The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a 2006 action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the standalone sequel to The Fast and the Furious (2001) and 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and is the third installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. The film stars Lucas Black and Bow Wow and follows high school car enthusiast Sean Boswell (Black) who is sent to live in Tokyo with his estranged father and finds solace exploring the city’s drifting community. A third Fast & Furious film was confirmed in June 2005, when Lin was selected as director. Morgan was hired after an open call soon after, thus marking the first film in the franchise’s longtime association with Lin, Morgan, and composer Brian Tyler, who would all return for subsequent installments. Unable to secure the returns of any of the original cast, development instead increased focus on car culture and street racing.

Principal photography began in August 2005 and lasted until that November, with filming locations including Los Angeles and Tokyo, making Tokyo Drift the first film in the franchise to feature an international filming location. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift premiered at Universal Studios Hollywood on June 4, 2006 and was theatrically released in the United States on June 16. The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics, with some praise for Lin’s direction, but criticism for its screenplay, characterization, and acting performances (namely Black’s). Tokyo Drift grossed $158.9 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing film in the franchise. Its follow up, Fast & Furious, was released in 2009; its release made Tokyo Drift retroactively serve as a soft continuation of Lin’s Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), and changed the chronological order of the Fast & Furious franchise.

Plot.

Troubled Oro Valley high school student Sean Boswell and athlete Clay race their cars, a 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and a 2003 Dodge Viper, to win the affections of Clay’s girlfriend Cindy. When Sean cuts through a structure and catches up to Clay, Clay, desperate to win, hits Sean’s car repeatedly until they reach a high-speed turn, which causes both cars to crash; Clay’s Viper hits a cement pipe, and Sean’s Monte Carlo rolls. Clay and Cindy’s wealthy families help them escape punishment, but because Sean is a recidivist, he is sent to live in Japan with his father, a U.S. Navy officer stationed in Tokyo, in order to avoid juvenile detention or jail. While in Tokyo, Sean befriends Twinkie, a military brat who introduces him to the world of drift racing in Japan. After driving to an underground car show in Twinkie’s 2005 Volkswagen Touran,

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Sean has a confrontation with Takashi—the Drift King (DK) who drives a 2003 Nissan 350Z—over Sean talking to Takashi’s girlfriend, Neela. Though barred from driving, Sean decides to race against Takashi, who has ties to the Yakuza, in a 2001 Nissan Silvia S15 Spec-S loaned by a racer named Han, but loses his first race with Takashi due to his unfamiliarity with drifting. To repay his debt for the car he destroyed, Sean agrees to work for Han, who drives a 1997 Mazda RX-7. This leads to the duo becoming friends, with Han agreeing to teach Sean how to drift, explaining that he is helping him as Sean is the only person willing to stand up to Takashi. Sean moves in with Han and soon masters drifting by practicing in a 2006 Mitsubishi Evo, gaining respect after defeating DK’s right-hand man, Morimoto. Sean soon asks Neela out on a date,

and learns that after her mother died, she moved in with Takashi’s grandmother, which resulted in their relationship. An enraged Takashi beats Sean up the next day, telling him to stay away from Neela; Neela subsequently leaves Takashi and moves in with Sean and Han. Takashi’s uncle Kamata, the head of the Yakuza, reprimands Takashi for allowing Han to steal from him. Takashi and Morimoto confront Han, Sean, and Neela about the thefts. Twinkie causes a distraction, allowing Han, Sean, and Neela to flee, who are then pursued by Takashi and Morimoto. During the chase, Morimoto crashes, leaving Takashi to pursue the trio on his own. Han allows Sean to overtake him in order to hold Takashi off, but the chase ends when Sean and Neela crash. Meanwhile, moments after escaping from Takashi, Han’s car is t-boned and the car explodes before Sean has a chance to save Han.

Development.

Writer Chris Morgan was a fan of the series, and the producers had an open writing call for the third film. Morgan originally pitched Dominic Toretto in Tokyo, learning to drift and solving a murder. Neal H. Moritz, who had produced the two previous installments, began working on the film in 2005. On June 8, 2005, Moritz hired Justin Lin to direct The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Lin, who wasn’t intimately familiar with drifting when he was approached to helm the project, recalled: “I was in film school when The Fast and the Furious came out, and I saw it along with a sold-out crowd who just ate it up. What really excited me about directing this film was the chance to harness that energy—create a whole new chapter and up the ante by bringing something new to the table for the audience who loves action and speed.” Lin was not enthusiastic at first and was unimpressed by earlier drafts of the script, saying “I think it’s offensive and dated, and I don’t have any intention of doing it.”

The producers allowed him to develop the film in his own way, although it was a constant challenge and he was always battling the studio to make the film better, he said “to their credit, they were very fair and reasonable.” It was impossible to get the necessary filming permits in Tokyo, so they went ahead without permission. “I wanted to shoot in Shibuya, which is the most crowded place in Tokyo. The cops, they’re all so polite, so it takes ten minutes for them to come over and kick you out.” Unknown to Lin the studio had hired a fall guy, who stepped in when the police came to arrest him, and said he was the director and spent the night in jail instead. Following poor test screenings of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Vin Diesel agreed to make a cameo in the film, reprising his role as Toretto, in exchange for Universal’s ownership to rights of the Riddick series and character, in lieu of financial payment.

Technical.

Races and stunts were coordinated by second unit director Terry Leonard, the film used almost 250 vehicles, cutting up 25 and destroying more than 80. The Nissan Silvia which Sean trashes in his first race in Japan is depicted as having an RB26DETT engine swap which itself is donated to the Ford Mustang. However, the car in the movie was actually powered by the Silvia’s original engine. The Veilside body-kitted Mazda RX-7 driven by Han was originally built by Veilside for the 2005 Tokyo Auto Salon, but was later bought by Universal and repainted from dark red, to orange and black, for use in the movie. The car in which Dominic appears in at the end of the film is a highly customized 1970 Plymouth Satellite, which was built for the SEMA Show. SCC magazine tested the cars of the film, and noted that the cars in Tokyo Drift were slightly faster in an acceleration match up with the cars from 2 Fast 2 Furious. Notable drifting personalities Keiichi Tsuchiya,

Rhys Millen, and Samuel Hübinette were consulted and employed by the movie to provide and execute the drifting and driving stunts in the film. Nobushige Kumakubo, Kazuhiro Tanaka, Tanner Foust, Rich Rutherford, Calvin Wan and Alex Pfeiffer were also brought in as none of Universal’s own stunt drivers could drift. Some racing events were filmed within the Hawthorne Mall parking lot in Los Angeles, as filming in Tokyo required permits the studio was unable to obtain. They instead used street lights and multiple props to help recreate Tokyo. Toshi Hayama was also brought in to keep elements of the film portrayed correctly, who was contacted by Roger Fan, an old high school friend who starred in Lin’s Better Luck Tomorrow. Hayama ensured certain references were deployed correctly, such as the use of nitrous oxide in straights but not in turns, and keeping the use of references to sponsors to a minimum. One of Kamata’s henchmen has missing fingers, a punishment typically deployed by the Yakuza. He had to have the missing fingers digitally added in to appease cultural concerns.

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Box office.

Tokyo Drift brought in over $23 million on its opening weekend, placing at #3 behind Cars ($33.7 million) and Nacho Libre ($28.3 million). The film itself was in limited release in Japan (released under the name Wild Speed 3). The US box office was $62,514,415, and it grossed another $96,450,195 internationally, resulting in total receipts of $158,964,610. According to opening weekend polling by Universal the audience was 58% male and 60% under 25.

Cast:

Lucas BlackasSean Boswell:
Bow Wow as Twinkie: Sean’s first friend
Sung KangasHan Lue:
Brian Tee as Takashi:
Nathalie Kelley as Neela:
Sonny Chiba
Leonardo Nam as Morimoto:
Brian Goodman as Major Boswell:
Zachery Ty Bryan as Clay:
Lynda Boyd as Ms. Boswell:
Jason Tobin as Earl Hu:
Keiko Kitagawa as Reiko:
Nikki Griffin as Cindy:
Satoshi Tsumabuki as Exceedingly Handsome Guy:
Keiichi Tsuchiya as an elderly fisherman
Kazutoshi Wadakura as an elderly fisherman
Vin DieselasDominic Toretto