One thing before I begin – if you want to see this movie, bring some aspirin. There's a good hour of tire screeching in this.
So this is the third in the Fast and the Furious franchise, following a pretty good first movie, a fairly pants second one and now we have a third. Unlike number two, Tokyo Drift does not follow one of the original characters, this is a stand alone story.
The basic premise is an all-American lad named Shawn Boswell who follows that cliché of clichés, the divorced-parents-angry-teen type who races his car with the local high school jerks. One day he wrecks up some property and is deported to Japan to live with his army-based father. Quite why Japan, with it's low crime rate, would take in this idiot is anyone's guess. Anyway, after hating everything about the new culture and new high school Shawn finds the racing scene and decides to stick around. Unlike the States, Japanese racing is about drifting not speed. That's slick tyres and constant power sliding around windy courses. Hence all the tyre screeching. I wont ruin what passes for the story, but basically it's one massive brainless cliché.
Ever seen that Southpark where they go to Aspen and do that 'get really good at skiing to beat the local jerk' montage? That's this film. Shawn has to get really good at drifting to beat some local jerk and win the girl yada yada. It's pretty awful to be honest, there isn't a hint of subtlety or finesse in the entire film.
So what's to like? Well it's basically car-porn isn't it? The cars are good, although I was somewhat unimpressed at how the finale requires Shawn to create a monster American car to beat all those pesky Japanese vehicles. Subtle as a brick there.
The acting is awful, the script is awful and the soundtrack is nowhere near as gritty and engaging as The Fast and the Furious 1. So basically the only reasons to see it are the car-porn and the swatch at the race meets. Neither is really worth the entry price. Oh, but fans of the franchise might want to see it for a little cameo in the last scene. I wont say who it is, but surely it's obvious. If you loved the other ones, you might want to check it out (don't expect miracles though), otherwise give it a wide berth.
On general release now, Rated 12A
IMDB entry-
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0463985/
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift 
