My thoughts on: Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift

Note: I know this isn’t a game, but I don’t really know where else to post it. I hope no one minds…

Ok, before we begin, I need to say something. I went into this movie thinking it was the worst in the franchise. I went into it looking at what makes a good movie good, and not what makes a F&F movie good. I thought of the characters, the writing, the overall story, and how everything gets resolved, like in a typical movie. I didn’t think of the elements that make the F&F series standout, like the cars, the action, the crazy set pieces (The drifting car park, the massive semi’s in the first one, etc.) and locations they drive. For that, my expectations we’re very limited, until I saw it. I saw it for what it was, and came out smiling and wanting to watch it again. Matter of fact, it was the first time I ever wanted to watch any F&F movie again right after I saw it, and for that, it’s one of the best in the series, and here’s why.

The action is solid, and is easily some of the best in the franchise or for any movie out there. The act of dancing around traffic in the heart of Tokyo, gracefully sliding between pillars and walls in the car park, to carving through the mountain side, is jaw-dropping throughout. They take the art of sliding cars around, and turn it into ways of expressing character emotion, and help make character motivations clear. It’s really something special, and I haven’t seen anything like it. Also, it really helps that the movie’s run time is less than 2 hours, and has a significant lack of story and dialogue, which really helps get to the point of a F&F movie, which is the action. One of my favorite things about this film is how it throws you into the world, and helps you get invested. The scene where Han shows Sean the ginormous crowd of people in the middle of the city center, and how they go on with their lives following rules, and how sad it can really be is really well done. It helps draw you into this world they live in. Then later on, they have them drift through the crowd, but not hit anyone mind you, and basically engulf you in a mass of shocked pedestrians. It’s truly a beautiful moment, and is one of the few moments when the cinematography helps drive the story. It’s one of my favorite moments in the series and possibly of all time, because it’s practically poetry in a movie that’s supposed to be a mindless thriller.

But, the series wouldn’t be anything without the cars, and luckily we get some. A lot. Like, some of the best in the series. Han’s Veilside RX-7 was, and still is, my favorite car in the movie, and one of the best cars in the franchise. On top of that, DK’s 350Z is jaw-dropping, Sean’s Monte Carlo, and Lancer Evo are both beautiful, and the only car that I can think of that’s truly awful is that Hulk themed VW, but that’s really it. But the biggest car in the movie for me is the Mustang that Sean’s dad picked up at the army base. It is one of the slickest looking Mustangs ever, for me. It’s even up there with the Bullitt Mustang, and even the GT500E from Gone in 60 Seconds (Which I recently reviewed, you can check it out if you missed it). It’s pretty, fast, loud and is the star of the final race in the movie, when Sean smokes DK. It’s awesome, but what’s funny is that the Mustang is one of the main reasons why I never liked this movie as a kid, surprisingly. I grew up in a household that glorified American muscle. Even my sister liked Mustangs and even had a Barbie Corvette she used to play with, and for someone who will never even touch a Vette in real life, that’s a lot. Besides her, my dad owned a plethora of muscle cars. We had everything, from a Buick Skylark, an old Chevy C-10, a 76 Corvette (With a God-like blue pinstripe done along the front and sides), and even a Datsun 240Z, which didn’t make much sense at the time because it was Japanese, but whatever. Our pride and joy, however, was our 1967 Ford Galaxie 500. Both of them. We had one about 12 years ago that had to be taken apart, down to the bare chassis mind you, and put back together again. We then did it again about 10 years later, when we dropped a big-block 390 Ford with Cobra Jet heads in it, which packed 450 hp and really helped turn the car into a pure cruiser. Our family loved muscle, and all that passion fueled my rage when I saw the scene where they dropped an SR20 into the Mustang. I cringed so hard, my eyes bled (Not really, but it felt like it).

That scene is the one scene that made have a vendetta against this film that lasted for a while when I saw it for the first time as a kid, until I grew up. Then, I realized that certain people do that in the opposite way. I’ve seen people drop big-block Chevy’s into old 240Z’s and put LS motors into 240SX’s. The one thing that told me it was ok to do engine swaps like that was when I saw someone drop an LS motor into an RX-7 and I fell in love. It was the perfect combination of Japanese handling, with pure American brute force. It helped me realize that it’s ok to have the best of both worlds, and helps show the possibilities of an engine swap this radical. It also helps that they really showed how awesome a tuned 67 Mustang looks when it’s sideways going down a mountain. For that, I forgive them, even if it was dumb to hate it anyways.

But, there is one big pet-peeve about this movie. The idea of drift racing is, despite requiring obsessive amounts of practice and concentration, is a bit dumb, and here’s why. The idea of drifting consists of having a lack of grip, but having just enough so you don’t spin. When it comes to real world racing, like F1, NASCAR, Le Mans, or any other racing organization which requires having the best time to win, lack of grip is the last thing you need, matter of fact, it’s the one thing that can ruin your time. Grip is incredibly necessary to have the best time, that’s why you don’t see Fernando Alonso drifting around every bend at Yas Marina, or any race track for that matter. NASCAR stock cars can’t even drift to begin with, but when they sometimes do, it’s completely unintentional. I think Sean could’ve won that first race easily if it weren’t for his attempts at drifting. Then again, it could’ve been because of the insane amounts of power in that S15, given they’re drift spec cars. On top of that, the fact that he acted as if he had no clue what drifting was, despite it being a good choice plot wise, is a bit weird. My sister knows what drifting is, and hasn’t even been behind anything with at least 150 hp. So, how would a car nut like Sean not know what drifting is, despite being surrounded by a car culture oversaturated with drifting culture? Maybe it’s just me overthinking the film, because it really doesn’t affect the movie that much, matter of fact it helps the film in some ways, but it’s just something that got me thinking whenever Sean slams into a wall trying to drift.

Other than that, the cons mainly consist of everything this movie misses considering other films out there. The plot, writing, character development, and some of the overall non action sequences can get really boring. Luckily, the movie doesn’t wait too long before it shoves a beautiful shot of Japan in your face. Also, some of the licensed music in this film can get really annoying, really quickly. Thank god the original sound track makes up for it, especially in the last race. Speaking of the last race, it’s thankfully one of the best scenes in the film, and is as adrenaline filled as it is beautiful.

Matter of fact, the last scene basically describes this movie in a nutshell. It’s fast, beautiful, loud, and doesn’t need too much dialogue to tell the story, despite it being a bit confusing in the first place. It also helps that it’s incredibly easy to find. The funniest thing about this film, on top of the other 2 before this is that they both are on Netflix now. So, you know what to do. Grab some friends, crack out the popcorn, or whatever you eat for a movie (I’m more of a pizza man myself…), and prepare for non-stop thrills, and endless fun throughout.
Also, it helps that the Vin Diesel cameo is the best thing since sliced bread…

Thank you for reading. If you have any suggestions for a movie, or game for me to review, let me know in the comments. Also, if you have a personal favorite car in the movie, just say it in the comments, and I’ll give it a look.