ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Darrell Wong (dkw001) It would've been so easy.Just do the stupid, obvious thing.You're Hong Kong cinema. You're attempting to cram 17 manga volumes worth of material into about two hours, and with a limited cast and budget. You have no idea what made the source material great or how the fans of the manga are going to take it.MAKE IT ALL ABOUT RACING. *Not* a pathetic drunken loser of a father, *not* an extremely minor subplot involving an extremely minor girlfriend that somehow keeps getting hashed to death, *not* a mischaracterization of Itsuki ten times worse than the most inept anime bungling. Racing and people who race.The regrettably sparse driving scenes are by far the most entertaining part of the movie. Even Takumi's solo runs were fun to watch, and the incredible three-way battle at the end has to be seen to be believed. In between these, we get a depressing amount of tedious drama involving characters far too cardboard to give a damn about.So, so easy. Pretend you've never heard of Natsuki or circling the water and give us two hours of spectacular, unbelievable racing action. Why couldn't it have been that?

Leopoldo Gutierrez most of the info and comparisons are on wikipedia, but i just wanted to say, its a good movie. jay chow really plays takumi well. also the rest of the actors are quite amazing. bunta is too abusive, itsuki isn't even supposed to have a car yet. when he does get one, its an '85. 80ps rather than 150. and everything else on it is just as bad. although, his resemblance to the original character is almost as good as bunta's(physically). he's supposed to be the loud, eccentric, wannabe racer that everyone loves anyway. he's supposed to be a hopeless romantic and speedstar by default. 'Kenji-senpai!Iketani-senpai!' none of this is in there! not even 'Takumi!' that really bums me out. also, itsuki is supposed to love working and become a full-timer eventually. itsuki-s13?!?! why?! anyway, there was no keisuke, which was a really big deal because he plays a big part in the series. almost as big as takumi's. he's the one who tries to get better and live up to the white comet of akagi. also, ryosuke and nakazato? come on. ryosuke tells nakazato that the 86 is too fast for him while smoking and mentions that his non-drifting gt-r has 380hp. nakazato then says that ryosuke is wrong and is very confident that he will win. that happens after keisuke loses to takumi for the second time which on the first, keisuke saw takumi's inertia drift after the easy right. there are so many things wrong with the story and just not enough time in the world to list them all. if you really really really like the anime/manga, don't expect too much, but if you haven't seen it, you'll probably really like the movie(if you like cars and not just ones that look cool).

Richard Brunton 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.

vivisi 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.