Following in the footsteps of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, up-and-coming actor Lucas Black puts the pedal to the metal in the third instalment of The Fast And The Furious. The action relocates to Tokyo, but the formula remains the same, ie "dumb heroics and gleaming car porn". It is the least lucrative movie of the franchise, so any plans for a fourth instalment will probably get the red light.

In The Fast Lane

Drifting School finds Lucas Black and co-stars hitting the racetrack in preparation for the film. They boast about doing '180 spins' and 'feeling the Gs' but the truth is that all the dangerous stuff was left to the experts. Among them is Keiichi Tsuchiya who pioneered the 'drifting' style, which is basically skidding, although in The Real Drift King, he describes it as, 'like sumo and figure skating for cars'. The figure skating part is easy to see, but sumo? We can only presume you have to wear a nappy while doing it...

Director Justin Lin waffles on about relating each car to the character driving it in Tricked Out To Drift. In reality though, it's just an excuse for more drooling over shiny spoilers and chugging pistons. The Big Breakdown is a slightly more interesting look behind-the-scenes of the main car chase through downtown Tokyo. In fact it was shot in Los Angeles with CGI filling in the background. Lin assures, however, that the smoke coming off the asphalt is real.

Drifting Off

The Japanese Way is a throwaway featurette where cast and crew reflect on the Tokyo experience. Black admits to feeling 'homesick' while Lin is having trouble communicating with his crew. It's not the language barrier that's the problem, but their way of working; "We like to plan, plan, plan and be spontaneous," explains the director. "They like to plan, plan, plan, and go with the plan." Meanwhile the Cast Cam reel provides evidence that the American contingent spent most of their time goofing around.

Public transport features heavily in eleven deleted scenes where Sean (Black) catches a cab, gets bumped on the subway and stops for gas. It's hardly a rip-roaring thrill ride, although in an optional commentary, Lin says he gets a kick out of the Japanese pronunciation of the word 'can't' There's more mouthing off from Lil Bow Wow too as his character Twinkie introduces Sean to the Tokyo scene.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Lin's main commentary is the revelation that he shot many scenes in Tokyo without a permit. "A couple of guys got arrested for me," he says, laughing. "We just kept shooting till the cops came and shut us down." Later on, in regard to the less flashy scenes between Black and his military dad (Brian Goodman), he confesses, "You do feel like you've seen it all before." It seems Lin's passion for the work is lacking somewhat, and the feeling is infectious. Needless to say, this is strictly for the gearheads.

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