from Film Forum, 06/22/06
The press notes for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift say that over 100 cars were destroyed or wrecked during the making of this movie. I wonder what they'd find if they counted how many brain cells are demolished while watching the film.
Justin Lin's three-quel in this high-octane, low-intellect franchise should have racing fans cheering. But according to critics, there's not much here besides shiny, stylized race cars; shiny, stylized tough guys; and shiny, stylized women standing around to provide eye candy.
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) calls it "a strong contender for most irresponsible movie of the year … little more than a glossy 98-minute commercial for reckless driving. The loud and the ludicrous is more like it."
Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) says, "From start to finish, the movie exalts highly skilled drivers who shred any pretence of concern for the law—and completely get away with it. However, I didn't expect to hear characters delivering philosophically pretentious sound bites justifying their behavior. … These characters' recklessness, then, is about more than just racing. It's a way of life. It's carpe diem run amok. And the result is that none of them know how to live for anything other than the next addictive rush."
More than one mainstream critic found it worthwhile, but most dismissed it.