2006 film by Justin Lin
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a 2006 American action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is a standalone sequel to The Fast and the Furious (2001) and 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), and the third installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. Within the story's continuity, the film is set between Fast & Furious 6 (2013) and Furious 7 (2015). It stars Lucas Black and Bow Wow. In the film, car enthusiast Sean Boswell (Black) is sent to live in Tokyo with his estranged father and finds solace exploring the city's drifting community.
A third Fast & Furious film was confirmed in June 2005, when Lin was selected as director. Morgan was hired after an open call soon after, thus marking the first film in the franchise's longtime association with Lin, Morgan, actor Sung Kang, and composer Brian Tyler. Principal photography began in August 2005 and lasted until that November, with filming locations including Los Angeles and Tokyo, making Tokyo Drift the first film in the franchise to feature an international filming location.
The film premiered at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on June 4, 2006, and was released in the United States on June 16, by Universal Pictures. It grossed $159 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing film in the franchise. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its driving sequences but criticism for its screenplay and acting performances. In subsequent years, Tokyo Drift has garnered a more favorable view, with some commentators considering it one of the best of the franchise. The film's storylines are continued in Furious 7, released in 2015, and F9, released in 2021.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.