Dominic Toretto is a Los Angeles street racer suspected of masterminding a series of big-rig hijackings. When undercover cop Brian O'Conner infiltrates Toretto's iconoclastic crew, he falls for Toretto's sister and must choose a side: the gang or the LAPD.
A gritty and gratifying cheap thrill, Rob Cohen's high-octane hot-car meller is a true rarity these days, a really good exploitationer, the sort of thing that would rule at drive-ins if they still existed.
– Todd McCarthy,
Variety,
12 Mar 2008
fresh:
While few of the paper-thin characters register long enough to make much of an impression, Diesel carries the movie with his unsettling mix of Zen-like tranquillity and barely controlled rage.
– Reece Pendleton,
Chicago Reader,
12 Mar 2008
rotten:
Returning the series to solid ground after 2 Fast 2 Furious leaned too heavily on cartoonish CGI effects, Tokyo Drift relies on old-fashioned stunt work that gives its best sequences a sense of brute physicality.
– Scott Tobias,
AV Club,
15 Jun 2006
rotten:
Works hard to be exciting, but the movie scarcely lives up to its title.
– Owen Gleiberman,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Jun 2001
fresh:
Even those who've never heard of 'rice rockets' (Japanese imports souped up with computerized hydraulics and customized engines) might be charmed by the film's blend of kineticism, car-culture rituals, and hilariously flat-footed dialogue.