Initial D DTS (Korean Version) DVD Region 3

Based on the Japanese manga by Shuichi Shigeno, Initial D follows the (literally) downhill adventures of tofu delivery teen Takumi (Chou), who spends his days in a daze about the flirty Natsuki (Anne Suzuki, Returner), his afternoons working at the gas station of best bud Itsuki (Chapman To), and his nights delivering tofu for his hard drinking (and narcoleptic, one presumes) dad Bunta (Anthony Wong). After Takumi zips past a drift racer (Shawn Yue, Jiang Hu) on a curvaceous hill one night, he becomes known as the racer god of that particular hill. His secret identity blown, Takumi becomes the target of challengers, including Edison Chen and, later, Jordan Chan.

At over 100 minutes, Initial D is an easy and brisk sit-through that is mostly entertaining, if ultimately vacant. The film's races are entirely set along the hillside that Takumi traverses on a regular basis, and as a result, once you see Takumi defeat an opponent along the hills for the first time, you've basically seen them all. Different opponents, same hero, and same track. There are new obstacles with each new race, of course, but they're nothing a quick and well-placed musical montage couldn't skip over in a few minutes. To offset the repetitive nature of the races, the script delves into the more cerebral, theoretical side of racing -- that is, if you were interested in such things.

Of course my underwhelmed reaction to the film's racing may be due to a general indifference on my part to racing movies and racing in general, so I'll take it at face value that more racing-inclined viewers will get more out of the film's downhill zooms and vrooms. The film certainly has a lot of vehicular action to keep viewers distracted, and directors Lau and Mak use enough visual tricks (a ton of freeze frames, wipes, and gimmicky edits) to keep even the casual audience member like myself from becoming bored.

In-between the film's many downhill races, the script busies itself with the idyllic romance of Takumi and Natsuki. The romance is standard stuff, with Nasuki acting a bit more flirtatious than one is used to seeing in a Japanese film. Suzuki does fine, as does Chou in his first starring turn, although it should be said that the script really doesn't require all that much of either young actor. Suzuki in particular has little to do, and the script's insistence on giving her character a dark secret comes across as superfluous. Do we really care? I didn't.

As the star, Chou doesn't carry the film, which isn't a knock on the young man, because the film is crafted in such a way that it smartly doesn't require him to. To give him credit, Chou plays the unflappable racer convincingly, and the film's best moments involve Takumi nonchalantly racing downhill, treating the races as another night delivering tofu as fast as he can, or risk another beating from good 'ol dad, who was himself a former racing king. The script provides a clever background for Takumi's superior driving skills, most of it funny exposition courtesy of Anthony Wong, who seems to be literally sleepwalking through the film.

Ultimately, Initial D is serviceable PG entertainment for the masses -- the younger, the better. No one dies, there are no serious injuries in any of the races, and the film, like its leading man, was primed and aimed squarely at the squirming little girls and the young guys who like racing movies. The lack of a true villain in the film is not altogether a bad thing, as the presence of one would only muddle up the film's squeaky-clean image. The visuals are interesting and the soundtrack is filled with appropriate tracks, most of them in English, surprisingly, with some Chinese songs toward the end. For Hong Kong cinema, Initial D doesn't represent any major improvement over, say, the last 200 films starring the Twins, but for such a manufactured product, it's probably a lot better than it should have been.

Movie Grade: 3 out of 5 stars

By Nix - BeyondHollywood.com

Initial D was originally slated for Tsui Hark to direct, but early in the production he left the project and was replaced by Infernal Affairs directing duo Andrew Lau (A Man Called Hero) and Alan Mak (A War Named Desire). Good choices, as both know their way around fantasy-action flicks, especially Lau with The Storm Riders foremost on his CV.

Filmed on location in Japan, it's slightly off-putting to see a cast of Hong Kong actors taking Japanese roles with everyone speaking Cantonese.

Taiwanese pop superstar Jay Chou makes his silver screen debut in the lead role of Takumi, the Mt. Akina racing god: a title that promises more than this limited actor can provide. But the reality of manga to film roles is that the audience doesn't expect much more than a live-action comic book performance. In contrast, Chapman To (Golden Chicken) ridiculously overacts as the wannabe street king Itsuki. It's Japanese starlet Anne Suzuki who gives the movie's best performance as the likeable and vulnerable Natsuki.

There's a clever generational twist with the film's two father figures played by veteran HK actors Anthony Wong and Kenny Bee. The former is at times hilarious as the drunken, leering, tofu making, Bunta, while Kenny Bee is believable as the hard working owner of the Mount Akina servo. Jordan Chan is along for the ride, literally, as a professional street car racer who suffers a severe case of gravel rash and wounded pride. Shawn Yu and Edison Chen receive a high billing but it's all PR puff, as both have little screen time as competing drivers.

The visceral highlight of Initial D is flagged early on and is well worth waiting for. The King of the Mountain duel is an absolute eye-popper and worth the ticket price on its own. Just as director Lau did with his previous auto epic, The Legend of Speed, Initial D raises the bar internationally on CGI action-fantasy sequences. You can bet Jerry Bruckheimer's CGI Hollywood will be putting this fantastic passage of film under the microscope in the very near future.

Some will be surprised, maybe even annoyed, with the abrupt ending - it's certainly not subtle - but all it really does is usher in the probable sequel.

Andrew Lau seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to Hong Kong filmmaking, from The Storm Riders through Infernal Affairs to Initial D - may his cinematic "driftings" continue to prosper. All power to him!

8.5 Hairpin turns out of 10

Reviewed by John Snadden - heroic-cinema.com