First of all, I gotta say that anyone who knows me knows that I'm a very critical and opinionated person. And skeptical! So even though I had the honor and privilege of working for NBC Universal as their special effects set photographer for the drifting sequences, I honestly gotta admit, I was skeptical about the movie at first.
Why? Well come on! Look at the first two F&F movies. The first one had brilliant lines like "turbocharged Spoon motors" and "Motec exhaust" and the second one was more like a dirty south rap video, although I couldn't complain about Eva Mendes. Homegirl was on point and dayam she was lookin GOOD!
So I was super surprised when I, Mr. Skeptical, sat down with my friends in Universal's Gibson Ampitheatre with our free Sprites, popcorn, and pizza... and we actually LIKED the movie. A lot. I mean, yeah I already knew some things about the movie because I was on set and I saw the stuff happening. But the way they directed it, and did the photography and editing was just dope. I think it was really well done, from a photographic standpoint and also from a standpoint of telling the story and explaining drifting and Japanese culture to the average Joe Schmoe American movie watcher. I mean sure, the movie had its lame parts (like Lil Bow Wow's car)... but the things they showed in Japan, from the parking lots, to bike racks, to payphones, vending machines, school girls, traffic sequences, homes, and garages... that stuff was really on point! It was interesting for the movie watcher, and kept it real for the OG heads who know what's up with drifting, and people who know Japan. I might just be one person voicing my opinion, but still, I think it's a credible one for this particular case. Why? I might not be able to do tandem drift initiations at 100mph like some of my other friends, but I did author the first hardcover book on Drifting in the United States, and I've been to more drifting events and shot at more tracks and become close friends with more drifters in more areas of the world, than most people. And I go to Japan for photo shoots and drifting events alot. And even I think this movie was great!
