In Defense of ‘Tokyo Drift’

"aquila121" (aquila121) 08/11/2013 at 16:11 • Filed to: None

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I realize I’m months too late to make a ‘Fast & Furious’ post, but oh well. Every so often, I hear someone rank the franchise’s entries, and it usually comes out with “Tokyo Drift” on the bottom or just above 2Fast! 2Furious! (fun fact: it’s physically impossible to say that title without needing exclamation marks. Go ahead, try it—I’ll wait). I can’t stand it any longer. What follows is one man’s crusade to bump the third entry up in some people’s minds.

Alright, I’m assuming everyone’s seen the film in question, so I’ll just dive right in. First off, whoever cast the brother from “Home Improvement” as a bully in the opening race scene, they deserve a raise.

Gandhi would consider punching that jock in the face—quietly, of course.

And Dennis McCarthy caught my attention by building a ratty-looking ‘70 Monte Carlo that is not quiet with its engine the size of a freight train. Actually, at 572 cubic inches (over 9.3 liters for those of us who weren't alive/don’t remember the Nixon administration), I’d say it has more torque than the aforementioned train. There’s a bone for the muscle car guys to chew on until the third act, and for those of us that like cars that are giant-killers, we get to see a rich kid get embarrassed in his dad’s Viper. Yes, the Dodge would walk away in a hurry in real life—it’s a movie. You’re used to saying that when watching F&F films, just like you’re used to seeing 37 gearchanges in the world’s longest lasting drag races. So in the first ten minutes, we've established the protagonist is reckless and won’t back down from a fight, has loads of typical high school problems, can (sort of) drive, can crash much better, and has a history with police. This is what is called “connecting with your target audience.” And now, under a thin bit of reasoning in the plot department, the action moves to Tokyo.

After some expected friction with family [simplified: authority], Justin Lin takes a few scenes to showcase the setting: the densely populated, wildly lit center that is Tokyo. Everything about the location is cramped, and with space at a premium, possessions are crammed or hanging everywhere on the sets. Pause a moment to take in Sean’s father’s residence—the clothes hanging throughout the rooms, books haphazardly shoved in slots above other trinkets on shelves, very little room is wasted. Between the residence and the establishing shots of the main character on his way to school, the audience gets a feel for the locale. These are the elements of the film that set this apart from other turn-your-brain-off action films with plot holes the size of ricer exhausts—there are details and themes in this movie that are enhanced by having the setting in Japan.

No, a plot hole could still fit through that.

Having the story set in Tokyo isn't just a gimmick, it contributes to Sean’s feeling of alienation, of being lost. The director Lin says in the commentary that this is a story about finding a place to belong; Paul Walker’s character found that home street racing with Vin Diesel and the other car enthusiasts in the first movie, Sean finds his peers in Japan when he rolls into the parking garage scene, and is immediately taught the meaning of “gaijin” as well as its negative connotations.

And shortly after arriving, it’s inevitable that Sean ends up hitting on the local drifting alpha-dog’s girl—because there aren't any other women hanging around this ridiculous ground zero for paint, chrome, and turbo/penis envy. But this is what we show up for: outrageous tuner cars (has Veilside ever made a bodykit that could be called ‘understated’? I’m certain that word gets you fired), girls all around the guys’ cars like hood ornaments (feminism, I apologize that the women are dressed like off-duty strippers), and machismo thick enough to make normal people cough like tear gas just went off.

Have you ever seen a woman dressed like this at a car meet? Umbrella girls don’t count.

Han throws Sean keys to an RB26-powered Silvia. This is a good start to the audience’s introduction to drift cars, along with the Toyota Chaser and FD that slide by the elevator—if you ignore the blatant “stickers make my car go faster,” some of these cars look exceptionally clean, and the writer doesn't embarrass himself by trying to go into more detail about the Silvia than ‘bigger turbo, forged pistons...’ Thankfully, there are no cringe-inducing lines about granny-shifting or blown welds on intakes. But the protagonist is not a savant of drifting, and cracks up what he’s driving in spectacular fashion—because, as the Drift Idiot has taught us in his ‘Day 1’ video, drifting is hard. But the wonderful thing is, the filmmakers brought out some serious talent to show off, so Rhys Millen and Tanner Foust throw that evil-looking 350Z around the parking garage and up the last ramp in a sequence that easily defines “jaw-dropping.”

A few more conversations about how Sean still has a long way to go before he stops sucking, and the hero now has a rear-wheel drive Evo with which to learn the art of slideways. Fans of “Best Motoring,” “Hot Version International,” or whatever it’s called will recognize Tsuchiya’s cameo by the docks, and appreciate that he was drafted to do the stunt driving up one of the mountain backroads during the Evo drift training montage. Thanks to the magic of editing, Sean quickly becomes proficient enough to do tandem runs as if he was a part of Formula D.

“Whuddya mean people practice this stuff for years? I’m Tak Fujiwara, bitch.”

Keep in mind, I’m pretty sure doing donuts around a car with hot women will get you laughed at and the cops to show up, but not in the Fast & Furious universe—Han murders his tires around a Skyline, says nothing, and gets a number. We can dream life would work like that, at least. Sean’s character sees how well this works, then makes a point to ask DK’s girlfriend on a date. Please ignore the cheesy dialogue on said date, as well as the couple of CG shots of the cars on the touge, instead focus on the practical shots of an eight-car drift train which includes what looks like the Falken team RX-7 (WANT).

More conflict over Neela, the lone female gearhead, ensues; and Sonny Chiba shows up as a rather quietly intimidating gangster. It’s funny how in the US, the 30’s mobster getup would be laughed out of existence, but among the wild manes and caricature clothing choices of the Yakuza, the white suit says it demands respect. Then the villainous DK (how have I not made a joke about this yet? Right, the movie made a Donkey Kong reference...) goes to have it out with Han, who, true to character, stays cool like Fonzie. But after a gun is pulled, he bolts for his car and the audience is treated to what the crew refers to as the ‘centerpiece chase.’ Somehow, the production designers threw enough lights, neon billboards, and Japanese signage around LA to hide the fact that this chase is not taking place around Shibuya—and I say it passes. There’s enough details to fool you throughout the chase, rife with shaky-cam shots. Even though the traffic is moving at a slow pace, the extended sequence of manji-drifts by the hero cars is well done, and conveys a deceptive amount of speed. The chase culminates with most of the cars left in a crumpled mess, but not without an excessive near-miss moment of the Evo careening through an overflowing crosswalk in the center of “Shibuya.” Gotta have something for those composite CG artists to do. But you street race through traffic, and you’re asking for a nasty fate like what befalls the Veilside RX-7. After Han’s car explodes, the 350Z pulls one of the sweetest Rockfords on film.

Before I talk about the final race scene, let me mention the other thing that gets me about this movie: someone writing the script said “Yeah, I guess you could find a way to shove a Skyline engine in a classic Mustang,” and then the car guys on the crew actually did that . And it ran. Purists can argue that the one Frankencar wasn't used to do hardly any drifting scenes. Fine. But it exists, and will therefore delight anyone who’s ever dreamed up the craziest engine swap that makes an entire car forum facepalm simultaneously. And the sound that the GT-R mill makes at full wail... I imagine newborns of Japan are born with an instinctual knowledge to shut the hell up when a BNR chassis screams by.

Shhhhhh! Godzilla’s coming!

These things contribute to making me overlook how ludicrous it would be to drive the Nismo Mustang- as they call it in the soundtrack listing- tons of horsepower coupled to suspension as effective as a T-rex making a bed. Pit the Ford against the Z car, drench the mountain road in darkness- because it feels more tense and dramatic (yay for improbable sparks under the cars!)- and add a heavy dose of hairpins. Still more hairpins; every turn on a drift course should be a hairpin.

“I said, ‘More hairpins!’ Is anyone around here listening?”

But once the final race starts, the actors play through it all business-like: this is supposed to be a duel, a shootout between two men where narrowed eyes, sneers, and grinding teeth are more important than looking at the road. Paint is swapped, parts deform, and the lead changes more often than Roman Pierce changes gears, but it is entertaining.

In the end, you knew Sean was going to win, and he does. Sonny Chiba honors his agreement and refrains from rendering everyone in sight unable to keep their organs in their chest cavities. And the winner doesn't suck face with the girl on his arm—wait, what? Hollywood, you had one job. One job! I kid, but I’m surprised the producer didn't capitalize on the fact that so many fourteen year-olds in the audience have their stick shifts left in sexth gear, because well, they’re fourteen.

“This random hot girl just hopped in my car—why? Ferrari.”

You expect they make out before the credits, but no. Instead, we are taken back to club Parking Garage, where Sean has apparently borrowed [won?] someone else’s Silvia S15, standing next to it like he’s on top of the world. And then we’re treated to a nice little cameo by Vin Diesel in a...Roadrunner? (Help me out, I don’t know my Mopar.) It’s some car show-winning battleship of ‘America—f*** yeah!’ that is only one-upped in my mind by the Charger Daytona/Superbird in Fast & Furious 6. Vin Diesel spouts off a throwaway line about knowing Han to make this movie related to the previous entries by way of a thread thinner than one of the go-go girls’ tops. Tires spin, knuckles clench around steering wheels, and then the disclaimer comes up saying “Don’t try to drift your mom’s Corolla on the way out of the theater parking lot.” Right, like anyone watching this movie would be dissuaded by a written warning. Sadly, if they’re going to be stupid, I imagine that type of person is very hard to reach.

But the point remains, the stunt driving in Tokyo Drift is very well done. When drifting is done by pros, it can look very, very exciting, and this movie pushes all those buttons. The film is set in Japan for a reason, and does not squander the details and richness that the setting can add to the production. Justin Lin mentions in the commentary that he wanted the film to be built like a modern-day western—a stranger shows up in town, conflict arises, and the hero and villain settle their differences in a final duel. It works, just with cars instead of guns. Turns out you don’t need The Rock jumping from car to car to make a good movie.

(All images used solely for critique of the title movie series under 'fair-use' policy. If you own one of them, and really want me to take it down, I'll re-post with offending images removed—but I bet it'll be less funny.)

Burrito de EJ25 > aquila121 08/11/2013 at 16:17

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These movies don't need to be defended. They're fantastic at what they do, especially after Lin took over.

Also, I always refer to this video when I want to express why I love them so dearly:

EDIT: Tokyo Drift is number 1 or 2 for me.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > aquila121 08/11/2013 at 16:22

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Vin Diesel drives by at the end in a GTX. Just answering your doubt.

Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > aquila121 08/11/2013 at 17:03

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Tokyo Drift is one of my favorites in the franchise actually. No need to justify the love for this film.

The World of Vee > aquila121 08/24/2013 at 14:38

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tokyo drift is one of the better ones. no cheesy paul walker lines and a meaningful plot for once. it's the only other "true" tuner movie in the series (other than part 1) the rest are just generic action films with cars. Not that I don't like all of them, but Part 2 is easily the worst film in the group.

Rank em?

Part 1, Fast and Furious (4), Tokyo Drift, Fast 5 = Fast 6, Part 2

5 and 6 are good films for cheesy action but credit to part 4 for taking the film from a joke to a proper action movie. It's a seriously good generic action movie. Albeit with cheesy paul walker lines.

daender > aquila121 08/24/2013 at 18:03

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Vin drove "Hammer" a 1970 pro-touring Plymouth Roadrunner (and likely won awards in car shows) whose actual owner gives zero fucks about getting it dirty and battle-scared from track days, autocrosses, etc. It was built by Nelson Racing Engines and Purevision (Purevision has a waiting list of years because of how many people want their car done by them, not because they're slow), pro-charged up to 744hp, the same guys later built the engine for the F-Bomb Camaro which makes an awesome cameo in 4.

I'm also impressed the studio actually brought the original Veilside RX-7, the one used to display the kit and won best in show in Japan's largest aftermarket showing, to have it star in the film (with a slightly altered paint job).

That said, I agree with you and I do like Toyko Drift, certainly better than 2.

Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness > aquila121 04/09/2017 at 09:59

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Someone linked to this from a more recent article.

I just came to say that you could also say: 2Fast? 2Furious? Tokyo Drift?

No exclamation points required. ;)