The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is the first home-grown (British) HD-DVD I've bought in what has been an extremely lacklustre British line-up, at least when compared with American releases. The British purchase is justified partly by its relatively low price tag compared to some UK releases, and partly by the fact that, unlike its American equivalent, it's not a nasty 'combo' release comprising HD-DVD version on one side, and standard DVD on the other. Unlike the American releases, and several of the British ones, the disk is packaged in a much thicker than usual case of about the same size as a traditional DVD case, and although it is of the same 'reduced height' size as the American HD-DVD cases, the nice transluscent red-brown plastic used has been replaced by something more ordinary looking and slightly darker. Why the film companies have to keep messing about with the case format, particularly this early on in its lifecycle, is a mystery that nobody I know understands or wants.

Critically slated as a film, the disk regularly appears on 'best high definition picture quality' lists, so it seemed worth a look-see, even though I haven't really been a fan of any of the films released as part of this particular franchise.

Tokyo Drift is the third in the Fast and the Furious series, but the big names from the first movie are long gone (although there is a surprise cameo from a well-known actor towards the end of the film). This time round the film is set in Japan, with the central figure being 'trailer trash bad boy' Sean Boswell, here played by relative newcomer Lucas Black.

The rather flimsy plot has bad boy Boswell effectively run out of town by the police and his mother after he gets involved in an illegal car race which totals a couple of vehicles. He is sent to live with his estranged father, stationed with the Navy in Tokyo, where he discovers the 'underground' (yawn!) car racing scene, and in particular the art of 'drift' racing, which seems to involve carefully timed locking of tyres at speed so that cars literally drift around corners and tight spaces. A silly tacked-on 'good girl from a poor background who's fallen in with the wrong crowd' love story, together with background filler involving Japanese gangsters, help pad out a script that is really just intended to fill the gaps between seemingly endless car races and chases.

Admittedly the film opens with a showpiece chase, arguable the best in the film, where a 'Ken and Barbie' couple with a flash sports car disrespect our trailer trash hero and are forced to issue a challenge. The central chase, through the middle of a new housing development that's still under construction, makes for impressive on-screen eye candy, presented to beautiful effect in high definition, even if credibility is stretched to the limit. For starters, we are asked to believe Black, looking even older than his 24 years would suggest, hasn't yet reached 18. And then in a spectacular car-crash scene we switch continually between shots of a car falling apart so that there's barely a skeletal frame in evidence, to shots supposedly inside the same vehicle as it tumbles around with full roof and side parts. Essentially these early scenes are a warning that this is not a film for those wanting an intelligent story line and easy believability.

Age issue aside, Boswell gives a convincing performance, although his 'country bumpkin' Southern drawl, which is apparently genuine, provide many moments of unintentioned hilarity, at least to British ears. He's joined by a competent cast, but be in no doubt, it's the cars and their hidden stunt drivers that are the real attraction of this film.

Director Justin Lin has a strong visual style, albeit one dominated by the world of MTV music videos, and there are some beautifully shot scenes here, particularly the night-time shots where the neon magic of Tokyo City is beautifully caught in high definition. The car chase scenes themselves are a bit of a mixed bag. Too often the shots are confusing because of the fast cutting, and the loud American metal rock music tends to drown out any attempts at subtlety or originality. That being said, it's a fairly enjoyable romp, and a far better one than the overall critical ratings have implied.

Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be the last in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Despite their high costs, the films have all turned in very healthy profits, showing that somewhere there is a huge demand for this sort of noisy, somewhat brain-dead tosh.

Universal have gone all-out with the disk features. The main movie features the HD-DVD U-Control feature which allows picture-in-picture material to appear while the film is playing. Personally I found this an annoying interruption, particularly with talking head interviews clashing with the main movie soundtrack such that one had to question why anybody would want to experience either the movie or the filmed interviews this way.

Director Justin Lin provides a commentary track that is informative, if a little dull, and which cracks along at a fair pace throughout the running time of the film. There are a number of extra's covering the main shoot, the drifting school the cast attended, the customisation of the vehicles and the main stunts, and a feature on 'The Real Drift King' from 'The Japanese Underworld' (yeah, right!). All features are supplied in high-definition format, which is unusual for most HD-DVDs issued to date, which have tended to go for the lazy option of simply copying the same low-definition extra's that feature on the standard DVD versions. Deleted scenes are also included, although these are mainly existing scenes with minor additions, adding little of real interest.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift isn't going to win any awards for film-making, scripting or acting, but it's a fun enough ride if you're happy to go along with the clichéd plot, and morally dubious through line of gangsters and thugs being the good guys. And it looks great in high-definition. Certainly this is one High Definition release that's worth taking out for a test drive, if not purchasing outright.