In racing of any kind, a head start can often prove decisive - and Tokyo Drift has a clear inbuilt advantage over the first two episodes of the young-men-and-speed Fast and the Furious franchise. Because the leading man this time is Lucas Black (who has charisma and natural acting ability) rather than cardboardy Paul Walker, whose lack of presence ('charisn'tma'?) sucked much of the life out of both The Fast and the Furious (2001) and 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and overburdened his more lively co-stars Vin Diesel (F&F) and Tyrese (2F2F).

That said, both pictures also suffered from uninspired scriptwriting and by-the-numbers direction (Rob Cohen took charge of the first one, then passed over to John Singleton on the Miami-set sequel). And despite a very snazzy slomo opening-title sequence (cut to DJ Shadow's ineffably cool 'Six Days' - a quasi-homage to Wong Kar Wai??) Tokyo Drift doesn't exactly excel in either of those key departments, but serves up enough action and attitude over the course of its lean 100-odd minutes to satisfy the target demographic and also prove a lively, disposable diversion for those of us who aren't urban males aged between 13 and 22.

Black's contribution is crucial, and while he has rather less to do than in his last starring role (2004's highschool gridiron drama Friday Night Lights) he holds this picture together with his genial brashness that never steers too close towards arrogant cockiness - a trick which continues to elude Walker, all these movies down the Hollywood turnpike.  It's a pleasure to see one of the most gifted and arresting child actors of recent times (Sling Blade, TV's American Gothic) - making what looks like a smooth transition to adult roles, although his character is only supposed to be 17 or so here. A beefy 23 at the time of filming, Black (as ever, his strong Alabama accent proudly and admirably intact*) is just about convincing as a teen: it helps that most of his supposed 'peers' in the picture could plausibly pass for 30 in the right light.

As Sean Boswell, Black is a rough-edged, good-hearted kid from the proverbial 'wrong side of the tracks' whose appetite for high-risk driving lands him in trouble with the law once too often. His choice is stark: jail, or a spell living abroad (and presumably cooling down) with his estranged dad (Brian Goodman) who's with the US Navy in Japan.

Arriving in Tokyo (who paid the pricey airfare?) and enrolling in high-school, he hooks up with the local underground-racing scene quicker than you can say Takuma Sato. And it helps both Sean and the audience that most of his new acquaintances are either expat Americans - including rapper Bow Wow (ne Lil' Bow Bow) as wheeler-dealer Twinkie and Sung Kang as gruffly friendly Han (actor played character with same name in director Lin's 2002 breakthrough Better Luck Tomorrow), or fluent in English.

The latter include Nathalie Kelly as doe-eyed, half-Aussie Neela and Brian Tee as Han's volatite, Yakuza-connected 'business partner' DK - short for 'Drift King' in recognition of the proto-gangster's mastery of the tricky cornering manoeuvre known as 'drifting.' This is a controlled, semi-sideways skid achieved by what looks like manipulation of the brake, handbrake and steering-wheel - Sean's first attempts at which prove embarrassingly disastrous. But, this being a essentially a triumph-of-underdog sports-movie in disguise, he's given intensive training under Han's patient guidance ready for the inevitable high-stakes rematch with his swaggering would-be nemesis DK. By which time Sean has become perhaps the most revered American-in-Tokyo since the late Lafcadio Hearn...

He certainly makes much more of an impact - and sees more of the city - than any of his countrymen appearing in the last two high-profile Hollywood releases set in Tokyo: Sofia Coppola's solipsistically highfalutin' Lost In Translation or Takashi Shimizu's Grudge remake. Taipei-born director Lin and scriptwriter Chris Morgan take the lad on an insider's tour through this vast metropolis, encompassing the usual sights (neon-lit shopping boulevards, etc) and one or two more off-the-beaten-track locales, including a deserted mountainside rode down which Neela shows off her own drifting skills in formation with half-a-dozen pals: a sequence all the more effective for the way it provides calm, almost poetic relief amid the general, testosterone-fuelled slam-bangery.

There are also welcome signs of Michael Mann influence in some of Morgan's nightscapes - captured via Stephen F Windon's high-gloss cinematography - while Fred Raskin's editing and Brian Tyler's score frequently conspire to amp up the excitement levels during the numerous races and chases which punctuate the narrative. It's slightly disappointing, however, that the most effective such set-piece is the very first - a hair-raising (and entirely drift-free) speed duel between Sean and a spoiled-brat jock rival through a half-constructed housing development. Having set the bar so very high so very early, Lin and Morgan never quite manage to 'walk the walk' once Sean arrives in Japan: indeed, Morgan is very much on cruise-control here in comparison with his screenplay for the deliriously enjoyable B-picture Cellular (where he had the benefit of a Larry Cohen original story to work from).

To be fair, the pace seldom flags in Tokyo Drift and there are several amusing cameos along the way - including legendary East Asian star Sonny Chiba (hamming it up as a Yakuza gang-boss) man-mountain sumo-wrestling legend Konishiki as a man-mountain sumo-type, and a certain major star from earlier in the F+F franchise who pops up (coyly uncredited) in the very final moments. This represents the only attempt to tie together part three with one and two and is, truth to tell, rather cheesily done - except for the fact that Morgan does manage to slip in a semi-throwaway line (about Han having a taste for 'American muscle') which represents, in this ultra-macho context, a truly eyebrow-raising and subversive double-entendre.

Neil Young
27th June, 2006

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS - TOKYO DRIFT : [6/10] : USA 2006 : Justin LIN : 104 mins (BBFC timing)
seen at Empire cinema, Sunderland (UK), 26th June 2006 - public show (paid £5.80)


* Vern, needless, to say, sums it all up:

But I happen to think Lucas Black makes a great anti-hero. My bud Laremy will disagree, he said on his podcast that Black is "horrible" in the movie, but he's wrong. Black is cool because he doesn't seem to have an ounce of Hollywood bullshit in him. In fact, this is his first Hollywood bullshit movie after doing little independent movies since he was a kid. I don't know how he got the lead in this movie without having to hide his Alabama accent, but when have you seen that before? It seems like Mathew McConaghey's about the only guy with a real accent. It's like from a distance they thought Lucas Black was another buff pretty boy like Paul Walker and he was already signed on before they got close enough to realize he had a little Warrent Oates in him.