Movie Review Black Los Angeles

BlackNLA Movie Reviews

*****THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*****

by Edwardo Jackson

BIASES: late 20s black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT (PG-13)

MOVIE BIASES: God, another one?

MAJOR PLAYERS: Lucas Black (Friday Night Lights), Bow Wow (Roll Bounce), Sung Kang (Better Luck Tomorrow), producer Neal Moritz (2 Fast 2 Furious) and director Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow)

Grr. No more Vin Diesel. Bro! No more Paul Walker. After the Oscar-Felix odd couple of Walker and Tyrese sank what never should've been a franchise anyway with "2 Fast 2 Furious," imagine my bemused horror that Neal Moritz et. al. were up for a third installment, albeit one set in Tokyo (cool) but featuring Bow Wow (so not cool). Once again, imagine my bemused horror when, of all things, I genuinely
LIKED this movie. Buckle up - it's the law.

Starting with a sexy little suped up challenge that gets him shipped off to his transient Navy father's (Brian Goodman) crib in Tokyo, "F&F" follows the misadventures of Sean Boswell (Black), a twangy, rebellious (is there any other kind of hero?) teenage street racer who's moved around more than UHaul, thanks to his legally unsanctioned driving habits. Befriending fellow gaijin Twinkie (Bow Wow), the school's black market goods hustler, Sean is hipped to the dangerous, hyper-slick brand of Tokyo street racing called drifting, where one uses braking as a way of controlled, accelerated hairpin-tight maneuvering. After running afoul of DK (Brian Tee), the reigning Drift King, by falling for his mysterious, Aussie-accented, gaijin
girlfriend Neela (Nathalie Kelley; more - much more - on her later), Sean is seduced into the wannabe yakuza lifestyle by DK's lieutenant Han (Kang) via the lures of sex, cars, and, yes, sexy cars. Defying a racing ban by his father, Sean apprentices under Han to learn the required skills of drift racing that will come in handy for a (wait for it...you guessed it!) showdown with the Drift King himself. Would you be surprised if the winner gets the girl, too?

Well, here's a surprise for you: "Tokyo Drift" is the quintessential testosterone-soaked summer movie. All gas, no brake, "F&F" screeches out of the garage with a rough and tumble opening that returns this rejuvenated franchise to its roots: hot chicks, hotter music, and the hottest whips this side of "Pimp My Ride." You should've heard the orgasmic purrs from the crowd when the hood of a muscle car was revealed or the first sequence of Armorall glossy racers rotated in and out of frame. With Lin exposing us American gaijin to a hip hop-saturated, raccoon make-up, under-30 Tokyo that's a Fodor's guide cross-pollinated with softcore Asian porn, "F&F" brings just enough story to get us from racing set piece to racing set piece while actually giving a damn about these characters (no small feat - see "2Fast 2Furious"). The Chris Morgan (Cellular) script balances just enough James Dean anti-establishment youth ("Life is simple - you make choices and don't look back.") with character motivation and development (cue the afterschool special messages of personal responsibility and growing up) to ground the action in a semblance of
reality. Capturing the vibrant kinetic energy of drift racing and the stylish urbanity of Tokyo, Justin Lin accesses his inner Michael Bay, addicting us enough with the speedy, visual elegance of a midnight drift race (and the psychology behind it: Says Neela, "There's no past, no future, no problems...Just the moment.") that several
audience members "drifted" into right turns heading out of the theater parking lot afterwards. Nice - guess they missed the "Don't try this at home" disclaimer at the end of the flick. Even a ham-fisted but sometimes thrilling musical score by Brian Tyler (Annapolis) can't derail Lin's innate coming of age story skills that were exhibited so effectively in his indie debut "Better Luck Tomorrow" but rather
underwhelmingly in the anemic "Annapolis."

Boasting a handsome cast that's as sleek as its cars, "F&F" gives Lin a lot with which to work. You have Lucas Black's boyish knucklehead, forever with something to prove as the perennial outsider, who grins his way with tangible, amicably gaijin glee whenever possible. Watching his gearhead Sean see the parking garage full of cranked up race cars is akin to watching the Cookie Monster make a trip to Mrs.
Fields. The highly overrated Bow Wow FINALLY shows me something worth
watching - it only took him five movies, right? Sung Kang plays a perfect blend of "I've got it all under control" pseudo-cool as Han, an insider who will always consider himself on the outside looking in. Brian Tee's DK is appropriately evil - not just because the script demands a villain, but also because this villain is the most dangerous kind: the spoiled rich boy villain. I know whereof I speak: private school introduced me to those who act out of excess because they can, knowing there are no real repercussions because they got dough. So DK, with his menacingly attractive glares from the George Clooney School of Acting (chin down, look up), is hateable, but understandably hateable.

And then there's Nat. Not quite a REEL DEAL Crush but eminently watchable nonetheless, Nathalie Kelley comes out of nowhere as tasty-accented Neela (literally - this is the well-dimpled one's only IMDB credit) with her multiracial, olive skinned looks and sinfully engaging eyes. Causing car geeks and jocks alike in the theater to swoon, Kelley is a bangin', cinematic version of a rush hour car wreck: you just gotta stop and take a look. Small Hollywood aside: The luscious Ms. Kelley was in the lobby of my theater after tonight's midnight screening, posing for pictures with drooling, newly baptized male fans. Not only did she prove her not-ready-for-primetime REEL DEAL Crush status (although her Maxim-ready looks are real world legit), but also that the camera adds ten pounds and a cup size or two
(sorry, I like my women with bodies of, well, WOMEN). Still, a (visually) stunning debut by Nathalie Kelley sure to get the one-hand typing cybergeeks slobbering and bloggering (yes, I made up that word - say somethin'!).

But Asian ingenues aside, "The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift" gives what should've been a dead franchise a tune up, if not a ferocious new engine altogether. Stacked with an amazing, unexpected second act complication that truly does raise the plot and emotional stakes, "F&F" is destined to become one of the sleeper hits of the summer, sure to best the nine figure worldwide perfs of its predecessors through sheer burnt rubber alone. The script extols the value of
knowing who you are and where you belong. "Tokyo" drifts back home to the fast (and the furious) lane.

@@@ REELS
(THREE REELS)
It's pretty hot – go give it a shot.

Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com!

Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com




			BlackNLA Movie Reviews ***THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*** by Edwardo Jackson BIASES: late 20s black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT (PG-13) MOVIE BIASES: God, another one? MAJOR PLAYERS: Lucas Black (Friday Night Lights), Bow Wow (Roll Bounce), Sung Kang (Better Luck Tomorrow), producer Neal Moritz (2 Fast 2 Furious) and director Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow) Grr. No more Vin Diesel. Bro! No more Paul Walker. After the Oscar-Felix odd couple of Walker and Tyrese sank what never should've been a franchise anyway with "2 Fast 2 Furious," imagine my bemused horror that Neal Moritz et. al. were up for a third installment, albeit one set in Tokyo (cool) but featuring Bow Wow (so not cool). Once again, imagine my bemused horror when, of all things, I genuinely LIKED this movie. Buckle up - it's the law. Starting with a sexy little suped up challenge that gets him shipped off to his transient Navy father's (Brian Goodman) crib in Tokyo, "F&F" follows the misadventures of Sean Boswell (Black), a twangy, rebellious (is there any other kind of hero?) teenage street racer who's moved around more than UHaul, thanks to his legally unsanctioned driving habits. Befriending fellow gaijin Twinkie (Bow Wow), the school's black market goods hustler, Sean is hipped to the dangerous, hyper-slick brand of Tokyo street racing called drifting, where one uses braking as a way of controlled, accelerated hairpin-tight maneuvering. After running afoul of DK (Brian Tee), the reigning Drift King, by falling for his mysterious, Aussie-accented, gaijin girlfriend Neela (Nathalie Kelley; more - much more - on her later), Sean is seduced into the wannabe yakuza lifestyle by DK's lieutenant Han (Kang) via the lures of sex, cars, and, yes, sexy cars. Defying a racing ban by his father, Sean apprentices under Han to learn the required skills of drift racing that will come in handy for a (wait for it...you guessed it!) showdown with the Drift King himself. Would you be surprised if the winner gets the girl, too? Well, here's a surprise for you: "Tokyo Drift" is the quintessential testosterone-soaked summer movie. All gas, no brake, "F&F" screeches out of the garage with a rough and tumble opening that returns this rejuvenated franchise to its roots: hot chicks, hotter music, and the hottest whips this side of "Pimp My Ride." You should've heard the orgasmic purrs from the crowd when the hood of a muscle car was revealed or the first sequence of Armorall glossy racers rotated in and out of frame. With Lin exposing us American gaijin to a hip hop-saturated, raccoon make-up, under-30 Tokyo that's a Fodor's guide cross-pollinated with softcore Asian porn, "F&F" brings just enough story to get us from racing set piece to racing set piece while actually giving a damn about these characters (no small feat - see "2Fast 2Furious"). The Chris Morgan (Cellular) script balances just enough James Dean anti-establishment youth ("Life is simple - you make choices and don't look back.") with character motivation and development (cue the afterschool special messages of personal responsibility and growing up) to ground the action in a semblance of reality. Capturing the vibrant kinetic energy of drift racing and the stylish urbanity of Tokyo, Justin Lin accesses his inner Michael Bay, addicting us enough with the speedy, visual elegance of a midnight drift race (and the psychology behind it: Says Neela, "There's no past, no future, no problems...Just the moment.") that several audience members "drifted" into right turns heading out of the theater parking lot afterwards. Nice - guess they missed the "Don't try this at home" disclaimer at the end of the flick. Even a ham-fisted but sometimes thrilling musical score by Brian Tyler (Annapolis) can't derail Lin's innate coming of age story skills that were exhibited so effectively in his indie debut "Better Luck Tomorrow" but rather underwhelmingly in the anemic "Annapolis." Boasting a handsome cast that's as sleek as its cars, "F&F" gives Lin a lot with which to work. You have Lucas Black's boyish knucklehead, forever with something to prove as the perennial outsider, who grins his way with tangible, amicably gaijin glee whenever possible. Watching his gearhead Sean see the parking garage full of cranked up race cars is akin to watching the Cookie Monster make a trip to Mrs. Fields. The highly overrated Bow Wow FINALLY shows me something worth watching - it only took him five movies, right? Sung Kang plays a perfect blend of "I've got it all under control" pseudo-cool as Han, an insider who will always consider himself on the outside looking in. Brian Tee's DK is appropriately evil - not just because the script demands a villain, but also because this villain is the most dangerous kind: the spoiled rich boy villain. I know whereof I speak: private school introduced me to those who act out of excess because they can, knowing there are no real repercussions because they got dough. So DK, with his menacingly attractive glares from the George Clooney School of Acting (chin down, look up), is hateable, but understandably hateable. And then there's Nat. Not quite a REEL DEAL Crush but eminently watchable nonetheless, Nathalie Kelley comes out of nowhere as tasty-accented Neela (literally - this is the well-dimpled one's only IMDB credit) with her multiracial, olive skinned looks and sinfully engaging eyes. Causing car geeks and jocks alike in the theater to swoon, Kelley is a bangin', cinematic version of a rush hour car wreck: you just gotta stop and take a look. Small Hollywood aside: The luscious Ms. Kelley was in the lobby of my theater after tonight's midnight screening, posing for pictures with drooling, newly baptized male fans. Not only did she prove her not-ready-for-primetime REEL DEAL Crush status (although her Maxim-ready looks are real world legit), but also that the camera adds ten pounds and a cup size or two (sorry, I like my women with bodies of, well, WOMEN). Still, a (visually) stunning debut by Nathalie Kelley sure to get the one-hand typing cybergeeks slobbering and bloggering (yes, I made up that word - say somethin'!). But Asian ingenues aside, "The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift" gives what should've been a dead franchise a tune up, if not a ferocious new engine altogether. Stacked with an amazing, unexpected second act complication that truly does raise the plot and emotional stakes, "F&F" is destined to become one of the sleeper hits of the summer, sure to best the nine figure worldwide perfs of its predecessors through sheer burnt rubber alone. The script extols the value of knowing who you are and where you belong. "Tokyo" drifts back home to the fast (and the furious) lane. @@@ REELS (THREE REELS) It's pretty hot – go give it a shot. Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com! Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com © 2004, Edwardo Jackson