furious, & Drifting" By John Pearley Huffman July 2006 Pg. 56-92
- ^ IGN: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Video 1535879
- ^ a b Wong, Jonathan. "Interrogation Room: What up, Toshi?" Super Street, September 2006, pg. 116
- ^ http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=115709 Edmund's Article
- ^ Interrogation Room: What up, Toshi? by Jonathan Wong Super Street September 2006, pgs. 144-118
External links
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Films directed by the Justin Lin |
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Shopping for Fangs (1997)
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