On local station Trans TV. And though it's bollocks, it's very good bollocks.
When Tokyo Drift (2006) did the rounds in movie houses here I gave it the cold shoulder. Space, cyborgs, organized crime and that sort of things are more up my street. Not cars. And so I thought, how exciting could a movie, a second sequel to a movie, about cars and street racing be, that is set in Tokyo to boot? Not that I have anything against Tokyo, but if a Hollywood movie isn't even set in the States, isn't that saying something? Or so I thought.
Not that I have anything against cars either. I like to watch them, preferably on the telly (Top Gear, top-notch), but should they all disappear by tomorrow, fine with me. Let's take up bicycling. But, anyway, to give you an idea where I'm coming from, this is me and cars: Mercedes boring, Volvo boring, BMW gooood. And I like my cars to have personality: so classic cars gooood.
Having said that, in Tokyo Drift the cars and the racing (drifting, to be precise) --the main attractions here-- deliver. And on top of that, the movie works on other levels as well.
The movie had already started when I tuned in and I landed slap bang in a scene of Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) walking up to a residence somewhere in Tokyo. He rings the bell, twice, and an older man in a bathrobe opens the door. It turns out that he isn't expected for another day and caught on the hop the older man asks for a moment, closes the door, and when he opens the door again, fully dressed this time, he lets out a woman who I assume to be a call girl (in any case, she's never seen again). Sean is invited in and the residence turns out to be a claustrophobic pigsty. At this point I expect the two to engage into some bullshit banter about this, that or the other, but they don't. Turns out the older man isn't some buddy of his; it's his old man (Brian Goodman as Major Boswell). The awkwardness is palpable. It's a son and his dad being dysfunctional. I'm hooked, now reel me in.
While this isn't Lost in Translation (2003), you feel for Sean on his first day in Tokyo. Director Justin Lin, who shot this picture in Tokyo and LA, captures the local colour as we follow Sean on his commute from home to school. Lin spreads out some story real estate here to make you care for the main character, who speaks with a rich twang, which only serves to accentuate his "gaijin"-ness. I would be intimidated on my first day in Tokyo, yes sir.
But Sean's a big boy. He can handle himself. And before you know it, he's found himself in company of street racers that hold drift competitions at a parking building. Drift (n), as defined by my dictionary, is a motor racing term meaning "a controlled skid, used in taking bends at high speeds". And that's exactly what these peeps do, they take bends at high speeds, and burn rubber like it's nobody's business.
They have a D.K. and everything too; D.K. standing for Drift King (played by Brian Tee). And D.K. has a girlfriend: Neela (Nathalie Kelley). Sean makes the mistake of hitting on Neela and unbeknownst to Sean, D.K. (a dabbling yakuza) and his right-hand man Han (Sung Kang) are watching from afar. This can't be good. This has been done. Or so I thought. The scene takes a left-field turn as Han takes Sean under his wings. Han munches on munchies; Han's suave; Han's a rogue; Han runs a business. Han's friggin cool, and before you know it every time his name pops up in dialogue I mentally add "Solo" to it. Yes, he's that cool.
The story is set up and it's time for the main attraction: cars and drifting, and in Tokyo Drift, Lin has put together some of the most beautiful eye candy sequences of cars in motion. Glistening, tricked up, beefed up Japanese cars give chase to each other in a way that makes you think: How come this director was overlooked for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)?
The most amazing shot is that of a bird's-eye view of a line of cars drifting in sync, as if they were performing a ballet, on a road snaking down a moon-lit mountain slope. You would almost expect a couple of dwarves and Tinker Bell peeking out from somewhere up, it's that surreal.
In that scene Neela is behind the wheel and Sean's riding shotgun. You know she's not really driving, stunt-peeps are, but the effect doesn't disappoint: she looks cool and sexy. Mr Michael Bay, if you want to make women cool and sexy, this is the way to go. You put them in charge.
Tokyo Drift ends on the right note as Vin Diesel (The Fast and the Furious [2001]) makes a cameo as Dominic Toretto who challenges the new D.K., Sean, to drift against him. It's The Karate Kid on wheels with a mean handbrake.
(Running time: 104 minutes)
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