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Nelson Au · 10-01-2006, 01:44 PM

I know this wasn't high cinema and was simply a mindless actioner.

I was pleasantly surprised by it this past summer and as a car fan and Mustang owner, I went to see it for this reason.

Now that it's out on DVD, I saw it again last night and again, I liked it for the same reasons. And the reasons I like it are not for the reasons you'd think.

The cars were cool and the look at the drifting culture of Japan was cool too, but......the main focus for me was the old fashioned way this film was told. It felt like an old film from the 40's or 50's where the bad kid is really good and makes good in a fish out of water environment. It's as unrealisitic as it gets, but it worked for me. He does good in the end and gets the girl.

And another aspect of why I think it works is that the director, who I have no knowledge of, is Asian, though very Americanized. Asian films, particularly from Hong Kong has a kind of feel good quality and I wonder if he's trying to get that kind of quality into the film. It's old fashioned as I said, and goofy characters and the good guys and bad guys are disguised within a modern film. I think the film has this quality. And I think this kind of story telling was likely seen as goofy and silly for a modern audience who may have dismissed it just for being a TFATF sequel.

One of my friends who saw the movie and is a car guy thought it was silly and didn't like it at all. So that got me wondering on this question of old fashioned film making. Is still relevant today. I think it is. Maybe I am sentimental.

I suspect this film was in and out of cinemas real fast and wasn't noticed too much by the mainstream. Did anyone else see what I saw?

10-01-2006, 01:44 PM	#33 of 34
Nelson Au Member Location: Silicon Valley Join Date: Mar 1999 Local Time: 10:37 PM Local Date: 12-01-2008 Posts: 3,333	The Fast and the Foolish Tokyo Drift-Old fashioned story telling? I know this wasn't high cinema and was simply a mindless actioner. I was pleasantly surprised by it this past summer and as a car fan and Mustang owner, I went to see it for this reason. Now that it's out on DVD, I saw it again last night and again, I liked it for the same reasons. And the reasons I like it are not for the reasons you'd think. The cars were cool and the look at the drifting culture of Japan was cool too, but......the main focus for me was the old fashioned way this film was told. It felt like an old film from the 40's or 50's where the bad kid is really good and makes good in a fish out of water environment. It's as unrealisitic as it gets, but it worked for me. He does good in the end and gets the girl. And another aspect of why I think it works is that the director, who I have no knowledge of, is Asian, though very Americanized. Asian films, particularly from Hong Kong has a kind of feel good quality and I wonder if he's trying to get that kind of quality into the film. It's old fashioned as I said, and goofy characters and the good guys and bad guys are disguised within a modern film. I think the film has this quality. And I think this kind of story telling was likely seen as goofy and silly for a modern audience who may have dismissed it just for being a TFATF sequel. One of my friends who saw the movie and is a car guy thought it was silly and didn't like it at all. So that got me wondering on this question of old fashioned film making. Is still relevant today. I think it is. Maybe I am sentimental. I suspect this film was in and out of cinemas real fast and wasn't noticed too much by the mainstream. Did anyone else see what I saw? Last edited by Nelson Au : 10-01-2006 at 01:54 PM.