The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Rent/Purchase
In order to avoid a jail sentence, Sean Boswell heads to Tokyo to live with his military father. In a low-rent section of the city, Sean gets caught up in the underground world of drift racing
What critics thought
Critics were largely dismissive, finding the thin plot and lead performance a poor match for the film's flashy racing ambitions — but a vocal minority, including Roger Ebert, argued that director Justin Lin brought a genuine freshness and cultural curiosity to the franchise. Audiences responded far more warmly than critics did, and that gap has only grown over time. The central divide was whether spectacular drift sequences and an evocative Tokyo setting were enough to carry a film that almost everyone agreed had a hollow center.
“takes an established franchise and makes it surprisingly fresh and intriguing... [Tokyo Drift is] more observant than we expect ... The story [is] about something more than fast cars”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“good, old-fashioned genre filmmaking done in a no-nonsense, unpretentious style”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“it's not much of a movie, but a hell of a ride”
Kirk Honeycutt·The Hollywood Reporter
“it quickly tanks, thanks to a lead character with no goals, focus, appeal or intelligence and a lead actor who's just a little too convincing at playing a dunce”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“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?”
James Berardinelli·Reel Views
Genres
Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorJustin Lin
StarringLucas Black, Nathalie Kelley, Sung Kang, Shad Moss, Brian Tee
ComposerBrian Tyler
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
In order to avoid a jail sentence, Sean Boswell heads to Tokyo to live with his military father. In a low-rent section of the city, Sean gets caught up in the underground world of drift racing
What critics thought
Critics were largely dismissive, finding the thin plot and lead performance a poor match for the film's flashy racing ambitions — but a vocal minority, including Roger Ebert, argued that director Justin Lin brought a genuine freshness and cultural curiosity to the franchise. Audiences responded far more warmly than critics did, and that gap has only grown over time. The central divide was whether spectacular drift sequences and an evocative Tokyo setting were enough to carry a film that almost everyone agreed had a hollow center.
“takes an established franchise and makes it surprisingly fresh and intriguing... [Tokyo Drift is] more observant than we expect ... The story [is] about something more than fast cars”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“good, old-fashioned genre filmmaking done in a no-nonsense, unpretentious style”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“it's not much of a movie, but a hell of a ride”
Kirk Honeycutt·The Hollywood Reporter
“it quickly tanks, thanks to a lead character with no goals, focus, appeal or intelligence and a lead actor who's just a little too convincing at playing a dunce”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“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?”
James Berardinelli·Reel Views
Genres
Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorJustin Lin
StarringLucas Black, Nathalie Kelley, Sung Kang, Shad Moss, Brian Tee
ComposerBrian Tyler
Rent/Purchase