Initial D

Another Hong Kong movie base on popular Japanese animation of the time. However, this one is good, not great, but good.

Initial D (if you haven't heard of it already) is base on the super popular Japanese manga and anime. The series is about Takumi, a tofu delivery boy who discovered his knack for driving like a madman down the Akita Mountains using the now famous technique of "drifting." He then challenge everyone in his apathetic way but soon falls in love with driving and even joined a group of top drivers in Project D to challenge and break all timed mountain road records in Japan.

The movie takes place in the beginning, with Jay Chou as Takumi, Anthony Wong as his dad; Chapman To as his best friend, Kenny Bee as Chapman's father; Edison Chen, Shawn Yu, and Jordan Chan has his three rivals. So the cast is strong, and that's certainly not the problem. The problem is, it only semi-follows the plot of the story. Edison Chen's character has an awesome brother that is a necessity in the Initial D universe, and he's not even in the movie. Also, some of the events like the final race felt like an unnecessary plot to make things more exciting.

The race sequences are very well done and the art direction is wonderful. The acting, especially Jay Chou's needs some work (He's a good singer... but he's not a very good actor. And no, he will not become the next Andy Lau, I'm sorry). The film seems to be a first in a long list of installment, so hopefully we'll get to see the progression of not only the storylines, but the actors' potentials as well.

Year: 2005
Director: Andrew Lau and Alan Mak

7.4/10