It's that time when a movie goes beyond just being a sequel.
It happened to KickBoxer, Iron Eagle, Universal Soldier and many others.
It's when
none of the original cast are involved, when a movie launches itself into the terriroty known as 'cashing in on the name'.
The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift is one of those filmes.
After the year or so of speculation about the plot and the cast (people and cars!), the trailer finally hits the net and has proven most of the rumours to be... wrong.
Vin Diesel was supposed to be making a return, with the plot revolving around him fleeing to Mexico after the original film, then moving to Japan to help a friend that had got themselves into trouble.
The plot does involve someone getting themselves into trouble in Japan, however Vin Diesel is no where to be seen, neither is Paul Walker, star of both the previous films.
The screenwriter is all new, replacing the writer from the previous two films, and the director is new.
6 months ago there were various magazine features of a Honda NSX, yellow with excellent looking wide body kit, that was the star car for Tokyo Drift, however this car is no where to been seen in the traile either. Change of plan during production?
Eitherway, the new film is here, with the only person involved that I could give credit to the new star, Lucas Black, who previously played Caleb Temple in the interesting American Gothic series.
Hard to tell from the trailer if the film is likely to be any good. We can hope so, I loved the first film (though the second was just average) and this film seems to return to the 'underground' style of the original.
You'll have to judge for yourself
http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/thefastandthefurioustokyodrift/