Released to capitalise on the burgeoning popularity of the early-2000s international drift racing scene, The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift is the third F&F film and a bit of a black sheep in the franchise.

First published in the November 2024 issue of Street Machine

Wayward US high school student Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) is drawn to trouble behind the wheel, and when a chest-puffing race with local jock Clay (Zachery Ty Bryan) gets way out of hand, Sean finds himself on his third strike and facing prison time.

After Sean’s all-class mum (Lynda Boyd) ‘negotiates’ an option B with the charging police officer, Sean is sent to Tokyo to live with his estranged father (Brain Goodman) in the hope that some discipline and fresh surroundings will straighten him out.

However, after not even 24 hours in Japan, Sean has been befriended by fellow military brat Twinkie (Shad ‘Bow Wow’ Moss); set his sights on a new love interest, Neela (Nathalie Kelley); pissed off the gangster DK (Brian Tee), nephew of Yakuza crime boss Kamata (JJ Sonny Chiba); and trashed a borrowed Nissan S15 after having to learn to drift the hard way.

This less-than-positive start sees Sean quickly indebted to and befriended by local drift scene oracle, the very likeable Han (Sung Kang), who himself dabbles in an underworld income.

Under Han’s tutelage, Sean is taught the important aspects of both Japanese culture and drifting – the latter in a cool Lancer Evo. But his newfound happiness is short-lived; Kamata discovers that Han has been skimming cream off DK’s profits and has Sean’s safe haven destroyed.

After the Sean-Neela-DK love triangle takes its final nose-dive, the blokes are left to fight it out the only way any self-respecting car-flick can offer: with a race!

VERDICT: 3.5/5

Rewatching the earlier entries in the F&F franchise illustrates just how far the series has evolved from its original premise, and Tokyo Drift has some early glimpses of the sometimes-questionable directions the future movies would take. Still, the beautifully shot core car action remains strong and enjoyable, and the storyline offers enough meat to be more than just an excuse for the thrills and spills. My primary struggle with the film is Lucas Black’s performance, which just doesn’t gel, and while Nathalie Kelley looks the part, her efforts are bland and robotic. The RB-swapped Mustang fastback that Sean drives in the climactic drift race is the real star of the show – an appropriately transnational ride for an American car nut in Japan.

VEHICLES:

• 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
• 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
• 1967 Ford Mustang
• 2003 Dodge Viper SRT-10
• 2002 Nissan Fairlady Z
• 2000 Mazda RX-7
• 2001 Nissan Silvia
• 1996 Nissan Skyline GT-R
• 1970 Plymouth Road Runner

STARS:

• Lucas Black
• Nathalie Kelley
• Sung Kang
• Shad ‘Bow Wow’ Moss
• Brian Tee
• Brian Goodman
• Lynda Boyd
• Zachery Ty Bryan
• JJ Sonny Chiba

DIRECTOR:
Justin Lin

ACTION:
As you’d expect from the title, there’s drifting galore in the street racing and chase scenes, and the opening construction estate race is a ripper.

PLOT:
A troubled American teen moves to Japan to avoid jail time but is soon immersed in the underground Tokyo drift racing scene.

AVAILABLE:
Streaming, DVD, Blu-ray.

COOL FLICK FACT:
Keiichi Tsuchiya, aka Drift King, is to drifting what Gary Myers is to burnouts. Keiichi was not only used as a stunt driver and co-ordinator on set, but he also made a cameo appearance in Sean’s learning-to-drift scene as a watching fisherman.