I'm an American who has lived in Japan for most of a decade. I can honestly say that this film, supposedly set in Japan, is entirely untrue to the real Japan. Fashions, culture, economy, language... all are wildly misrepresented or simply ignored. You will feel that this is a "version" of Japan cooked up by a Californian 9-year-old.
The film also plays on patently insulting false stereotypes: 1) A black high school junior hoodlum who (impossibly) sells stolen goods openly at school, has a driving license, and drives his own heavily decorated new car; 2) Everyday high school women who are impressed by racing, and will literally offer themselves to the most impressive driver around; 3) A mafia boss who agrees to settle a major dispute with a foreign "nobody" by racing rather than ignoring the moron or shooting him; 4) a dirt-poor ignorant American "kid" who manages to get an expensive car free from a new friend, master racing in a day, ruin and rebuild cars in hours with a budget of nothing, and capture the hearts of every babe he sees; 5) ...and a whole high school of thin model-like kids who have no jobs, don't study, own $100,000 cars, and wreck the cars nightly.
The film is an insult to you, the audience. Do you really want to pay a dozen dollars to watch a nonstop car-and-iPod-and-sneaker commercial that ignores the real Japan, insults women and black people, and has not one believable plot element? Vote with your $, and say "no" to this horrific swill.
The film also plays on patently insulting false stereotypes: 1) A black high school junior hoodlum who (impossibly) sells stolen goods openly at school, has a driving license, and drives his own heavily decorated new car; 2) Everyday high school women who are impressed by racing, and will literally offer themselves to the most impressive driver around; 3) A mafia boss who agrees to settle a major dispute with a foreign "nobody" by racing rather than ignoring the moron or shooting him; 4) a dirt-poor ignorant American "kid" who manages to get an expensive car free from a new friend, master racing in a day, ruin and rebuild cars in hours with a budget of nothing, and capture the hearts of every babe he sees; 5) ...and a whole high school of thin model-like kids who have no jobs, don't study, own $100,000 cars, and wreck the cars nightly.
The film is an insult to you, the audience. Do you really want to pay a dozen dollars to watch a nonstop car-and-iPod-and-sneaker commercial that ignores the real Japan, insults women and black people, and has not one believable plot element? Vote with your $, and say "no" to this horrific swill.