The Heart of the Fast & Furious Films: Han Seoul-Oh

When ‘The Fast and the Furious‘ hit the silver screen in 2001, it had everything a gearhead could want from cinema; fast cars, street racing, a heist, and brotherly love. Many fans were disappointed two years later, when Dom (Vin Diesel) didn’t return for the ‘2 Fast 2 Furious‘ sequel, so when ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift‘ was released in 2006, it seemed like a desperate attempt to re-invent the film series.

Who would ever think that actor Sung Kang’s role as Han Lue, merely a supporting character with a tragic story arc in ‘Tokyo Drift‘, would alter the entire film series. Han dies partway through ‘Tokyo Drift‘ so the filmmakers twisted time in order to bring the character back, making F4, F5 and F6 prequels which occur before the events of F3. Han Lue’s death gave his story arc a sad grandeur. Viewers knew Han’s destiny, his return to Tokyo was ominously lurking. Even as Han grew into a major character in the film series, his fate was waiting for him in Japan.

In a film series filled with loud, over-the-top alpha-males, Han Lue was different. His calm, cool demeanor was like Fonzie in the first season of ‘Happy Days‘, He’s also a rare example of an Asian character depicted as confident and full of swagger. Asian guys in film are often depicted as the nerd, or the stereotypical computer geek. But Han Lue is the Asian version of James Dean.

‘The Fast and the Furious‘ introduces ‘the family’; Dom, Letty and Mia. Wanna-be street racer Brian is looking for a way to get ‘in’ with the cool kids who rob transport trucks to fund their street racing. The film establishes Dom and Brian as brothers, and explains why they’re all on the run from the law as the credits roll.

Similarly, the Justin Lin directed ‘Better Luck Tomorrow‘ is Han Lue’s origin story. Set a year after F1, teenaged Han is living in California, involved with petty crimes and ‘scams’. When one of Han’s crew goes crazy during a robbery and accidentally kills local rich-kid Steve Choe, Han is forced to make a run for the border, and using the alias Han Seoul-Oh, he flees the US.

Han next appears chronologically in the F&F short-film ‘Los Bandoleros‘ set in the Dominican Republic. Dom is a fugitive putting together a crew of ‘outlaws’ to rob a fuel tanker. Unlike earlier thefts, the plan is to give the fuel to the poverty stricken locals. Skilled wheelman Han arrives in the DR and is greeted by Dom as an old friend.

During an early scene in ‘Los Bandoleros‘ ladies’ man Han is chatting up a pretty Dominican girl at a bar, explaining that he met Dom in Mexico. Both on the run from the law, Dom had built a reputation in the illegal street-racing scene south of the border. Han regaled the girl with stories of Dom and him on adventures in South America, slyly saying “He always calls me for the good stuff.“

The short film is the bridge to the opening scene of ‘Fast & Furious‘ the fourth film in the series. Dom, Letty, Han and two more ‘bandoleros’ are hijacking a fuel tanker truck while driving through a mountain highway. After the successful Robin Hood style theft, the crew disbands before the heat comes down on them.

Establishing that F4 chronologically earlier than F3 allowed Han to become an entrenched member of the series. Han Lue returns in ‘Fast Five‘ as an expert getaway driver. He and the rest of Dom’s crew steal a bank vault belonging to a drug lord, and plan to start new lives with the cash.

In ‘Furious 6‘ while on another adventure with Dom and the family, Han falls in love with Giselle, a former Mossad agent. Han’s looming fate appears on the horizon as the two make plans settle down in Tokyo, tired of being on the run. But it all goes wrong for tragic hero Han, as Giselle is killed during a battle, sacrificing herself to protect Han. Despondent and alone at the end of the film, Han abandons the family and moves to Tokyo. The time-jump in the F&F series finally closed.

Seven years after its release, the plotline of F3 ‘Tokyo Drift‘ chronologically occurs immediately after the events of ‘Fast & Furious 6‘. Han has resigned himself to living in Japan, running with a small time crew of wanna-be gangsters. He’s reserved and sullen, delivering the telling line “You know those old Westerns where the cowboys make a run for the border? This is my Mexico.“.

Everything catches up with Han partway through the film when the dim-witted gangsters he’s been ripping-off catch on. After speeding through Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo to escape the bad guys, Han is involved in a horrifying accident. His VeilSide RX-7 is T-boned by a much bigger Mercedes Benz S-Class. Han’s car is destroyed, lands upside down on its roof, and bursts into flames with Han trapped inside burning to his death, despite his friend’s efforts to save him.

The character of Han Lue was so immensely popular that he moved from being high school delinquent in ‘Better Luck Tomorrow‘ to the unlikely tragic hero in ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift‘ necessitating three prequels. Han finally met his fate and died in Tokyo, but like Lazarus risen from the dead, Han Seoul-Oh is back in ‘F9: The Fast Saga‘ as director Justin Lin is determined to keep Han on screen no matter how much it confuses audiences.