The Fast And The Furious movies are rare among franchises in that there’s very little continuity from one to another. The only connective tissue(besides Paul Walker, who doesn’t appear in the third entry, Tokyo Drift) is the cars and the underground nocturnal-racing cultures that support them, and that’s just barely enough to justify the brand name. That thin justification gets even thinner in the latest go-around, which focuses on "drifting, " a maneuver that lets drivers negotiate hairpin turns at top speed by yanking on their handbrakes. A well-executed drift looks cool, with the car skidding across the pavement and leaving behind a symmetrical trail of rubber, but the effect doesn’t grow any more exhilarating after a dozen, two dozen, or 100 spins. Then again, stock cars draw a huge audience while just driving around in circles, so clearly the producers know their business.