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Fast And The Furious (The): Tokyo Drift
[HD DVD] R0 - America - Universal Pictures Review written by and copyright: Sam Scott (28th February 2007). |
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The Film
 Back in 2001, director Rob Cohen brought us a film that would become one of the biggest surprises of the year. Universal probably thought that The Fast And The Furious was going to do pretty average at the box office, but through word of mouth, the underground world of car modifying proved a massive hit with the punters and also helped propel Vin Diesel a little further into the limelight. After the unbelievable success and the open ending for Paul Walker's character, a sequel was inevitable. In 2003, this sequel hit the screens, again with great success (although again, not with the critics) and then, last year, we were given a third installment which concentrates on the underground car modifying world of Tokyo, Japan, where the drivers use a technique called drifting to go around corners. This third film has nothing to do with either of the first until the final scene. It stars relative newcomer Lucas Black (Jarhead) as Sean Boswell. Sean is always getting himself into trouble and after an argument in the school carpark, he races Clay (Zachery Ty Bryan - Home Improvement) on a housing development. To avoid going to juvenile hall when both of them crash their cars, Sean is sent to Tokyo to live with his father. Pretty much straight away he gets himself into trouble after going to a multi story car park that is full of like-minded car-modifiers and racing somebody elses car causing a lot of damage. To repay his debt he starts doing a little work for Han (Sung Kang) whose business dealings is related to the Yakuza. After Han is caught stealing from the Yakuza, things take a turn for the worst ending in a spectacular race down a mountainside. As to be expected, this isn't the type of film where the studio is aiming for an academy award and throws out the minor plot holes so they can have (amazing) action scenes. Pretty much following on the same style as the first two films with a little Eastern twist, Tokyo Drift is nothing above average, yet there is something that makes it a guilty pleasure. A film you secretly enjoy but tell your mates it's utter rubbish. The acting is very average, the story is a little formulaic and it's very obvious what is going to happen next, but the action scenes are truly a fantastic spectacle. If you enjoyed the first two, you'll like this and will definately want to pick it up, but if you didn't enjoy the first two films, then you'll want to skip it.
Video
Universal have given this HD DVD the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with a 1080p VC-1 transfer. Whilst the film may be average the picture is quite possibly the best I have ever seen. Unbelievably vivid, clean and spectacular, I couldn't find a single problem and every detail of the film looks superb. Definately reference material.
Audio
Universal have given the film three different audio tracks all of which are Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. You can have either the original English track or dubs in French or Spanish. Obviously, I went for the English track and like the picture, it's fantastic. The surrounds and LFE are all used to perfection and there isn't a bit of damage present at all. Again, this is reference material.
Extras
We start off with an audio commentary with director Justin Lin. Although it is a solo effort, he never fails to find anything to say and is full of information about all aspects of the film, including brutal honesty about the thin plot. Very enjoyable though a little tiresome towards the end, this commentary is well worth a listen. Next up, we have 11 deleted scenes: - "Cabbie Wants Yen" (0:55) - "Crowded Subway" (1:54) - "Wheres's My Fizz?" (2:02) - "Han, DK, Alden & Egghead" (1:51) - "Yak's Girls" (0:44) - "The Night Before The Morning After" (1:10) - "One In Six Billion" (2:14) - "Wasabi, Dad Sees Sean's Evo" (1:53) - "Golf Drifting" (1:09) - "Happy Birthday To Han" (2:04) - "A Kiss Before Kamata" (2:17) All of them have an optional commentary with Lin and whilst they were mainly cut out for time constraints and plot reasons, they are all surprisingly good and well worth looking at, especially the "Where's My Fizz" scene which I found pretty damn funny. The Drifting School featurette shows us all the principle cast learning how do various driving stunts and techniques. All of them look to be having great fun, and it's nice to see how the actors must prepare themselves for their roles. It runs for seven minutes and 38 seconds. The Cast Cam featurette is pretty self explanatory and is various footage from behind the scenes filmed by a few of the cast members. Although not really adding anything informative, it is a nice little extra to have. It runs a little short at four minutes 22 seconds and I'd be pretty sure they filmed more than that. The Big Breakdown: Han's Last Ride featurette is a very informative bit by bit look at the chase sequence where Han's comes to his untimely end. With interviews from stuntmen, cast and crew, it is certainly worth a watch for the full eight minutes and 29 seconds that it runs. The next featurette we get entitled Tricked Out To Drift and is all about the design of the cars and how they were modified. Again this is a very detailed and informtive segment which includes plenty of interviews. It runs for eleven minutes and six seconds. We finish off the featurettes with The Real Drift King which is about stunt co-ordinator Keiichi Tsuchiya and runs for three minutes and 42 seconds and a featurette called The Japanese Way which is nine minutes and 48 seconds of Japanese culture and attitudes towards filmmaking. We get a rubbish music video aswell which craftily has an advertisement for the CD soundtrack tacked onto the end. Now onto the biggie. The HD DVD exclusive extra. It's entitled U Control and is a very unique in-movie experience. With this setting you can get access to all sorts of behind the scenes footage and interviews whilst the film plays as well as: - Storyboards - Technical specifications for the motors - GPS map for the racing sequence - Image gallery - Damage calculator for those insurance claims
Overall
The film may be average, but boy what a well polished disc!
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