The Fast & Furious movies are “tremendous” says Christopher Nolan, and recommends that newcomers start with Tokyo Drift.
Christopher Nolan may have landed a huge hit with his sombre biopic, Oppenheimer, but he’s no snob when it comes to popcorn munching escapism, either.
Speaking to host Stephen Colbert on The Late Show (via Variety), Nolan reiterated his clear affection for the Fast & Furious franchise – and he’s evidently an afficionado of the series, given that he talked briefly about its “arc and mythology”. The director even provided a recommended starting point to Colbert, who to date hasn’t seen a single Fast movie.
“I have no guilt about being a fan of the Fast & Furious franchise,” Nolan said. “A tremendous action franchise … You’ve never seen any of them? I watch those movies all the time. I love them. I’m amazed you’ve never seen one of them. It’s only the last few where a specific arc and mythology develop. I would start with Tokyo Drift and watch it as its own thing.”
This isn’t the first time Nolan’s talked about the tyre-squealing film series. On the HappySadConfused podcast in 2020, he said he liked the “original recipe, the Rob Cohen original” – referring to the first film, released in 2001 – but also singled out Tokyo Drift for praise.
“I’ve got a very soft spot for Tokyo Drift, actually,” he said (via Collider). “And Justin Lin’s iterations, as they got crazier and bigger and crazier and bigger they became something else, but something kinda fun.”
Directed by Justin Lin, 2006’s Tokyo Drift was the third film in the franchise, and at the time, felt more like a spin-off, with none of the original cast from the first two entries returning besides one high-profile cameo at the end. Tokyo Drift’s steadily grown in stature since, though, with Sung Kang’s character Han becoming a series regular and later films tying into its events in quite clever ways.
The 11th film in the incredibly durable Fast & Furious series is set for release in 2025, and will reportedly mark Vin Diesel’s last appearance in the franchise. We quite like the thought of Nolan sitting in a cinema next year, grinning through Fast 11 and murmuring a polite “tremendous!” as the end credits roll.
