Three out of Five stars
Running time: 104 mins

Enjoyably trashy, fast-paced action flick, where the exciting racing sequences and decent characters more than compensate for the frequently rubbish script.

What's it all about?
Lucas Black stars as Sean Boswell, a teenager who's constantly in trouble for reckless driving. After one smash-up too many he's sent to Tokyo to live with his estranged father (Brian Goodman).

Sean soon falls in with a cool underground racing gang led by Han (Sung Kang), who teaches him the fine art of drifting (basically driving sideways in a controlled skid at high speeds). However, things get complicated when Sean falls for the beautiful Neela (Nathalie Kelley) and angers her Yakuza-connected drifting hotshot boyfriend, DK (Brian Tee).

The Good
Once you get over the disappointment that they didn't call the threequel Fast3r And Furious3r!, it's actually pretty enjoyable. The racing scenes are terrifically exciting; they're both beautifully shot ( night time mountainside drift-a-thon in particular) and imaginatively staged.

The script is strictly by numbers; it's so cliched you can practically shout the lines out before the characters say them. Under the circumstances, the actors do a surprisingly good job of creating interesting characters from almost nothing, particularly Black (who coasts by on good looks and Southern charm), Kang and token rapper Bow Wow as Twinkie.

The Bad
Performance-wise only Kelley lets the side down – you can't help but feel Sean would be better off with any one of the numerous scantily-clad young ladies that are scattered about the place. As a point of contrast, OC actress Nikki Griffin makes a much stronger impression in just two scenes at the beginning of the movie.

The film could have used a bit of humour, although there is a genuinely crowd-pleasing final gag and the warning at the end will definitely raise a smile.

Worth seeing?
If you like things that go vroom, then this has your name spray-painted all over it. Trashy, but fun.