When Better Luck Tomorrow first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002, the film received critical acclaim from critics such as Roger Ebert. In a story recollected by actor John Cho, who plays a crucial role in the film, Cho revealed to MTV News how Ebert had defended the film’s portrayal of Asian American youth caught up in a life of crime. “How could you make a movie that was so denigrating to your race?” asked one member of the Sundance audience, to which Ebert responded, “You wouldn't say that to a white filmmaker.” Needless to say, Justin Lin’s solo directorial debut garnered a lot of attention, not only for its bold take on teenagers living out a life of crime in the California suburbs but also for its inclusion of an all Asian cast at a time when Hollywood still considered diverse casting as a “risk”. Not only did it catch the attention of Ebert, who would later give the film a full four-star rating and call it “a clearly seen, brilliantly made film,” but it also became MTV Films’ first film acquisition.
Now, 20 years after its premiere at Sundance, Better Luck Tomorrow holds a more significant place in cinema history. In 2006, when Justin Lin was brought on board to direct the third Fast and Furious film, Tokyo Drift, his character of Han Lue played by Sung Kang came along with him. Thus, Better Luck Tomorrow was retroactively made a prequel to the Vin Diesel-led car and action franchise. Lin would continue to direct the fourth, fifth, and sixth Fast and Furious films while returning for the recent ninth installment. It’s an interesting turn of events for Lin’s independent film about teenagers stuck in the suburbs. However, in many ways, the film is a fitting inclusion in the Fast saga. For its story about ambitious young men and crime, its inclusive cast of Asian actors, and its origin story of the now fan-favorite Han Lue, Better Luck Tomorrow is the perfect Fast and Furious prequel.
What Is 'Better Luck Tomorrow'
Better Luck Tomorrow follows Ben Manibag (Parry Shen), a hardworking student who’s just trying to survive high school and get into a good university. His best friend, Virgil (Jason Tobin), gets him involved in a few scams and robberies at local stores with the help of Virgil’s cousin, Han. All the while, Ben vies for the attention of his crush Stephanie (Karin Anna Cheung) against her bad-boy boyfriend, Steve (John Cho). The stakes might seem small for this movie to stand alongside the other Fast and Furious films, but never forget where the franchise started — Dom Toretto, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Mia (Jordana Brewster), and the rest of his crew being investigated by undercover cop Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) for the theft of electronic goods such as DVD players. It isn’t so hard to believe that Ben Manibag’s robberies could exist alongside Dom Toretto’s. In fact, when Ben shows up on Stephanie’s doorstep with a fancy new car and an unstated future at the end of Better Luck Tomorrow, one can imagine Ben showing up to join Dom’s crew for more petty crimes.
The Fast and Furious series today is a global franchise with fans from Latin America to Asia, and it’s come a long way from its local Los Angeles setting in the first film. Its cast and “family” reflect that global and cultural diversity, with recurring Black and Latine leads such as Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson. Han Lue becomes part of Dom’s crew, but as Better Luck Tomorrow reveals, he had more humble beginnings than stealing cars and international espionage. Furthermore, although Jason Tobin plays different characters — Virgil in Better Luck Tomorrow and Earl in the FF franchise — he is yet another actor brought along by Justin Lin.
With Better Luck Tomorrow’s all-Asian cast, Lin’s approach to the franchise has always taken into consideration the need for inclusion in movies, from independent films to blockbusters. It’s reassuring to see Lin, an Asian American director, bring in such actors as Sung Kang and Jason Tobin along with him and his success. To some, the diversity that the franchise has fostered — Kang and Tobin included — has led to significant changes in Hollywood casting. According to comic book writer Gail Simone, industry leaders took note of Fast and Furious’s success and have taken diversity as a consideration in casting other movies.
The Origins of Han
Finally, for fans of the Fast and Furious films, Better Luck Tomorrow is essential watching if only for Sung Kang’s character of Han. Before his adventures with Dom, romance with Giselle (Gal Gadot), and eventual death at the hands of Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, Han used to steal from appliance and convenience stores in Orange County, California. When Han and the rest of his crew in Better Luck Tomorrow get involved in a murder, they all decide to disband and go their separate ways. Han, of course, ends up meeting Dominic Toretto somewhere down the road, and later becomes the calm, cool, and collected mentor to Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) in Tokyo Drift. We get to see his journey from petty theft to a member of Dom's crew, making us all the more invested in the character.
When Han surprisingly dies, simultaneously in Tokyo Drift and in the end credits of Fast and Furious 6, fans were heartbroken. The hashtag #JusticeForHan was a rallying cry for the character’s return, and when Justin Lin came back for the most recent film F9: The Fast Saga, Lin resurrected his character, the same one he brought to life in Better Luck Tomorrow. Although fans originally gravitated towards the character in his introduction in Tokyo Drift, his full-circle arc would be incomplete without Better Luck Tomorrow.
Of course, Better Luck Tomorrow was never meant to be a prequel to the Fast and Furious franchise. It’s not an action movie like the rest of them, which increasingly reached absurd proportions (F9 finally took the movies to space). Better Luck Tomorrow is more so a serious, dramatic coming-of-age film rather than an action spectacle. But now that Fast and Furious is, indeed, a “saga” akin to that of Star Wars, there is rich lore that ties all these disparate films together. From the Hobbs and Shaw spin-off starring Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Statham’s Deckard Shaw to the animated Netflix series Fast & Furious Spy Racers, Fast and Furious has spawned its own cinematic universe. In the same way that Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man can be viewed as a prequel to the MCU because of Tobey McGuire’s appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Better Luck Tomorrow is as much of a prequel to Fast and Furious. And while Justin Lin has since left the tenth film in the series, Fast X, his stamp on the franchise along with his characters will remain.