Franchise Retrospective- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Fast & Furious

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Starring: Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Sung Kang
Directed by: Justin Lin


After 2 Fast 2 Furious underwhelmed fans of the Fast and Furious franchise, the creative decision was to try and distance itself from the previous installments. Give the fans something that feels a little fresher, while still maintaining the name of Fast and Furious. Because of that, we got The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. This one is considered by many to be one of the more forgettable entries, since it has the least to do with the main characters in the entire franchise, but I can't say that it's unwatchable. It served as a window into a world that domestic audiences won't be fully familiar with: the world of Tokyo and drifting. Hm, an action film about street racing that feels fresh and introduces an underground following to a fresh audience. Why does that sound so familiar? Well, maybe this was a better way to bring fans of the original back than we initially thought. But the big problem was that the name Fast and Furious was on it and people were disappointed that Vin Diesel and Paul Walker weren't at the forefront of it. In fact, test audiences were so-so about the final product, that the studio shoehorned a last-minute cameo from Vin Diesel at the end of the film to connect some of the dots. As a kid, I remember that cameo being the selling-point of many commercials for the film, so you can only imagine how disappointed viewers were when they showed up for Vin Diesel, only to get him in the very last minute.

But really, I think the newer characters and elements are intriguing because it feels like a clean slate. You can explore these characters in the length it would take for a stand-alone action film. So, if you treat it more like a spinoff or a stand-alone film, it works a lot better than if you were to watch it in comparison with the rest of the films. This may change in time, however, because the character of Sean, played by Lucas Black, is set to be in the future sequels starting with Fast 8. Plus, the character of Han, played by Sung Kang, has been a staple of the franchise since Tokyo Drift, so we could see this film get more relevancy with the franchise if they decide to revisit the world created here.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Final Verdict: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is certainly interesting in expanding the universe and giving the audience a look at a whole new driving world. I'd go as far as to say this can actually be pretty underrated. If the fans could have had the mindset to survive a film without Dom or Brian, we probably could've had more interesting sequel concepts like this.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and movie images are copyrighted by Universal Pictures


Fast & Furious (2009)
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster
Directed by: Justin Lin


Tokyo Drift wasn't the sequel that was going to bring fans back to the series. Being original is nice, but if you want your fans back in this day and age, you need to play up to the nostalgia. Fast & Furious did this by bringing back the original cast. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster were all brought back for a sequel that would return the franchise to its truest roots. Thankfully, the studio didn't think Justin Lin was the problem and they brought him back as director. He has a good style to his filmmaking and knows how to tell a good story and work with his characters. That's something this franchise has really been able to thrive on once you get passed the action and the cars. Seeing these characters back on the big screen, with an opportunity to dive deeper into their motivations and growth is definitely an exciting concept for the franchise's biggest fans. Which is definitely a strong positive, since one of the film's biggest negatives is how transitional it feels for the remainder of the films.

Fast & Furious starts with this intense tanker truck action sequence that is so suspenseful and visually appealing, that the film has no real chance of topping that for the remainder of the film. It's like they started the film out with a scene that would normally be the climax and then said "Oh shoot, we still have to give another hour and a half of movie!" They really dealt their best hand early with that scene, but I can't deny how awesome it is. It's easily the best opening scene to take place in any of these movies so far, but it's proof that it can be a bad thing when a film starts off on too high a note.


Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Final Verdict: Fans should be able to appreciate seeing their favorite characters back together on the big screen, but the final product leaves something to be desired. It's worth checking out for the opening scene with the tanker truck robbery, but be warned that the remainder of Fast & Furious may be a little slow to get through.

Fast & Furious and movie images are copyrighted by Universal Pictures