Opened: June 16, 2006

Directed by: Justin Lin

Starring: Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Sung Kang, Brian Tee, Nathalie Kelley, Sonny Chiba, Leonardo Nam, Brian Goodman, Zachery Ty Bryan, Lynda Boyd, Jason Tobin, Nikki Griffin & Keiko Kitagawa

While the racing looks better than it has in the previous entries to the Fast & Furious franchise, bad acting makes this an accident that’s hard to watch.

After multiple driving offenses, Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) is sent to Tokyo to live with his father (Brian Goodman), who’s stationed there with the U.S. Navy. He challenges Drift King Takashi (Brian Tee) and loses, which lands him in the debt of Han Lue (Sung Kang).

Black gives a lacking performance that’ll have you wishing there was even more racing to distract you. Sean’s relationship with Neela (Nathalie Kelley) feels incredibly forced as there’s no chemistry between the pair.

However, the drifting gives an exciting edge to the race scenes. More practical stunts seem to be utilized than before, which makes the stakes feel higher.

Final say: An unfortunate standalone. ★★☆☆☆