THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT [2006] review

A white 1979 Mustang was the first car I ever owned, bought when I was still only 15 and technically not legal to drive it (at least on my own). I used to sit in it in my driveway waiting for the day I would turn 16 and be able to take “The Pony” out on to the Road. … Therefore, it was pretty easy for me to dig THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT, the third movie in the franchise. It’s always cool to see your neighborhood in a movie. One of the streets they raced down is only a 5 minute walk from my apartment. The hyper crowded pedestrian crossing they drifted across I’ve walked across many times as well (Shibuya crossing). I even recognized them zooming down the main drag in Ginza, during Christmas time by the line of Christmas trees along the way.

…But I’ll keep my eyes open for such things from now on.

The script is of course peppered with cliche lines like, “while your under my roof you’ll follow my rules” and the such. The good thing is they are just throwaway lines and no heed is paid to them whatsoever. … If you dig cars, if you dig seeing stick shifts being slammed down, and clutches being stomped on, well, this movie will have you stoked from start to finish.

The acting by the main characters is good enough, and the action scenes carry the rest with ease. If you think the movie was somehow overstocked with hot j-girls, it was not. It’s no problem to walk through Shibuya and see endless hot j-girls, scantily clad and well tanned, stream on by.

I did not see the second installment in this series, just the first, which I really liked as well.

…There’s nothing I like seeing better than a Mustang being put through its paces, even if it has a Nissan engine in it. After watching this movie, I rally feel like driving, and I really miss my beloved Pony.

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