Takumi and Matsuki take a selfie at the beach with a disposable camera. This predates the selfie that Paris Hilton claims she invented along with Britney Spears in 2006 by 1 year.
57 Reviews
Reminiscent of the original, but what happened to the music?
theredcomet200015 May 2006
Overall, I'll have to say right off the bat that as a fan of the original anime I found it somewhat amusing.
There are a few things that the movie does right. The camera angles and the overall feel of the movie was spot-on to the original source material. A particular highlight was the "zoom-in-on-the-eyes" of the loser in one particular race. This was exactly like the anime, and was a great touch.
People might slam Jay Chou, but I thought he did a good job in this. It's rather hard to screw up a character who is generally bored and half-asleep (as he is portrayed in the anime).
There are a lot of small changes here and there, such as Bunta being a drunkard for comedy relief, and the complete lack of Keisuke (his character was combined with Nakazato). Or the fact that the anime Nakazato drove the 4WD GT-R model of Skyline, and did not drift. I won't touch on these in detail, as they didn't really bother me that much.
However, the biggest element lacking in this is the music! Inital D fans know that Initial D is known for it's high energy dance-style J-pop music. Considering there are at least 10 Initial D soundtrack CD's out in Japan, I can't believe they didn't realize how popular the music is.
The music in the film is best described as "Chinese rap/R&B" I guess, which really hurt the feel of the movie in my opinion.
As synonymous the anime is with the music, I can't help but think what it would be without it. We'd be left with scenes of car racing with cheesy dialog, intertwined with brief romance scenes. Which now that I think of it, pretty much sums up this film.
If they were to make an Initial D anime series with music similar to this movie's soundtrack, I wonder if I would like it as much.
I just might feel the same way about it as I do this movie, in that it's a nice reminiscent film somewhat faithful to the original, but nothing to get really excited about.
If you're not a fan of Inital D or of import racing, there's not much for you here.
There are a few things that the movie does right. The camera angles and the overall feel of the movie was spot-on to the original source material. A particular highlight was the "zoom-in-on-the-eyes" of the loser in one particular race. This was exactly like the anime, and was a great touch.
People might slam Jay Chou, but I thought he did a good job in this. It's rather hard to screw up a character who is generally bored and half-asleep (as he is portrayed in the anime).
There are a lot of small changes here and there, such as Bunta being a drunkard for comedy relief, and the complete lack of Keisuke (his character was combined with Nakazato). Or the fact that the anime Nakazato drove the 4WD GT-R model of Skyline, and did not drift. I won't touch on these in detail, as they didn't really bother me that much.
However, the biggest element lacking in this is the music! Inital D fans know that Initial D is known for it's high energy dance-style J-pop music. Considering there are at least 10 Initial D soundtrack CD's out in Japan, I can't believe they didn't realize how popular the music is.
The music in the film is best described as "Chinese rap/R&B" I guess, which really hurt the feel of the movie in my opinion.
As synonymous the anime is with the music, I can't help but think what it would be without it. We'd be left with scenes of car racing with cheesy dialog, intertwined with brief romance scenes. Which now that I think of it, pretty much sums up this film.
If they were to make an Initial D anime series with music similar to this movie's soundtrack, I wonder if I would like it as much.
I just might feel the same way about it as I do this movie, in that it's a nice reminiscent film somewhat faithful to the original, but nothing to get really excited about.
If you're not a fan of Inital D or of import racing, there's not much for you here.
Excellent racing scenes with superb audio, the rest of the movie is weaker though
PyrolyticCarbon11 November 2005
You know I'm a man and I like cars. There's nothing to be ashamed of there. I also liked The Fast and the Furious, it had some fun in there but it also had big, fast, shiny cars, and one like mine too. So when I heard that there was this movie (Initial D) about drift racing popular with Japanese teenagers and it had been adapted from the Manga story, I was interested, and courtesy of Moviesville, I got to see it.
Movie The movie itself is good, it's quite comic in places which could be traced back to its Manga origins, and unfortunately this takes away from the story because it does present itself as having a serious underside.
Something that surprised me about this movie is there isn't that much racing. For a film that is supposed to be about drift racing, there's not that much that goes on. However, the four or so races that do occur are superbly filmed and driven. Mixing unusual camera angles, some CGI, and smooth stunt driving, you end up with every race scene being exciting and visually rich.
The pace of the movie is quite back and forth. It's this feeling that there should be more racing, and yet we're taken through scenes that range from comic to romance. It's understandable considering the group that the movie is aiming towards, but you can't help but feel a little bit of growing up could have been applied to the story.
The romance thread is interesting, and brings a dimension to the character of Takumi. Not only does he awaken his racing spirit, but also other feelings as a teenager. However some of the scenes are a little long and can feel like they jar you out of the story. It's a shame because again, this movie is about racing. Ultimately though it's a good plot device and comes to a satisfying ending, comparable with his Fathers life and choices.
Some characters are not full explained, and although that can sometimes be a good thing, here it makes them feel as though they are only brought in as a distraction. The character of Takumi's friend is straight out of a comic, and nothing much appears to have been done to bring him into the world of the movie. Perhaps this was a deliberate move in order to retain the connection with the story's roots, but he just seems to get in the way of events.
Jay Chou playing the lead of Takumi, don't have that much to say, and although this reflects a troubled teenager, it does quickly get grating and you can understand why his Father wants to kick him into action!
Picture Presented: 2.35:1 The picture is very sharp and clear, this is particularly noticeable during the racing scenes which mainly occur at night. The CGI is seamed in very well and the picture remains strong even when the camera is locked to a crane sticking out from a speeding car! It looks like a lot of work has gone into making this DVD look good.
Audio Presented: DD5.1:EX \ DTS:ES During the racing the sounds are really good, you can hear the engines changing gears and over revving, and when the camera is near the car the LFE kicks in well. Good use is made of the DTS track during these races, and you feel immersed in the action.
Outside of the racing little is made of the DTS, but then the story doesn't really dictate it at these points. Use of the DTS would have felt forced and unnatural.
Extras Presented: Behind the Scenes, Character Bios, Making of Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, TV Spot, Promotion in Shanghai, Promotion in Japan, Photo Gallery, Cast and Credits Unfortunately there were no English subtitle options with any of these extras, but I still watched them all! Mainly to see some behind the scenes of the racing moments, and to see more of the cars in action. They are there, you just have to watch rather than listen...unless of course you can speak Chinese.
Overall It's an okay movie, but where it excels are in the racing scenes, superb drift racing which has been filmed really well using some interesting techniques, camera angles and a little CGI. This makes for very impressive viewing and when combined with the powerful audio track it pulls you right into the race seat. Yet the rest of the story seems a little bit weak and could have done with more character development and less reference to its Manga roots. If you like cars and you like street racing, you'll enjoy this movie.
Movie The movie itself is good, it's quite comic in places which could be traced back to its Manga origins, and unfortunately this takes away from the story because it does present itself as having a serious underside.
Something that surprised me about this movie is there isn't that much racing. For a film that is supposed to be about drift racing, there's not that much that goes on. However, the four or so races that do occur are superbly filmed and driven. Mixing unusual camera angles, some CGI, and smooth stunt driving, you end up with every race scene being exciting and visually rich.
The pace of the movie is quite back and forth. It's this feeling that there should be more racing, and yet we're taken through scenes that range from comic to romance. It's understandable considering the group that the movie is aiming towards, but you can't help but feel a little bit of growing up could have been applied to the story.
The romance thread is interesting, and brings a dimension to the character of Takumi. Not only does he awaken his racing spirit, but also other feelings as a teenager. However some of the scenes are a little long and can feel like they jar you out of the story. It's a shame because again, this movie is about racing. Ultimately though it's a good plot device and comes to a satisfying ending, comparable with his Fathers life and choices.
Some characters are not full explained, and although that can sometimes be a good thing, here it makes them feel as though they are only brought in as a distraction. The character of Takumi's friend is straight out of a comic, and nothing much appears to have been done to bring him into the world of the movie. Perhaps this was a deliberate move in order to retain the connection with the story's roots, but he just seems to get in the way of events.
Jay Chou playing the lead of Takumi, don't have that much to say, and although this reflects a troubled teenager, it does quickly get grating and you can understand why his Father wants to kick him into action!
Picture Presented: 2.35:1 The picture is very sharp and clear, this is particularly noticeable during the racing scenes which mainly occur at night. The CGI is seamed in very well and the picture remains strong even when the camera is locked to a crane sticking out from a speeding car! It looks like a lot of work has gone into making this DVD look good.
Audio Presented: DD5.1:EX \ DTS:ES During the racing the sounds are really good, you can hear the engines changing gears and over revving, and when the camera is near the car the LFE kicks in well. Good use is made of the DTS track during these races, and you feel immersed in the action.
Outside of the racing little is made of the DTS, but then the story doesn't really dictate it at these points. Use of the DTS would have felt forced and unnatural.
Extras Presented: Behind the Scenes, Character Bios, Making of Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, TV Spot, Promotion in Shanghai, Promotion in Japan, Photo Gallery, Cast and Credits Unfortunately there were no English subtitle options with any of these extras, but I still watched them all! Mainly to see some behind the scenes of the racing moments, and to see more of the cars in action. They are there, you just have to watch rather than listen...unless of course you can speak Chinese.
Overall It's an okay movie, but where it excels are in the racing scenes, superb drift racing which has been filmed really well using some interesting techniques, camera angles and a little CGI. This makes for very impressive viewing and when combined with the powerful audio track it pulls you right into the race seat. Yet the rest of the story seems a little bit weak and could have done with more character development and less reference to its Manga roots. If you like cars and you like street racing, you'll enjoy this movie.
Most enjoyable Hong Kong flick since "The Storm Riders" and "The Mission"
harry_tk_yung23 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Starting with the title, note that long before the first user comment was posted, someone had started in the message board below, on the subject of "drifting", a thread that has now grown to considerable length. Any reader interested in the subject should find it very useful.
"Initial D" brings back memories of an all-time classic in car racing, "Grand Prix" (1966), which boasted an impressive international cast including James Gardner, Ives Montand and Mifune Toshiro. Although both are about car racing, the two movies may very well be in two entirely different genres. "Grand Prix" is drama in epic proportion, "Initial D" a comic-adapted action comedy. I'm just saying that they are different and therefore difficult to compare, not one is better than the other.
I haven't enjoyed a local movie as much as I did "Initial D" since "The Storm Riders" and "The Mission" in the late 90s. (Never cared much for Stephen Chow, while the Infernal Affair trilogy has been marred by one too many, the last one that ran out of steam and tantamount to a rip off). The beauty of "Initial D" is that it is entirely devoid of pretentiousness. Well paced and giving you the feeling of reading the comics, the movie is also sprinkled with funny gags that are, mercifully, not insults to the audience's intelligence like some that you find in local productions. Some may find the turn of the romantic subplot unsatisfactory but that only goes to show that the movie makers have not gone all out to make a crowd-pleaser. The emphasis is rightly put back on the theme, car racing.
Casting is more than just a good job. The chemistry between the pair of veterans Anthony Wong and Kenny Bee is just fantastic. The "Infernal" pair, Edison Chen and Shawn Yue, continue their maturing process that was very evident in "Gong Wu". Yue gives a winning portray of a gentlemanly competitor, while Chen never looks better with his poise as a leader. Chapman To's comic relief is pleasing. Jordan Chan, even with his brief appearance, shows great screen presence. (This guy is good on stage, if you've seen him in live theatre). Anne Suzuki has come a long way from the tom boy in "Returner", shed some of the chubbiness in "Hana and Alice", and takes on a new persona of youthful voluptuousness.
As to Jay Chow, the directors intimated in various radio interviews that the main character was initially intended for Edison Chen. Then, in a checking-out meeting with Chow, they were convinced that they have got the right man who can project the shy, introvert appearance and the intensely fierce competitiveness inside. The result, upon seeing the movie, convincingly vindicates that decision. In these interviews, they also talked about the actual filming. It's interesting to hear that at the initial planning stage, 120 shots on the race (those with drifting in particular) were planned to be made with CG assistance. But as the filming on-site progressed, they found that the stunt people hired to drive the cars were so good that most of these shots did not need any CG (114 to be exact). So we have a film that is NOT a repeat of the animation when it comes to the racing scenes. When ask who among the cast actually is the best driver, the answers is: Shawn Yue.
What I also like about this movie is that despite fierce competition, there is no villain. In flicks on boxing, you would often find use of dirty tricks or hitting below the belt. In "Initial D", even when some opponents are obnoxious, the competition is entirely clean and fair. This is good. Did I mention the racing scenes? Terrific fun, with music to match.
"Initial D" brings back memories of an all-time classic in car racing, "Grand Prix" (1966), which boasted an impressive international cast including James Gardner, Ives Montand and Mifune Toshiro. Although both are about car racing, the two movies may very well be in two entirely different genres. "Grand Prix" is drama in epic proportion, "Initial D" a comic-adapted action comedy. I'm just saying that they are different and therefore difficult to compare, not one is better than the other.
I haven't enjoyed a local movie as much as I did "Initial D" since "The Storm Riders" and "The Mission" in the late 90s. (Never cared much for Stephen Chow, while the Infernal Affair trilogy has been marred by one too many, the last one that ran out of steam and tantamount to a rip off). The beauty of "Initial D" is that it is entirely devoid of pretentiousness. Well paced and giving you the feeling of reading the comics, the movie is also sprinkled with funny gags that are, mercifully, not insults to the audience's intelligence like some that you find in local productions. Some may find the turn of the romantic subplot unsatisfactory but that only goes to show that the movie makers have not gone all out to make a crowd-pleaser. The emphasis is rightly put back on the theme, car racing.
Casting is more than just a good job. The chemistry between the pair of veterans Anthony Wong and Kenny Bee is just fantastic. The "Infernal" pair, Edison Chen and Shawn Yue, continue their maturing process that was very evident in "Gong Wu". Yue gives a winning portray of a gentlemanly competitor, while Chen never looks better with his poise as a leader. Chapman To's comic relief is pleasing. Jordan Chan, even with his brief appearance, shows great screen presence. (This guy is good on stage, if you've seen him in live theatre). Anne Suzuki has come a long way from the tom boy in "Returner", shed some of the chubbiness in "Hana and Alice", and takes on a new persona of youthful voluptuousness.
As to Jay Chow, the directors intimated in various radio interviews that the main character was initially intended for Edison Chen. Then, in a checking-out meeting with Chow, they were convinced that they have got the right man who can project the shy, introvert appearance and the intensely fierce competitiveness inside. The result, upon seeing the movie, convincingly vindicates that decision. In these interviews, they also talked about the actual filming. It's interesting to hear that at the initial planning stage, 120 shots on the race (those with drifting in particular) were planned to be made with CG assistance. But as the filming on-site progressed, they found that the stunt people hired to drive the cars were so good that most of these shots did not need any CG (114 to be exact). So we have a film that is NOT a repeat of the animation when it comes to the racing scenes. When ask who among the cast actually is the best driver, the answers is: Shawn Yue.
What I also like about this movie is that despite fierce competition, there is no villain. In flicks on boxing, you would often find use of dirty tricks or hitting below the belt. In "Initial D", even when some opponents are obnoxious, the competition is entirely clean and fair. This is good. Did I mention the racing scenes? Terrific fun, with music to match.
Interesting Hong Kong Movie shot in Japan
ebiros214 February 2013
Based on a long running comic series by Shuuichi Shigeno, this all star cast Hong Kong movie puts on screen what's on the comic's volume 1-15 ( Part until Takumi joins Project D ).
Takumi Fujiwara (Jay Chou) is a high school student who lives with his single father running a tofu shop. Inbetween his tofu deliveries, he frequents Mt. Akina that has winding roads to improve his driving skills. He gets involved with the street racers that frequents the area, and a battle ensues to prove who's the fastest one on the road. Takumi with his outstanding driving skills, bests other racers with better performing cars. Amongst the people who shows up was Ryosuke Takahashi (Edison Chen). Ryosuke takes notice of Takumi's talent, and takes interest in him. Takumi's girlfriend Natsuki (Ann Suzuki) is chummy with Takumi, but she also has other things going on with older men. Takumi goes head to head with Keiichi Sudo (Jordan Chan) to prove who's the fastest man on the road.
The same staff from Medea Asia that's created the "Infernal Affair" series made this movie. The movie was shot on location in Japan around Yahikoiwamuro highway in Niigata Prefecture, and Shibukawa city in Gunma prefecture. The production quality is high despite the difficulty of bringing the location to Japan. Mt. Akina is a fictitious mountain that's modeled after Mt. Haruna in Gunma prefecture.
One of the center piece of the action is the Sprinter Trueno AE86 that Takumi drives. Despite its diminutive size, it succeeds in out performing cars that are designed for racing performances. Trueno is is a sister model of Corolla Levin, and shares the same frame, and the engine. It's a performance version of the standard Sprinter model with a twin cam 4A-GEU engine. In the '80s Japan, 4A-GEU souped up to 450 horse power was sold by custom shops. Used on AE86 that weighs less than a ton, the combination made the car into a deadly rocket that can go head to head with lesser powered cars like the GT-R. So a car to car battle like the one seen in this movie was entirely "Possible". The original comic states that the story is occurring sometime in the '90s time frame, and the cars appearing in this movie also reflects this fact.
I wonder if China these days are following the Hollywood style casting that casts compatible astrological sun sign actors in the leading role. This method seems to ensure good chemistry between male and the female lead. In this movie, three earth sign actors plays the lead (Ann Suzuki - Taurus, Anthony Wong - Virgo, and Jay Chou - Capricorn).
The movie has a world of its own that's completely different from the TV anime series, and in some ways more exciting due to the interaction between the stars, and the actual driving that takes place on the road. It's an excellently made movie that combines best of what Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan has to offer. I only wish that Edison Chen would return to Hong Kong cinema. He was very good in this movie.
A very enjoyable movie that takes you into the world of street racing culture of Japan.
Takumi Fujiwara (Jay Chou) is a high school student who lives with his single father running a tofu shop. Inbetween his tofu deliveries, he frequents Mt. Akina that has winding roads to improve his driving skills. He gets involved with the street racers that frequents the area, and a battle ensues to prove who's the fastest one on the road. Takumi with his outstanding driving skills, bests other racers with better performing cars. Amongst the people who shows up was Ryosuke Takahashi (Edison Chen). Ryosuke takes notice of Takumi's talent, and takes interest in him. Takumi's girlfriend Natsuki (Ann Suzuki) is chummy with Takumi, but she also has other things going on with older men. Takumi goes head to head with Keiichi Sudo (Jordan Chan) to prove who's the fastest man on the road.
The same staff from Medea Asia that's created the "Infernal Affair" series made this movie. The movie was shot on location in Japan around Yahikoiwamuro highway in Niigata Prefecture, and Shibukawa city in Gunma prefecture. The production quality is high despite the difficulty of bringing the location to Japan. Mt. Akina is a fictitious mountain that's modeled after Mt. Haruna in Gunma prefecture.
One of the center piece of the action is the Sprinter Trueno AE86 that Takumi drives. Despite its diminutive size, it succeeds in out performing cars that are designed for racing performances. Trueno is is a sister model of Corolla Levin, and shares the same frame, and the engine. It's a performance version of the standard Sprinter model with a twin cam 4A-GEU engine. In the '80s Japan, 4A-GEU souped up to 450 horse power was sold by custom shops. Used on AE86 that weighs less than a ton, the combination made the car into a deadly rocket that can go head to head with lesser powered cars like the GT-R. So a car to car battle like the one seen in this movie was entirely "Possible". The original comic states that the story is occurring sometime in the '90s time frame, and the cars appearing in this movie also reflects this fact.
I wonder if China these days are following the Hollywood style casting that casts compatible astrological sun sign actors in the leading role. This method seems to ensure good chemistry between male and the female lead. In this movie, three earth sign actors plays the lead (Ann Suzuki - Taurus, Anthony Wong - Virgo, and Jay Chou - Capricorn).
The movie has a world of its own that's completely different from the TV anime series, and in some ways more exciting due to the interaction between the stars, and the actual driving that takes place on the road. It's an excellently made movie that combines best of what Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan has to offer. I only wish that Edison Chen would return to Hong Kong cinema. He was very good in this movie.
A very enjoyable movie that takes you into the world of street racing culture of Japan.
Entertaining...Jay Chow...
sirkevinho127 November 2005
That's about it. The race scenes were shot pretty decently. They grip the viewers at the edge of their seat. The songs by Jay Chow are pretty good. The movie is funny. It was set and filmed in Japan, yet all the dialogue were in Cantonese. What else is there to say?
Jay Chow was pretty good for his first starring role. He gave a believable performance. Anthony Wong is his same reliable self and Chapman To again provides comic relieve (seems like he is typecast now).
The movie did not follow its inspiration, the manga. Even though Jay Chow's character is low-key and mild-mannered already, in the manga the character is even more mild-mannered and even less intense. In the manga, the dad seemed to be more responsible and nicer. That does not matter though, because the races are entertaining enough. That is one of two reason why people pack the theaters to see it. The other reason? Jay Chow. Do not underestimate his draw power. This guy is an idol in Asia. Whatever he do is gold.
This film is made for entertainment purposes. No depth. No plot. Just watch it and have a good time.
7/10, because it is entertaining. Take that out, a 4.
Jay Chow was pretty good for his first starring role. He gave a believable performance. Anthony Wong is his same reliable self and Chapman To again provides comic relieve (seems like he is typecast now).
The movie did not follow its inspiration, the manga. Even though Jay Chow's character is low-key and mild-mannered already, in the manga the character is even more mild-mannered and even less intense. In the manga, the dad seemed to be more responsible and nicer. That does not matter though, because the races are entertaining enough. That is one of two reason why people pack the theaters to see it. The other reason? Jay Chow. Do not underestimate his draw power. This guy is an idol in Asia. Whatever he do is gold.
This film is made for entertainment purposes. No depth. No plot. Just watch it and have a good time.
7/10, because it is entertaining. Take that out, a 4.
Initial D
phubbs22 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Based on the highly popular Japanese manga/anime series this Hong Kong made movie clearly took some ideas from the earlier smash hit American movie 'The Fast and the Furious'. Despite the whole concept of illegal street racing generally being a word wide thing its always been a popular icon in American and Japanese pop culture/culture. The concept of drifting (drift racing) is originally an entirely Japanese form of illegal racing which involves racing down and through tight mountain passes or simple tight narrow winding roads. This movie is centred on drift racing (as was the source material) and will feel very similar to 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift', so if you enjoyed that you'll like this.
The plot is obvious and the usual thing for this type of movie. A young tofu delivering teen is the undisputed king of the mountain when it comes to drifting, he learnt everything he knows from his racing guru of a father...who for comedic purposes is a drunk. His fame for drifting gets noticed by various other racer gangs/teams and he is challenged at various points throughout until he must face some stiff competition at the end. During all this racing drama there is of course the drama of reality with a girlfriend, his best mate who also wants to race, the car breaking down, his father etc...the usual boyracer issues.
Lets be brutally honest here...this movie is basically a Fast and Furious movie set in Japan, its virtually an extension to Tokyo Drift. Everything plays out as you'd expect, the characters are all clichéd and cheesy (I love the Japanese black leather wearing gang racers with bandanas and dreads), the races are of course predictable and you know what's gonna happen at every turn (pun intended). What makes it a bit unique is the simple fact its set in Japan, a very picturesque prefecture, it feels more realistic being in Japanese (subs) and the race sequences are gritty looking.
In that sense the movie is better than its US counterparts (just like Tokyo Drift is the best of the 'FnF' franchise). The racing is very impressive and very realistic with genuine drifting stunts on genuine tight twisty roads in Japan. Again I must stress its nothing you haven't seen before of course, not anymore, but it looks really solid. There is little fanfare here either, the races are merely two average looking modded ricers, a few drably dressed onlookers, the hero is also pretty drab himself and there are little to no special effects bar the odd zooming through the car interior and a hint of internal engine tomfoolery. Expect lots of slow motion replays, tight camera angles on the cars, flybys, close-ups on pedals and speedometers, grimacing facial close-ups etc...all regular racing clichés.
There are no semi-naked females in ultra tight skimpy attire, no boom boxes blaring out rap tunage, no heavily blinged up chavy patrons, no heavily pimped up stupid looking cars, no muscles covered in tattoos blah blah blah. This is very down to earth and grounded, Japanese teens are incredibly sensible and well dressed compared to teens elsewhere. Its actually amusing to see them try and be rebellious because they just end up looking like preppy school kids dressed badly.
As I already said the cars are not luminous monstrosities scraping the tarmac polluting the air with hip hop and with the kind of body kits you'd see being used for a glider. Nope...what I loved about this movie was the use of straight up ricers with little gloss but plenty of real muscle. Naturally we see the glorious GT-R, a lovely Mazda RX-7, a stunning Evo IV and the plucky little Toyota Sprinter Trueno that is taken faithfully from the manga series. In the manga series the Toyota is apparently unmodified but in this movie it does seem to be somewhat with suspension and the odd bits n bobs. There are quite a few inevitable changes from the source material to this movie and one appears to be the absence of how Takumi's father does a Mr Miyagi and slowly teaches him how to become a top drifter/racer without him even realising whilst he delivers his tofu. In this movie you do get a hint of that but it seems as though Takumi knows he's being taught which takes away the sparkle.
Watching this now it feels very very very hokey I won't deny, its cringeworthy in places its so damn corny. Plus the rush in street racing flicks has flooded the market so the originality is long gone. Like I said the locations work nicely and will really get Jap super saloon fanboys excited and the cast is solid despite a weak performance from lead star Jay Chou as Takumi...he's hardly much to look at either. Chapman To is easily the best thing cast wise with his chubby bumbling over the top comedic display combined with that odd haircut, he does boost the movie which would of been too dull in places without him. The movie ends on a bit of a flat note I think but other than that its a decent street racer flick which should satisfy anyone who likes this sort of thing. Still not too sure why the franchise is called 'Initial D'.
6/10
The plot is obvious and the usual thing for this type of movie. A young tofu delivering teen is the undisputed king of the mountain when it comes to drifting, he learnt everything he knows from his racing guru of a father...who for comedic purposes is a drunk. His fame for drifting gets noticed by various other racer gangs/teams and he is challenged at various points throughout until he must face some stiff competition at the end. During all this racing drama there is of course the drama of reality with a girlfriend, his best mate who also wants to race, the car breaking down, his father etc...the usual boyracer issues.
Lets be brutally honest here...this movie is basically a Fast and Furious movie set in Japan, its virtually an extension to Tokyo Drift. Everything plays out as you'd expect, the characters are all clichéd and cheesy (I love the Japanese black leather wearing gang racers with bandanas and dreads), the races are of course predictable and you know what's gonna happen at every turn (pun intended). What makes it a bit unique is the simple fact its set in Japan, a very picturesque prefecture, it feels more realistic being in Japanese (subs) and the race sequences are gritty looking.
In that sense the movie is better than its US counterparts (just like Tokyo Drift is the best of the 'FnF' franchise). The racing is very impressive and very realistic with genuine drifting stunts on genuine tight twisty roads in Japan. Again I must stress its nothing you haven't seen before of course, not anymore, but it looks really solid. There is little fanfare here either, the races are merely two average looking modded ricers, a few drably dressed onlookers, the hero is also pretty drab himself and there are little to no special effects bar the odd zooming through the car interior and a hint of internal engine tomfoolery. Expect lots of slow motion replays, tight camera angles on the cars, flybys, close-ups on pedals and speedometers, grimacing facial close-ups etc...all regular racing clichés.
There are no semi-naked females in ultra tight skimpy attire, no boom boxes blaring out rap tunage, no heavily blinged up chavy patrons, no heavily pimped up stupid looking cars, no muscles covered in tattoos blah blah blah. This is very down to earth and grounded, Japanese teens are incredibly sensible and well dressed compared to teens elsewhere. Its actually amusing to see them try and be rebellious because they just end up looking like preppy school kids dressed badly.
As I already said the cars are not luminous monstrosities scraping the tarmac polluting the air with hip hop and with the kind of body kits you'd see being used for a glider. Nope...what I loved about this movie was the use of straight up ricers with little gloss but plenty of real muscle. Naturally we see the glorious GT-R, a lovely Mazda RX-7, a stunning Evo IV and the plucky little Toyota Sprinter Trueno that is taken faithfully from the manga series. In the manga series the Toyota is apparently unmodified but in this movie it does seem to be somewhat with suspension and the odd bits n bobs. There are quite a few inevitable changes from the source material to this movie and one appears to be the absence of how Takumi's father does a Mr Miyagi and slowly teaches him how to become a top drifter/racer without him even realising whilst he delivers his tofu. In this movie you do get a hint of that but it seems as though Takumi knows he's being taught which takes away the sparkle.
Watching this now it feels very very very hokey I won't deny, its cringeworthy in places its so damn corny. Plus the rush in street racing flicks has flooded the market so the originality is long gone. Like I said the locations work nicely and will really get Jap super saloon fanboys excited and the cast is solid despite a weak performance from lead star Jay Chou as Takumi...he's hardly much to look at either. Chapman To is easily the best thing cast wise with his chubby bumbling over the top comedic display combined with that odd haircut, he does boost the movie which would of been too dull in places without him. The movie ends on a bit of a flat note I think but other than that its a decent street racer flick which should satisfy anyone who likes this sort of thing. Still not too sure why the franchise is called 'Initial D'.
6/10
I want to punch the screenwriter responsible for this
carlsob11 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I realize adapting and compressing a long-running comic and anime series into about 2 hours requires some cuts and changes, but this result of a film is vomit-inducing.
My biggest issue in this movie comes with the writing--characters have been completely changed in terms of abilities, personality, and relationships (This is where the possible spoilers come in, I NEED to list some of these things to warn you). The filmmakers expect fans to believe the following changes:
1. Keisuke apparently doesn't exist, Takeshi Nakazato takes his place in collaborating with Ryosuke on street races.
2. Itsuki is the leader of the speed stars team, and he drives a Silvia S13 (Iketani's car!). At least Itsuki still can't drive worth anything.
3. In the film version, Itsuki is Yuichi's son, acting like a whiny rich kid.
4. Bunta abuses and threatens his son on multiple occasions when Takumi bangs up the car.
5. Bunta also explains to Yuichi that the reason Takumi began doing deliveries is because his hemorrhoids were killing him. Flat-out dumb.
6. Takumi blows the engine on the AE86 while racing team emperor's leader ON AN AKINA DOWNHILL RUN. In the comic and anime, he never lost on Akina! And he grenades the engine before he learns of Natsuki's profession, so he's not even angry when it happens.
The direction and editing of this movie is all over the place, as well. When the cars are racing, there are some sweet camera choices and your pulse gets moving a bit. But when the drivers are shown, there's too much use of splitting the screen to show two or three close-ups at once. The movie also apparently didn't have the budget to actually show any of the cars crashing--each time, the car slides through a flimsy barrier or sign and the view cuts to black. When the action stops, it gets worse. Slow motion at all the wrong times, sloppy cuts, and a slow pace all slap the audience in the face. The only high point is the drifting work was pretty good at times for running through hairpins on the mountain passes. Aside from that, I wish I never knew this movie existed. I love the series even more because it doesn't make these horrible story choices.
My biggest issue in this movie comes with the writing--characters have been completely changed in terms of abilities, personality, and relationships (This is where the possible spoilers come in, I NEED to list some of these things to warn you). The filmmakers expect fans to believe the following changes:
1. Keisuke apparently doesn't exist, Takeshi Nakazato takes his place in collaborating with Ryosuke on street races.
2. Itsuki is the leader of the speed stars team, and he drives a Silvia S13 (Iketani's car!). At least Itsuki still can't drive worth anything.
3. In the film version, Itsuki is Yuichi's son, acting like a whiny rich kid.
4. Bunta abuses and threatens his son on multiple occasions when Takumi bangs up the car.
5. Bunta also explains to Yuichi that the reason Takumi began doing deliveries is because his hemorrhoids were killing him. Flat-out dumb.
6. Takumi blows the engine on the AE86 while racing team emperor's leader ON AN AKINA DOWNHILL RUN. In the comic and anime, he never lost on Akina! And he grenades the engine before he learns of Natsuki's profession, so he's not even angry when it happens.
The direction and editing of this movie is all over the place, as well. When the cars are racing, there are some sweet camera choices and your pulse gets moving a bit. But when the drivers are shown, there's too much use of splitting the screen to show two or three close-ups at once. The movie also apparently didn't have the budget to actually show any of the cars crashing--each time, the car slides through a flimsy barrier or sign and the view cuts to black. When the action stops, it gets worse. Slow motion at all the wrong times, sloppy cuts, and a slow pace all slap the audience in the face. The only high point is the drifting work was pretty good at times for running through hairpins on the mountain passes. Aside from that, I wish I never knew this movie existed. I love the series even more because it doesn't make these horrible story choices.
A Nutshell Review: Initial D
DICK STEEL23 June 2005
Just to set the expectations from this review, I have not read the Initial D manga, nor watched any of the anime. Therefore this review's point of view will be from the cinematic experience, and there will be no comparison on how true it stays to the manga/anime.
Despite all the star power in the film, from teeny boppers Edison Chen and Shawn Yue, to veterans Kenny Bee and Anthony Wong, this still remains a Jay Chou vehicle (pardon the pun). Jay stars as a petrol pump attendant who by day works at a petrol kiosk, and in the wee hours of the night, helps his tofu selling dad deliver tofu in an old Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno using a route that traverses along a winding Mount Akina.
Naturally, with his 5 years experience, he intimately knows the terrain, and gets faster each time, until a group of street racers set their sights to conquer the route.
There will definitely be comparisons with Hollywood's The Fast and The Furious series, starring Vin Diesel/Paul Walker. The similarities are there - the fast cars, the beautiful racer babes, the rivalry between arrogant drivers. You even get the same cinematography technique used that starts from the driver's POV, pulling back to the dashboard, the rear seat, the boot, and the car from a "helicopter" view.
But what sets this film apart is the way it is delivered. Being based on a comic book offers some depth to the storyline, and it helped by staying true to the setting, being based in Japan and not HK. The races in itself might seem repetitive, as the highlight seemed to be focused on its title - the "drift" technique, being used ad-nausem, but having different drivers challenge each other on the one and only route breaks the monotony as you root for your favourite to come out tops.
Given this is Jay Chou's debut movie role, it is difficult to critique if his acting skills are up to mark, as his lead character Takumi Fujiwara is a nonchalant man of few words. Which is very much like his persona. His co-stars Edison Chen and Shawn Yue could very well be their own persons as well. Chapman To, as usual, brings across the rather light hearted moments, and Anthony Wong as Chou's dad, a veteran race ace who finds solace in the bottle and having a penchant for dozing off.
Perhaps the only flaw about the movie was the sappy romance between Jay and his Japanese co-star. Not that she isn't gorgeous (which is a saving grace), but their scenes together doesn't further the plot much, and slows down the pace somewhat of this movie about the need for speed.
This is an enjoyable flick, one in which I waited for the theme song / tune to be featured (only at the end credits!). But no, I don't think I will be converted to a Jay Chou fan boy anytime soon.
I suspect that in the upcoming weeks, we probably might see parallel imports / makes of the Trueno on our shores to satisfy the racer boy wannabes (heard Singapore only has 2?), although it probably can't run as fast as in the movies (movie magic lah). And yeah, the driving with one hand on the wheel and the other on the face, with the contemplating look.
Despite all the star power in the film, from teeny boppers Edison Chen and Shawn Yue, to veterans Kenny Bee and Anthony Wong, this still remains a Jay Chou vehicle (pardon the pun). Jay stars as a petrol pump attendant who by day works at a petrol kiosk, and in the wee hours of the night, helps his tofu selling dad deliver tofu in an old Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno using a route that traverses along a winding Mount Akina.
Naturally, with his 5 years experience, he intimately knows the terrain, and gets faster each time, until a group of street racers set their sights to conquer the route.
There will definitely be comparisons with Hollywood's The Fast and The Furious series, starring Vin Diesel/Paul Walker. The similarities are there - the fast cars, the beautiful racer babes, the rivalry between arrogant drivers. You even get the same cinematography technique used that starts from the driver's POV, pulling back to the dashboard, the rear seat, the boot, and the car from a "helicopter" view.
But what sets this film apart is the way it is delivered. Being based on a comic book offers some depth to the storyline, and it helped by staying true to the setting, being based in Japan and not HK. The races in itself might seem repetitive, as the highlight seemed to be focused on its title - the "drift" technique, being used ad-nausem, but having different drivers challenge each other on the one and only route breaks the monotony as you root for your favourite to come out tops.
Given this is Jay Chou's debut movie role, it is difficult to critique if his acting skills are up to mark, as his lead character Takumi Fujiwara is a nonchalant man of few words. Which is very much like his persona. His co-stars Edison Chen and Shawn Yue could very well be their own persons as well. Chapman To, as usual, brings across the rather light hearted moments, and Anthony Wong as Chou's dad, a veteran race ace who finds solace in the bottle and having a penchant for dozing off.
Perhaps the only flaw about the movie was the sappy romance between Jay and his Japanese co-star. Not that she isn't gorgeous (which is a saving grace), but their scenes together doesn't further the plot much, and slows down the pace somewhat of this movie about the need for speed.
This is an enjoyable flick, one in which I waited for the theme song / tune to be featured (only at the end credits!). But no, I don't think I will be converted to a Jay Chou fan boy anytime soon.
I suspect that in the upcoming weeks, we probably might see parallel imports / makes of the Trueno on our shores to satisfy the racer boy wannabes (heard Singapore only has 2?), although it probably can't run as fast as in the movies (movie magic lah). And yeah, the driving with one hand on the wheel and the other on the face, with the contemplating look.
Initial D: Drift Racer
Tweekums28 October 2019
This film, based on a Manga, is centred on Takumi Fujiwara and eighteen year old who delivers tofu for his father, a drunken ex-racer. This involves driving along the roads on Mount Akina that are popular with street racers. He has been driving the route since he was thirteen and can drive as fast as the racers. He also works at a local garage, which is owned by the father of his friend Itsuki. Itsuki aspires to be a racer but doesn't have Takumi's natural abilities. As the racers see Takumi's skills they naturally want to race him. Away from the cars Takumi is smitten with Natsuki, a girl in his class.
I must admit that I haven't read the manga or watched the anime version so viewed this film as a stand-alone work. The story is relatively simple but none the worse for that; it delivers where it counts and that is the thrilling races down a winding mountain road. These are filmed in a way that makes them feel real and thus exciting. As well as excitement there are plenty of laughs; mostly provided by Itsuki. Not too much of a problem but in many ways this feels like an origins story as we learn how Takumi is drawn into the world of racing; when it was over it felt like there was more to come. The subplot involving Natsuki was a bit of a distraction but not too much of one. I rather liked the fact that there was no obvious antagonist beyond a racer who is a bit rude to Takumi and Itsuki. The cast does a solid job making their characters believable and fun to watch; it was easy to forget that they were mostly Chinese actors playing Japanese... of course not speaking either language may have helped there! Overall well worth a watch if you enjoy exciting car based action set in an impressive location.
These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles and the original music soundtrack.
I must admit that I haven't read the manga or watched the anime version so viewed this film as a stand-alone work. The story is relatively simple but none the worse for that; it delivers where it counts and that is the thrilling races down a winding mountain road. These are filmed in a way that makes them feel real and thus exciting. As well as excitement there are plenty of laughs; mostly provided by Itsuki. Not too much of a problem but in many ways this feels like an origins story as we learn how Takumi is drawn into the world of racing; when it was over it felt like there was more to come. The subplot involving Natsuki was a bit of a distraction but not too much of one. I rather liked the fact that there was no obvious antagonist beyond a racer who is a bit rude to Takumi and Itsuki. The cast does a solid job making their characters believable and fun to watch; it was easy to forget that they were mostly Chinese actors playing Japanese... of course not speaking either language may have helped there! Overall well worth a watch if you enjoy exciting car based action set in an impressive location.
These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles and the original music soundtrack.
Bad for Initial D fans!
Fumbled10 April 2008
Of course I had to watch this movie since I was a big Initial D fan. I had high hopes when watching the opening scene where Jay Chou's character is effortlessly gliding down the mountain pass in his Trueno. That was the best part of the movie unfortunately.
Let's talk about the good first. The car scenes are pretty fun to watch sometimes. In many of the scenes they'll hug a turn on the inside and let the rear slide out and overtake the opponent. It's pretty fun to watch and you just have to wonder who the stunt men are or if they brought in Japanese drift legend, Tsuchiya on to the set for some of these shots.
Unfortunately that's the only thing that is good about this movie. Let's talk about the bad now. The characters are two dimensional. If you are a fan of the anime you will not find your beloved characters here. Jay Chou does a pretty bad job as the protagonist. I feel like he's always mumbling out his lines or is just wondering why he isn't doing the music video yet. Also, let's talk about his friends. They're morons. His best friend Itsuki is more of a raving idiot than his anime counterpart would ever hope to be. In the anime, this character talks about trying to get better and having Takumi as his inspiration. In the movie, this character talks about how he's a racing god and when he loses and wrecks he asks his poor father to buy him an even faster car (GTR) so that he can rematch and wreck that one too. Takumi's father is also a drunk and a bum. Also he is abusive. He beats his son and Jay Chou has scars on his back from all the beatings. I don't know what they were thinking by making him an abusive drunkard since obviously from the original material he was never one. Obviously, you can tell from what I'm writing here that the director probably never watched an episode of Initial D in his life.
I find the camera work to be also crappy and low budget. There are lots of scenes where they freeze the frame and you are left thinking "did something happen to my DVD player?" Nope. That's their creative take on racing. To freeze the scene even when it's a person's face talking. Then there's the music. Nothing in the movie was good except for Jay Chou's song. The racing scenes have music that sounds like a background track for a rap battle without the rapping. If you're a fan of the anime don't expect to hear your favorite eurobeat tracks or Move songs.
Overall I was bored, only paid attention during the races and got utterly perplexed by the ridiculous ending sequence where the people are celebrating. The other team and even his abusive father who has his arms around two young girls start cheering. Also I'd like to point out that not only is a 3 car race unfair, I've never seen a race with 3 cars in Initial D or any mountain race scene in any movie!
Next time try not to squeeze so much crap in.
Let's talk about the good first. The car scenes are pretty fun to watch sometimes. In many of the scenes they'll hug a turn on the inside and let the rear slide out and overtake the opponent. It's pretty fun to watch and you just have to wonder who the stunt men are or if they brought in Japanese drift legend, Tsuchiya on to the set for some of these shots.
Unfortunately that's the only thing that is good about this movie. Let's talk about the bad now. The characters are two dimensional. If you are a fan of the anime you will not find your beloved characters here. Jay Chou does a pretty bad job as the protagonist. I feel like he's always mumbling out his lines or is just wondering why he isn't doing the music video yet. Also, let's talk about his friends. They're morons. His best friend Itsuki is more of a raving idiot than his anime counterpart would ever hope to be. In the anime, this character talks about trying to get better and having Takumi as his inspiration. In the movie, this character talks about how he's a racing god and when he loses and wrecks he asks his poor father to buy him an even faster car (GTR) so that he can rematch and wreck that one too. Takumi's father is also a drunk and a bum. Also he is abusive. He beats his son and Jay Chou has scars on his back from all the beatings. I don't know what they were thinking by making him an abusive drunkard since obviously from the original material he was never one. Obviously, you can tell from what I'm writing here that the director probably never watched an episode of Initial D in his life.
I find the camera work to be also crappy and low budget. There are lots of scenes where they freeze the frame and you are left thinking "did something happen to my DVD player?" Nope. That's their creative take on racing. To freeze the scene even when it's a person's face talking. Then there's the music. Nothing in the movie was good except for Jay Chou's song. The racing scenes have music that sounds like a background track for a rap battle without the rapping. If you're a fan of the anime don't expect to hear your favorite eurobeat tracks or Move songs.
Overall I was bored, only paid attention during the races and got utterly perplexed by the ridiculous ending sequence where the people are celebrating. The other team and even his abusive father who has his arms around two young girls start cheering. Also I'd like to point out that not only is a 3 car race unfair, I've never seen a race with 3 cars in Initial D or any mountain race scene in any movie!
Next time try not to squeeze so much crap in.
Great car racing and drifts, cute actors, who wants more?
vivisi7 September 2005
I haven't read any Initial D manga, and frankly, hadn't heard of it until a friend asked to watch this movie, thus cannot comment on the accuracy of the story.
But after watching the movie for the 10th time, I can freely say the movie is a must-see for car lovers, and goes beyond Hollywood fake races, which makes speed and fancy cars seem more important than the driver's ability. The actors did a great job, too, specially Bunta Fujiwara (Takumi's father), who plays hilarious scenes.
Not to mention the Soundtrack, which is great add to the competition scenes.
But after watching the movie for the 10th time, I can freely say the movie is a must-see for car lovers, and goes beyond Hollywood fake races, which makes speed and fancy cars seem more important than the driver's ability. The actors did a great job, too, specially Bunta Fujiwara (Takumi's father), who plays hilarious scenes.
Not to mention the Soundtrack, which is great add to the competition scenes.
Ordinary
Project_28 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This is perhaps a good example of the direction Hong Kong film has gone in recent years. Being a fan of the anime series, it is inevitable that I will draw comparison to it, so let's get that out of the way. (If you've never seen the anime or read the manga, ignore the next paragraph!).
My first big sticking point is the exception of several key recurring characters; where has Keisuke and his yellow RX-7 gone? The rest of the NightKids and Speedstars? There's a RedSuns sticker on Ryousuke's car but there's no team there! This has the result of cutting two seasons of anime into a short movie, leaving little room for a sequel. The characters and relationships themselves have changed beyond recognition. When was Bunta ever a drunk idiot? I don't remember Yuuichi being Itsuki's father? Or Ryousuke being so cocky or that he was ever a smoker (he's meant to be in medical school!) or was so friendly with Takeshi? Or that they ever ran three car races? The list is infinite, so I'll just leave it there.
Firstly, the mixed bag: actor choices. Jay Chou playing the main character is the most debatable. Being Taiwanese and naturally Mandarin speaking, he makes an attempt at the Cantonese translation, but valiantly fails. Cantonese speakers like myself can clearly tell his tone and accent is too far out of place around the other naturally Cantonese speaking actors. Even worse is that his girlfriend is Japanese, and her lines are clearly dubbed. There is absolutely no chemistry between them, and he reacts like a cold dead fish to her advances. No offence, but she isn't all that great looking either.
The art-house look camera work is generally well done, most of the time giving the film a unique (though common) style, but sometimes it makes the scene and shot transitions confusing. The best part of the movie is clearly the racing scenes; none of this straight line drag 'The Fast and the Furious' business with riced up cars or speeded up replays of cars driving at normal speed 'Legend of Speed' style. There is clearly real driving skill shown on the actual mountain passes in Japan (compliments to the stunt drivers!).
In terms of the acting, Jay Chou tries his best to emulate Takumi's sleepyness, but the 'driving with one hand and the other on the face look' clearly adds nothing except to show what a couple of the audience may be doing. As for the rest, they try to work with the little substance actually present. Anthony Wong plays what he is asked and does it with his usual flair, Shawn Yue does an excellent job in the interpretation of his character, and Jordan Chan plays his terribly dressed antagonist with his effective silence.
Unfortunately the entire film has the feeling of being dumbed down and is clearly made as one of those films where the audience wants to copy its image; from the incessant slang and constantly unneeded swearing (there has never been a conversational expletive in the anime!), the need for everyone to smoke, the excessive sexual innuendo; some of the humour is effective but the more adult jokes and language clearly makes it not family friendly. This isn't something that should really be seen by its target age brackets.
To sum up: average acting, bad plot, but excellent race scenes: 6.2/10
My first big sticking point is the exception of several key recurring characters; where has Keisuke and his yellow RX-7 gone? The rest of the NightKids and Speedstars? There's a RedSuns sticker on Ryousuke's car but there's no team there! This has the result of cutting two seasons of anime into a short movie, leaving little room for a sequel. The characters and relationships themselves have changed beyond recognition. When was Bunta ever a drunk idiot? I don't remember Yuuichi being Itsuki's father? Or Ryousuke being so cocky or that he was ever a smoker (he's meant to be in medical school!) or was so friendly with Takeshi? Or that they ever ran three car races? The list is infinite, so I'll just leave it there.
Firstly, the mixed bag: actor choices. Jay Chou playing the main character is the most debatable. Being Taiwanese and naturally Mandarin speaking, he makes an attempt at the Cantonese translation, but valiantly fails. Cantonese speakers like myself can clearly tell his tone and accent is too far out of place around the other naturally Cantonese speaking actors. Even worse is that his girlfriend is Japanese, and her lines are clearly dubbed. There is absolutely no chemistry between them, and he reacts like a cold dead fish to her advances. No offence, but she isn't all that great looking either.
The art-house look camera work is generally well done, most of the time giving the film a unique (though common) style, but sometimes it makes the scene and shot transitions confusing. The best part of the movie is clearly the racing scenes; none of this straight line drag 'The Fast and the Furious' business with riced up cars or speeded up replays of cars driving at normal speed 'Legend of Speed' style. There is clearly real driving skill shown on the actual mountain passes in Japan (compliments to the stunt drivers!).
In terms of the acting, Jay Chou tries his best to emulate Takumi's sleepyness, but the 'driving with one hand and the other on the face look' clearly adds nothing except to show what a couple of the audience may be doing. As for the rest, they try to work with the little substance actually present. Anthony Wong plays what he is asked and does it with his usual flair, Shawn Yue does an excellent job in the interpretation of his character, and Jordan Chan plays his terribly dressed antagonist with his effective silence.
Unfortunately the entire film has the feeling of being dumbed down and is clearly made as one of those films where the audience wants to copy its image; from the incessant slang and constantly unneeded swearing (there has never been a conversational expletive in the anime!), the need for everyone to smoke, the excessive sexual innuendo; some of the humour is effective but the more adult jokes and language clearly makes it not family friendly. This isn't something that should really be seen by its target age brackets.
To sum up: average acting, bad plot, but excellent race scenes: 6.2/10
a total waste of electricity to watch
crack_spot16 July 2005
I don't know about all the other reviewers, but I have been an avid follower of this animation since the beginning. To begin with, I d say that this director n everyone involved in the making of this movie has no idea whatsoever about the legacy of original story. Where shall I begin...... any movie you see with an all-star cast means only one thing; publicity without any depth in the film.
While I applause the director's effort of trying to imitate some of the out of this world angles used in the animation, there is nothing in this film which suggests it has been properly written or related to the original drawings of the manga writer himself.
An all star Hong Kong cast (except Anne Suzuki) + venue in Japan + actors and actresses speaking in 3 different languages (which eventually was dubbed) is weird enough and to spice up the ridiculous plot, the Hongkies made Takumi's father a drunk and a child abuser. Totally revolting and disgrace how they bought the rights and twisted the whole plot into a circus act.
Takumi (played by Jay Chow) plays the easiest act, showing his emotionless corpse now and then in the film. Only positive thing about him is that he bears some resemblance to the Takumi in the Japanese animation. Ryousuke Takahashi played by Edison Chen lacks the vibe and aura which makes him stand out as a great leader as well as driver. All he had with him is a bunch of mechanics, a van and a laptop. Finally, the biggest mistake was the Itsuki Tachibana character, played by Chapman To which is obnoxious and shallow. The problem in this film is that the moron who casted all these people i this film felt it was alright for them to act out what they have been doing in all other movies. So before you watch this movie, close your eyes and imagine all Chapman To's movies and you will know what I am saying. If I hadn't known better, I thought Itsuki Tachibana (Chapman To) was the lead because he was the loudest and the director paid too much time in his character developing which is totally unnecessary.
I felt ashamed knowing I once admired the director and he screwed up such a beautiful and exciting story and the fact that I was a big Initial D fan didn't help. To make matters worse, Itsuki Tachibana was the petrol kiosk owner's son (wtf?!!!!!). I know it is unfair to expect a good storyline in a 2-hour film from a four staged animation / manga which spanned more than 8 years to created, but other films have done it before with great success (i.e ichi the killer, spiderman, lord of the rings).
The only good thing about this film is that the cars are made to resemble the ones in manga and animation, and that s just as much excitement you will get. Car races shows no formula or tactics so there isn't much connection or man-to-car relationship in this one. Just pure luck rather than skill. Kyouichi Sudou (from Emperor team) might look arrogant and over-confident, but his skills are well-timed and counted for and his experiences are matched by only the best drivers. So to see him irrationally trying to overtake 2 cars after being warned that there is an incoming vehicle and then crashing top-sided beggars belief. If you watch the film very carefully, you would realize that all the director is interested in is the fact that takumi won all his races. No time given on how the races build up to the end where usually our hearts would be pounding trying to figure out what Takumi's next super trick would be.
NOTE TO MUSIC PRODUCER: FIND ANOTHER JOB, YOU BOUGHT YOUR DEGREE FROM A COCK-EYED BUTCHER IN KOWLOON. One of the most important elements in Initial D animation is the music. No arguments there. Tracks such as Around the world, Forever Young and No One sleeps in Tokyo still linger in our head long after we watched the animation. Great beats like those kept us glued to the story as well as the action. In this Hong Kong movie, they got a 85-year old man with a chronic herpes beating the drums at the studio while recording. So throughout this film, you will hear a same dull beat. Makes you think that the beats are just placed there as a requirement rather than a catalyst to the car races.
Finally, would I recommend anyone to watch this film? Let s just put it this way: I would rather have a hot iron with the words 'I am Freddy Mercury's Bitch' up my ass than to go through this crap again.
While I applause the director's effort of trying to imitate some of the out of this world angles used in the animation, there is nothing in this film which suggests it has been properly written or related to the original drawings of the manga writer himself.
An all star Hong Kong cast (except Anne Suzuki) + venue in Japan + actors and actresses speaking in 3 different languages (which eventually was dubbed) is weird enough and to spice up the ridiculous plot, the Hongkies made Takumi's father a drunk and a child abuser. Totally revolting and disgrace how they bought the rights and twisted the whole plot into a circus act.
Takumi (played by Jay Chow) plays the easiest act, showing his emotionless corpse now and then in the film. Only positive thing about him is that he bears some resemblance to the Takumi in the Japanese animation. Ryousuke Takahashi played by Edison Chen lacks the vibe and aura which makes him stand out as a great leader as well as driver. All he had with him is a bunch of mechanics, a van and a laptop. Finally, the biggest mistake was the Itsuki Tachibana character, played by Chapman To which is obnoxious and shallow. The problem in this film is that the moron who casted all these people i this film felt it was alright for them to act out what they have been doing in all other movies. So before you watch this movie, close your eyes and imagine all Chapman To's movies and you will know what I am saying. If I hadn't known better, I thought Itsuki Tachibana (Chapman To) was the lead because he was the loudest and the director paid too much time in his character developing which is totally unnecessary.
I felt ashamed knowing I once admired the director and he screwed up such a beautiful and exciting story and the fact that I was a big Initial D fan didn't help. To make matters worse, Itsuki Tachibana was the petrol kiosk owner's son (wtf?!!!!!). I know it is unfair to expect a good storyline in a 2-hour film from a four staged animation / manga which spanned more than 8 years to created, but other films have done it before with great success (i.e ichi the killer, spiderman, lord of the rings).
The only good thing about this film is that the cars are made to resemble the ones in manga and animation, and that s just as much excitement you will get. Car races shows no formula or tactics so there isn't much connection or man-to-car relationship in this one. Just pure luck rather than skill. Kyouichi Sudou (from Emperor team) might look arrogant and over-confident, but his skills are well-timed and counted for and his experiences are matched by only the best drivers. So to see him irrationally trying to overtake 2 cars after being warned that there is an incoming vehicle and then crashing top-sided beggars belief. If you watch the film very carefully, you would realize that all the director is interested in is the fact that takumi won all his races. No time given on how the races build up to the end where usually our hearts would be pounding trying to figure out what Takumi's next super trick would be.
NOTE TO MUSIC PRODUCER: FIND ANOTHER JOB, YOU BOUGHT YOUR DEGREE FROM A COCK-EYED BUTCHER IN KOWLOON. One of the most important elements in Initial D animation is the music. No arguments there. Tracks such as Around the world, Forever Young and No One sleeps in Tokyo still linger in our head long after we watched the animation. Great beats like those kept us glued to the story as well as the action. In this Hong Kong movie, they got a 85-year old man with a chronic herpes beating the drums at the studio while recording. So throughout this film, you will hear a same dull beat. Makes you think that the beats are just placed there as a requirement rather than a catalyst to the car races.
Finally, would I recommend anyone to watch this film? Let s just put it this way: I would rather have a hot iron with the words 'I am Freddy Mercury's Bitch' up my ass than to go through this crap again.
motion, NO EMOTION
superic8k7 July 2005
Warning: Spoilers
---INITIAL D MOVIE REVIEW --- after watching this movie.. i am not going to blame any actors or actresses. the MAIN PROBLEM here is the director and the story.
---THE FILM--- the director made great camera shots and great visual effects. the motions of the racings are amazing. however, it lacks the MOST IMPORTANT thing in a "MASTERPIECE" movie. which is "EMOTION"..
there was basically no emotion in this film. and it really wasn't because of the actors. the director's timing was very bad. in the anime Initial D, the pace of the music and the scenes are just so perfect. when AE86 is about to pass every opponent, it goes to slow motion of the opponent's reaction.. and as AE86 passed its opponent, the speed resumes to normal as the music (Eurobeat is needed here...) HITS and that just burns you up!!!
anyways, with that.. the movie already cannot become a masterpiece. i m very disappointed because the director actually directed "Infernal Affairs", an ultimate masterpiece...
---STORY--- the 2nd thing that makes this movie not "entertaining" is the STORY. it is way too predictable if you have already seen Initial D the anime. they should either USE the exact story (which is amazing) OR they should rewrite the whole thing instead of just tweaking here and there adding some unneeded stuffs. plus, the movie is too short to FIT the whole Initial D story... things just don't connect. they're like little pieces of scenes just put together with no reason. they really should have rewrite the whole thing.
BTW, the missing of Takashi Keiske is a major turn off too...
---CONCLUSION--- I believe the Jay Chou fans would enjoy this movie just for the fact that he's the main character here. If you are searching for entertainment, it probably wont give u a GREAT time... If you are searching for a deep thought movie that will teach you lessons, then this is exactly NOT it... Lastly, to the Initial D Fans, I believe you will be VERY DISAPPOINTED.
Final Grade: C+/B- ("A" if you're just looking for Jay Chou)
---THE FILM--- the director made great camera shots and great visual effects. the motions of the racings are amazing. however, it lacks the MOST IMPORTANT thing in a "MASTERPIECE" movie. which is "EMOTION"..
there was basically no emotion in this film. and it really wasn't because of the actors. the director's timing was very bad. in the anime Initial D, the pace of the music and the scenes are just so perfect. when AE86 is about to pass every opponent, it goes to slow motion of the opponent's reaction.. and as AE86 passed its opponent, the speed resumes to normal as the music (Eurobeat is needed here...) HITS and that just burns you up!!!
anyways, with that.. the movie already cannot become a masterpiece. i m very disappointed because the director actually directed "Infernal Affairs", an ultimate masterpiece...
---STORY--- the 2nd thing that makes this movie not "entertaining" is the STORY. it is way too predictable if you have already seen Initial D the anime. they should either USE the exact story (which is amazing) OR they should rewrite the whole thing instead of just tweaking here and there adding some unneeded stuffs. plus, the movie is too short to FIT the whole Initial D story... things just don't connect. they're like little pieces of scenes just put together with no reason. they really should have rewrite the whole thing.
BTW, the missing of Takashi Keiske is a major turn off too...
---CONCLUSION--- I believe the Jay Chou fans would enjoy this movie just for the fact that he's the main character here. If you are searching for entertainment, it probably wont give u a GREAT time... If you are searching for a deep thought movie that will teach you lessons, then this is exactly NOT it... Lastly, to the Initial D Fans, I believe you will be VERY DISAPPOINTED.
Final Grade: C+/B- ("A" if you're just looking for Jay Chou)
Street racing footage was excellent, but for whom is this film intended ?
ideasputtowork11 June 2006
Anyone desiring some simple entertainment centered on street car racing will not be disappointed by the very nimble camera work on the racing scenes in this film.
Unfortunately, it's a tough film to recommend to anyone. Many would agree that the sexual themes are not for adolescents, while the drama and slapstick comedy are so lame that adults watching it on video are likely to fast-forward to view only the racing scenes.
In addition, and most importantly, anyone who has any sensitivity to bigotry must be turned off by the very obvious Japan bashing by the writers. Aside from failing to depict any trace of virtue among the characters, these Chinese film makers have used their artistic license to depict the protagonist's father as almost constantly falling-down drunk, and his beautiful girlfriend as an insulting representation of Japanese womanhood. I'm not even Japanese, but this aspect of the film should be offensive to any intelligent viewer.
Unfortunately, it's a tough film to recommend to anyone. Many would agree that the sexual themes are not for adolescents, while the drama and slapstick comedy are so lame that adults watching it on video are likely to fast-forward to view only the racing scenes.
In addition, and most importantly, anyone who has any sensitivity to bigotry must be turned off by the very obvious Japan bashing by the writers. Aside from failing to depict any trace of virtue among the characters, these Chinese film makers have used their artistic license to depict the protagonist's father as almost constantly falling-down drunk, and his beautiful girlfriend as an insulting representation of Japanese womanhood. I'm not even Japanese, but this aspect of the film should be offensive to any intelligent viewer.
forgot to have a story line
biggastank9 December 2005
The bad: [1] There was no story line. (Or at least the story line went absolutely no where.) [2] The racing scenes were very repetitive, they kept showing the same moves over and over again. This is not very good by today's standard. I expected more, given that this was a relatively high-budget production with some of the biggest name HK actors. [3] Horrible acting from Jay and Edison. There was no chemistry whatsoever between them. I presume from the storyline they are suppose to become friends or develop some kind of camaraderie through racing. Nothing like that happened.
The good: [1] Anne Suzuki in short shorts. She's younger than a lot of those cars, by the way. [2] I loved watching Jay getting the crap kicked out of him by Wang Chou Sang. That's gotta be the best part of the entire movie. [3] The racing scenes were not overly done with CGI. It's pretty believable, although not terribly creative. [4] This movie sure brings back fond memories of when those cars were considered cool, which was quite a while back.
Overall, not too bad. Wasn't a complete waste of time. I got some entertaining values out of it. Just in case you were wondering, the AE86 is known in the US as -- the Corolla. :D
The good: [1] Anne Suzuki in short shorts. She's younger than a lot of those cars, by the way. [2] I loved watching Jay getting the crap kicked out of him by Wang Chou Sang. That's gotta be the best part of the entire movie. [3] The racing scenes were not overly done with CGI. It's pretty believable, although not terribly creative. [4] This movie sure brings back fond memories of when those cars were considered cool, which was quite a while back.
Overall, not too bad. Wasn't a complete waste of time. I got some entertaining values out of it. Just in case you were wondering, the AE86 is known in the US as -- the Corolla. :D
Tough to say....
dancomanmandanco13 December 2020
Well, music is terrible and I feel like there's no need to discuss this.
Regarding the rest, I've watched all stages of anime countless times, comparing movie to it... it's clear that they were low on budget (lack of characters from the original anime, racing only on one mountain, certain races being changed from how they were in original... but then again, there's only so much you can do in real life compared to what you can do in anime...
Overall, if you put all the anime/manga backstory aside, movie is enjoyable and it's fairly fine (excluding the music), but this movie is no match to the anime in any way.
Regarding the rest, I've watched all stages of anime countless times, comparing movie to it... it's clear that they were low on budget (lack of characters from the original anime, racing only on one mountain, certain races being changed from how they were in original... but then again, there's only so much you can do in real life compared to what you can do in anime...
Overall, if you put all the anime/manga backstory aside, movie is enjoyable and it's fairly fine (excluding the music), but this movie is no match to the anime in any way.
Makes me ashamed to be Chinese
lo_francis5 September 2005
I feel I must apologize on behalf of all Hong Kong folk for this film. It wasn't made for the international audience. In fact, it doesn't even appear to have been made for fans of the manga/anime 'Initial D'. It was almost certainly made exclusively for the Chinese market, because frankly, I don't see how it might have any appeal anywhere else.
There are some good examples of great stories from other countries which when remade under the Hollywood banner, stink. This film would be an example of a great story being remade under a Hong Kong banner. Hongkong-ized, if you will. And it stinks too. The tragedy is that the two directors once upon a time made a fantastic trilogy called Infernal Affairs, which won international acclaim, and is ironically about to be Hollywoodized by Martin Scorcese.
So how is it that two very talented directors who already have a good track record can turn out such a piece of excrement? Well, because it was made for the all-style-no-substance appetite of the Hong Kong movie going public, who basically just want to see an extended music video starring their favorite popstars.
And so on behalf of Hong Kongers everywhere, sorry! We're not all like this.
There are some good examples of great stories from other countries which when remade under the Hollywood banner, stink. This film would be an example of a great story being remade under a Hong Kong banner. Hongkong-ized, if you will. And it stinks too. The tragedy is that the two directors once upon a time made a fantastic trilogy called Infernal Affairs, which won international acclaim, and is ironically about to be Hollywoodized by Martin Scorcese.
So how is it that two very talented directors who already have a good track record can turn out such a piece of excrement? Well, because it was made for the all-style-no-substance appetite of the Hong Kong movie going public, who basically just want to see an extended music video starring their favorite popstars.
And so on behalf of Hong Kongers everywhere, sorry! We're not all like this.
Fun, unpretentious street racing movie.
Karri_Koivusalo6 April 2006
This movie is a live-action adaptation of a manga/anime series of the same name. The story is abridged synthesis of the first two seasons of the anime, with details from the fourth(third?) mixed in. Compared to the original work, much of the characters' personalities, relationships and motives have been altered, some in the ways that are hard to agree with, too. Many of the characters have been dropped or diminished. Judging the movie as independent entity, it's not a great deal, but some of the modifications make the story a bit confusing. Casting itself is rather good. Characters have strong resemblance to their drawn counterparts, apart from the main character and her girlfriend. To even things a bit, their characters are best preserved in the screenplay.
What I like in the movie best is it's honesty. The movie does not try to justify the illegal street racing theme with some far-fetched undercover cop/family honor/extortion -subplot, it's only about young men driving fast on downhill. Though the most spectacular stunts are CGI, the races are pleasant to watch, by no means small reason being the relatively calm pace of editing. Drivers' actions while cornering, the toe-heel braking, down shifting and steering, are usually shown in single shot, instead of several split-second extreme closeups. What I also liked was the fact the races are about who was the best driver, not about who has the most outrageous sticker or flashiest accessories on the car.
The movie has been criticized for lack of plot. I don't think it is so. The plot is subdued, not overly dramatized story of a regular kid who learns about downhill racing scene in his home town. The biggest problem with the script is the inclusion of 2nd and 3rd Stage. The plot makes all too abrupt change of direction halfway through the movie because of this. The movie finale is a synthesis of 1st season and rewritten 2nd season finales, it's awkward and not very successful. I can't help thinking the movie could have been better if the writers had made the scope a little less wide and only included the 1st season.
Even so, the movie is rather enjoyable. You don't need to vegetate through the movie to enjoy it, or have a die-hard passion for the subject.
What I like in the movie best is it's honesty. The movie does not try to justify the illegal street racing theme with some far-fetched undercover cop/family honor/extortion -subplot, it's only about young men driving fast on downhill. Though the most spectacular stunts are CGI, the races are pleasant to watch, by no means small reason being the relatively calm pace of editing. Drivers' actions while cornering, the toe-heel braking, down shifting and steering, are usually shown in single shot, instead of several split-second extreme closeups. What I also liked was the fact the races are about who was the best driver, not about who has the most outrageous sticker or flashiest accessories on the car.
The movie has been criticized for lack of plot. I don't think it is so. The plot is subdued, not overly dramatized story of a regular kid who learns about downhill racing scene in his home town. The biggest problem with the script is the inclusion of 2nd and 3rd Stage. The plot makes all too abrupt change of direction halfway through the movie because of this. The movie finale is a synthesis of 1st season and rewritten 2nd season finales, it's awkward and not very successful. I can't help thinking the movie could have been better if the writers had made the scope a little less wide and only included the 1st season.
Even so, the movie is rather enjoyable. You don't need to vegetate through the movie to enjoy it, or have a die-hard passion for the subject.
Fast-paced Knockdown of Unreasonable Plot - Review of "Initial D"
kampolam-7581322 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
As a mega-production in 2005, shouldering the super task of revitalizing the majesty of Hong Kong Cinema, the "Infernal Affairs" combination Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak Siu-Fai, Felix Chong Man-Keung, plus Japanese popular comics "Initial D" by Shigeno Shuichi, the new front-end with Jay Chou Chieh-Lun and Anne Suzuki, and Edison Chen Koon-Hei, Shawn Yue Man-Lok, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Chapman To Man-Chak, a demonstration of a Hong Kong style production on an international scale. Hong Kong Cinema have repeatedly tried to use the Hollywood production mode and packaging to expand beyond traditional markets, including Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States, and hope to occupy a small piece of territory in the Asian and international markets. This ideal started from Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, to Media Asia and Applause, and "Initial D" is the result of this long period of hard work and exploration, using Japanese comic and local technicians, in taking into account all aspects of calculation and ability, make the most appropriate arrangement, showing the vitality and compatibility of Hong Kong Cinema, and shoot an international production model that has reached international standards and still has the characteristics of Hong Kong Cinema.
Due to market considerations, most actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan are used to play Japanese characters in the comic, but in the film we see a group of characters who speak Cantonese and use Japanese names. Hong Kong audiences who have experienced many waves of dubbing Japanese dramas, there won't be much of a problem with this, their performance reminds me of the feeling of watching Japanese dramas on TV back then. If Andrew Lau deal with "Initial D" in a purely international production model, then there are many details in the film that need to be rearranged and straightened out. The current film is full of flaws and mistakes in the transition of the story and plot, but Andrew Lau used Hong Kong produced films to play "fast beat slow", and use a smooth and lively rhythm to affect the audience's emotions. In addition to the gags of Chapman To and Kenny Chung Chun-To in certain scenes, they lightly covered a lot of gross mistakes and omissions, which made the audience enjoyable to watch, do not care about these details. Although Chapman To's performance does not match the style of the film, his personal performance is reminiscent of Tsui Wai-Keung of "Infernal Affairs", however, his performance is full of personal charm and entertainment for the audience. Without his personal performance, the film needs to get the whole context right, and the story can't be so sloppy.
The film was originally directed by Tsui Hark and had been in preparation for a long time. On the eve of the filming, the dispute between Tsui Hark and the film company intensified. In the end, the film company had to temporarily hire Andrew Lau. It can be seen that Andrew Law, as a producer and director trained in Hong Kong production, is extremely capable of execution. In the face of a movie with more than 10 million HK dollars productions, in a very short preparatory period, in the face of the situation where everything is ready, he understands that in the production. In terms of time limit, Andrew Lau, Alan Mak and Felix Chong could not have any more time and space. They had to use their skilled shooting ability, integrate the combination of various staff and actors, coordinate this multinational team, and no longer care about the completeness of the story. What's the innovation? As long as the film is full of energy and fast-paced, and the script is vague and unintelligible, it uses the gags of individual charismatic actors and the wonderful racing scenes. All actors and departments can achieve the appropriate effect. Although there is no breakthrough or innovation in production and creation, it has made a good demonstration for this kind of Hong Kong style international film, enough to become a model of similar films.
By Kam Po LAM (original in Chinese)
Due to market considerations, most actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan are used to play Japanese characters in the comic, but in the film we see a group of characters who speak Cantonese and use Japanese names. Hong Kong audiences who have experienced many waves of dubbing Japanese dramas, there won't be much of a problem with this, their performance reminds me of the feeling of watching Japanese dramas on TV back then. If Andrew Lau deal with "Initial D" in a purely international production model, then there are many details in the film that need to be rearranged and straightened out. The current film is full of flaws and mistakes in the transition of the story and plot, but Andrew Lau used Hong Kong produced films to play "fast beat slow", and use a smooth and lively rhythm to affect the audience's emotions. In addition to the gags of Chapman To and Kenny Chung Chun-To in certain scenes, they lightly covered a lot of gross mistakes and omissions, which made the audience enjoyable to watch, do not care about these details. Although Chapman To's performance does not match the style of the film, his personal performance is reminiscent of Tsui Wai-Keung of "Infernal Affairs", however, his performance is full of personal charm and entertainment for the audience. Without his personal performance, the film needs to get the whole context right, and the story can't be so sloppy.
The film was originally directed by Tsui Hark and had been in preparation for a long time. On the eve of the filming, the dispute between Tsui Hark and the film company intensified. In the end, the film company had to temporarily hire Andrew Lau. It can be seen that Andrew Law, as a producer and director trained in Hong Kong production, is extremely capable of execution. In the face of a movie with more than 10 million HK dollars productions, in a very short preparatory period, in the face of the situation where everything is ready, he understands that in the production. In terms of time limit, Andrew Lau, Alan Mak and Felix Chong could not have any more time and space. They had to use their skilled shooting ability, integrate the combination of various staff and actors, coordinate this multinational team, and no longer care about the completeness of the story. What's the innovation? As long as the film is full of energy and fast-paced, and the script is vague and unintelligible, it uses the gags of individual charismatic actors and the wonderful racing scenes. All actors and departments can achieve the appropriate effect. Although there is no breakthrough or innovation in production and creation, it has made a good demonstration for this kind of Hong Kong style international film, enough to become a model of similar films.
By Kam Po LAM (original in Chinese)
Chinese adaptation of a Japanese comic is not you typical race film. Probably will play better if you don't know the source and are open to different take in a race film
dbborroughs28 August 2005
Takumi is a high schooler who often delivers his fathers tofu late at night. His late night trips have made him adept at the winding down hill run of Mt. Akina, which is a course used by the street racers of the area as the ultimate test of skill. When an unintentional race brings him to the notice of the racers, his life changes as he has to field numerous offers to actually see who is the best driver.
Based on a Japanese comic and cartoon, Initial D is a live action Chinese film thats broken box office records across Asia. Despite being a huge animation fan I've never seen the animation nor have a I read the comic. I'm not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing, but seeing how many fans of the source material are unhappy with the film I would say its a good thing.
Flat out I liked this movie. It did take a while to warm up to, but once I began to take it for what it is I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Is it a great film? In someways yes and in others no. As I said this takes a bit to get going. The lead is a bit too closed mouth for my taste, barely uttering a word for the entire two hours. Its a bit too teen angsty. Still you have great characters and great performances by pretty much everyone in the cast (even if everyone was speaking three or four different languages when this was filmed.
The racing is excellent. Its mostly seems to have been done with out CGI enhancement. I like that there are no horrific crashes, police chases or other clichéd events that are so rampant in American movies. And while I was initially apprehensive by the fact the racing is always on the same stretch of road, I warmed to the idea since by doing that we really got to see who was best. (If you want American style racing in many different environments stay away)
Definitely worth a look see, especially if you want to see a race film that is not like all of the rest. 7.5 out of 10 rounded up to 8 out of 10 for IMDb purposes.
Based on a Japanese comic and cartoon, Initial D is a live action Chinese film thats broken box office records across Asia. Despite being a huge animation fan I've never seen the animation nor have a I read the comic. I'm not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing, but seeing how many fans of the source material are unhappy with the film I would say its a good thing.
Flat out I liked this movie. It did take a while to warm up to, but once I began to take it for what it is I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Is it a great film? In someways yes and in others no. As I said this takes a bit to get going. The lead is a bit too closed mouth for my taste, barely uttering a word for the entire two hours. Its a bit too teen angsty. Still you have great characters and great performances by pretty much everyone in the cast (even if everyone was speaking three or four different languages when this was filmed.
The racing is excellent. Its mostly seems to have been done with out CGI enhancement. I like that there are no horrific crashes, police chases or other clichéd events that are so rampant in American movies. And while I was initially apprehensive by the fact the racing is always on the same stretch of road, I warmed to the idea since by doing that we really got to see who was best. (If you want American style racing in many different environments stay away)
Definitely worth a look see, especially if you want to see a race film that is not like all of the rest. 7.5 out of 10 rounded up to 8 out of 10 for IMDb purposes.
Not must watch but worth watching
priyankscorner7 March 2021
First of all it is not a ripoff so that's great. Secondly acting is great. I have watched all initial D stages and most of the movie was connected to story. So if you are car fan you should watch this movie and anime too.
This is not a movie
project-w21 August 2005
I personally think this movie is more a promotional tool for Jay Chou's new songs and for Pepsi.
It is merely a shorter version of the original Initial D series. A less expensive version of what would have been a more
In Jay Chou's acting debut, he shows off his less than impressive abilities that include: throwing up, sitting in a car, throwing up, and talking on the phone. He has about 10 lines in the entire movie. Granted he doesn't speak Cantonese (which is what the movie is in) and the character itself doesn't speak much. He was more Jay Chou than he was Takumi.
(bash) The point where I became indignant of the producers is when Takumi and Ryousuke met after a race and filmed a Pepsi commercial. Jay Chou is known to shamelessly promote products he is spokesperson for. (/bash)
They tried to fit too much in that one hour and a half and should have taken reference to the animated Inital D movie and not have made a version that's exactly like the series, but nothing like it at the same time. Most of the characters are totally different and some important ones weren't written in.
It is merely a shorter version of the original Initial D series. A less expensive version of what would have been a more
In Jay Chou's acting debut, he shows off his less than impressive abilities that include: throwing up, sitting in a car, throwing up, and talking on the phone. He has about 10 lines in the entire movie. Granted he doesn't speak Cantonese (which is what the movie is in) and the character itself doesn't speak much. He was more Jay Chou than he was Takumi.
(bash) The point where I became indignant of the producers is when Takumi and Ryousuke met after a race and filmed a Pepsi commercial. Jay Chou is known to shamelessly promote products he is spokesperson for. (/bash)
They tried to fit too much in that one hour and a half and should have taken reference to the animated Inital D movie and not have made a version that's exactly like the series, but nothing like it at the same time. Most of the characters are totally different and some important ones weren't written in.
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