INITIAL D

Directors: Wai-keung Lau & Siu Fai Mak

Stars: Jay Chou, Edison Chen, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Chapman To, Shawn Yue, Anne Suzuki

Year: 2005

Rating: NR

(in Cantonese with English subtitles)

Based on the popular Japanese comic and anime series, Initial D is everything that every Fast and Furious film could only strive to be. Taiwanese pop music star Jay Chou (in his film debut) stars as Takumi Fujiwara, an 18-year-old college student who works at a gas station by day, and delivers "to go" orders for his father's small tofu shop in Japan late into the evening (the two men live alone, Takumi's mother having abandoned the family some years ago). Every night since he was 13, Takumi navigates the long, sharp curves of the road that winds around Mt. Akina - and in the process, unknowingly develops his own skills for "drifting" - a form of amateur street racing that enables the driver to actually have an advantage when the road has a lot of curves and sharp corners. No one knows of Takumi's amazing capabilities, which he's spent so much time perfecting - not his former race car champ father (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, in a great performance that also gives the film its comedy relief), his best friend Itsuki (Chapman To) - who claims HE is the "racing god" of Mt. Akina - or even the classmate he loves, Natsuki (Anne Suzuki) ... a girl with her own secret to hide. When "discovered" late one night during his run, Takumi is challenged to a race by another street drifter - one he handily wins, suddenly bringing his talents out into the open for everyone to see.

Edison Chen and Shawn Yue, as (respectively) Ryousuke and Takeshi, are the street racers who discover Takumi, and it's Takeshi that Takumi easily defeats amongst the mountainous roads. Ryousuke and Takeshi, good friends and racing buddies, are in the middle of a bet to see who can win the most races in Japan, working the country from top to bottom - but when they spot Takumi and Takeshi is defeated, it's Ryousuke who challenges Takumi to the race of his life ... just before another, professional driver discovers Takumi as well, and also challenges him to race the hills of Mt. Akina, to see who the ultimate "racing god" is.

Can the beat up, souped-up Toyota AE86 that Takumi delivers tofu in match up to the infinitely more professional racing cars of his competitors, in particular for this extremely dangerous form of street racing? That's essentially the plot, and it's light - but the strained relationship between Takumi and his father, Bunta (Wong Chau-Sang) is very real and a strong part of the story ... as is the budding romance between Takumi and Natsuki.

But it's the racing that's fairly eye-bending here, shot perfectly in multi angles that make each race - even though it's down the same mountain, on the same road- fresh, exciting and a lot of fun to watch. Jay Chou plays Takumi with the perfect mix of serious vulnerability - a kid with his share of baggage already, who finds himself only himself when slicing at 140 mph down the roads of Mt. Akina. The movie hinges on his character, and he comes through. The rest of the cast is exceptional as well, the film shot to spotlight the beauty of the country as well as the amazing racing.

A lot of criticism has been heaped on this film for the cuts that were made in order to turn an entire anime series and manga into a 2-hour feature film. Storylines were dropped, and in some cases two or more characters were melded into one. Having never seen the series (yet) or read the manga, I was able to enjoy the film on its own merits - and those merits are strong, indeed. You don't even have to like racing or car films to get into the story - which at times can be as humorous as it is touching - because the main characters are people you grow to care about.

It's a really, really good film; a total surprise to me, and a film I'm very glad I saw. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome