Best movie of this year hands down!

A Major Disappointment

The first must-see film of the year.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is based on the Manga comic book...I am a comic book fan but Manga is something I haven't quite become interested in, yet...I hope to read some very soon...Anyway..Takumi is a normal boy who one day accompanies his racer friend to a race...Takumi's friend loses horribly...Later that night, Takumi grabs his own car and beats the guy who beat his friend....Suddenly all the top racers want a piece of the ordinary boy who delivers tofu...I like the story...But I don't know how much is true to the comic...There was some humorous scenes that had me in stitches...But overall the film failed to excite me...The race scenes weren't very good..considering the quality of Hollywood race movies...(This is coming from someone who watches 'World Cinema' avidly)...I understand the need for the camera style and shots...and that they tried to bring a comic bookish style to the film but it just frustrated me...I kept thinking the DVD was freezing in places...LOL...I didn't see the need for Shawn Yue's character or Edison Chan's...The lead actor fails to show that burning passion that makes a driver ride fast and drift....

This movie is the best. I watched lots of time and never get bored of it because my older brother is a street race and not many people knows that and thats why i like to watch it. The other thing I watch is because it was based on the Anime "Initial D" and I really like that show too. I recommend the people who haven't watch this movie should, because it will make you change your mind about Initial D because of the race they are so real. One tip when Racing, Never get too angry , just stay calm, and that will make you win. Also i like the end when Takumi (Jay Chou) waits for his girlfriend and sees her coming out of the car with another guy and he now believes his friend hat told him about that. but that was a sad a truly best moment ever. Well one thing, INITIAL D ROCKS!!!!!

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.

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.