INITIAL Disappointment Part 1

I read an article fr Straits Times yest... And i am so appalled by tt article... Luckily i watched e show before i read tt, if not i would be too angry to go for INITIAL DISAPPOINTMENT... No lah, im kidding (kiddin for e not watchin, not kiddin for e disappointment), i will still watch it, and i am still going to buy e VCD when it comes out even after tis...

Be4 i go into e Disappointin article (I had scanned it to let u see in case ppl say im bullshittin or biased again...)

Now for a simple review... Does not include spoilers, dun worry...

Great thing was, i did not come out cursin n swearing, even though i was sort of yawnin at e end... Coz i already knew how they r going to film e endin... So tis shd means its still sort of gd... Coz u shd noe how much i was epxectin, and how much e show meant to me... And i paid freakin $9.50 for it, but did not feel tt i overpaid e movie, which is another gd thing i suppose...

Ok, on a gd note, e show is relatively gd... To me, it was better than Kung Fu, and its funnier as well... I laughed alot thru out e show, which is rare for a chinese film... And i managed to view e characters (though limited) in a 360 degrees perspectives... E cars r more real of coz, compared to e 3d cars in e anime...

Great thing was i finally get to see Akina Fuji... E real fuji!!! Its so cool n beautiful...

Speakin of cars, it may be more realistic in e stunts performed by e stuntman racers... However, it was alot more smoother in e anime... And wats up wif Trueno AE86??? How cum it looks as different n weird? And wats wif e blurrin of vehicle license plate in a few scenes and then showing them in another?

Now for e downside...

1) Technical Probs like inconsistent shots, boring repetition of e same landscape, etc. Theres extremely extremely too many in e show tt i dun even wan to tok about it... Well, at least most audience wouldnt be able to see them, so i guess i can pull tis out...

2) E film quality was like shit!!! I think they saved their budget on tt... E movie is so grainy... Especially when i sat at e 1st fifth row... It affected me greatly... At least Kung Fu used clearer negative tts as close to foreign movies... I believe their money went to buying Jay's over expensive music...

3) Acting was horrendous... Well, even though i was expecting tt fr amatuer actors/actresses... Ok, im kidding, actually i was expectin a better job, especially when it was review tt Jay did a great job... Edison did quite well though (well of coz, he had much more experiences fr e other 2), he was extremely gorgeous, or so fr wat i heard fr girls... SHuzhen went crazy over him... Even for me who dun like him, mentioned he look gd when he 1st appeared in e show...

When Cheng Xiao CHun came out, its so distinct who can act and who cannot act... His facials expressions r so believable even though he doesnt talk much in e movie, but trust me, he dun even haf to... Ah Bee and Huang Qiu Sheng and Chapman did excellent as well... I am so impressed wif Huang Qiu Sheng's image, haha... I still cannot erased his image on his RA film Ren Rou Cha Shao Bao (Human Meat Char Siew Bun)...

Jays crappy cyin scene made me laugh instead... If u watch closely (i was sitting at e 5th row), his tear mark actually went backwards and then down his side of face... Y? Coz tt was fake, it was so obvious, he leaned his head backwards when he dropped his eye mo, haha, then e scene started wif his tear marks already there but no tears... His eyes werent red, he doesnt look sad, and he wasnt cryin... They mus haf tried so many times but make do wif it...

4) Language/Dubbing. Tis is funny, coz e movie is shot at Japan, but e taiwanese casts were mouthin chinese, hk casts were mouthin cantonese, and jap casts mouthin jap... I seriously think i shd haf sat further away to prevent seeing so many unneccessary disturbance... E dubbin was lousy, it made their acting even worst... Jay's dubber made him look worst... I would haf totally prefered tis show to be in full jap then hear them callin Jay "TUO HAI TUO HAI" (chinese translation fr his character name, Takumi)...

5) Story. Tis is not really a downside, but a thot i had... For e past few yrs, many novels were screened at e theatres... And now, ive finally understood y those ppl were so agitated when they watch e movies... I never understand them then, coz i thot since its a movie, e script will definately be different, and Directors will of coz wan to be original and make e story their own instead of being a full copycat...

I've heard of ppl cursing at e totally screwed up Hitchhiker's guide to e galaxy movie... I thot then, cool down lah, movie sure different one mah... Y so angry? Ppl who knew me having a crazy fad over Lord of e Rings, kept persudin me to read e books, they told me once i finished reading i'll realise how terrible e movie was... Its was like turning gold into pebbles...

I had never watched any movie which book i had read be4...

Even though tis is not a bk... But ive watched e orginal anime, and worst, Season 3 of Initial D was a movie somemore, so my expectations were already there...

So when i looked at e character, i was thinkin, wat crap, e casts dun even look or behave like e orginal, except Takumi's Dad did try to close his eyes most of e time (he never open his eyes durin e anime)... And e relationship of e characters r all screw up... E koisk boss is not father of Ah Mu's... Ah Mu was poor, very poor... Night Kid never see terms wif Red Sun so they will never appear together... Tis is their RACER PRIDE!!!

But all these i can accept, i understand tt changes haf to be made to squuze e story and make it interestin... But i cant help comparing... So tts y i finally understand wat those ppl were so agitated about... I guess u cant help it...

But one thing i hate about it is, Takumi's Dad's personality... In e anime, hes a serious, respectful, hardworkin, person who kept his beancurd business n house organised and clean... But in e movie, he became a drunkard, a child abuser, a dirty womaniser, messy father... Tts like downgrading n demeaning... I cannot accept...

But all n all...

For someone, who never knew about Intial D, car lovers, and those who wans to catch e stars, of coz, tis show is gd... E director tried to give a new age filmin but using incomprehensive cuts and transitions... It may appear interesting for new generations and make them go "Wah, so different, stylo, unique!"...

I thot it was a great effort doin somethin out of their own league... But they made e story very chinese Asian somemore... And e meaning/purpose of e orginal Initial D was changed... Or maybe they jus didnt understand... Perhaps to relate to e mass audience? I duno...

E show made me rewatch my Initial D... I had jus finished Stage 1... Btw, e movie compressed e show fr Stage 1 - 3... (Stage = Season) E original so different, jus different... Much more exciting, nerve wreckin... But e original being a Jap story, is not so much flattering to females... But its jus a cultural difference... Then i cannot accept coz it was too much a guy show, but now i grow up liao, haha, so can liao...

Oh i realised something interesting though... I realised Qi Ling Wang (Chess Master/Chess Ghost) had a similar story concept... Everything was almost identical, jus tt one is chess one is cars... Haha... Tis is so funny but interesting...

I believe if Japan produced tis show on their side, it will be a hit... They would definately haf casts much identical to e actual... And speakin their own language in their own area, wif excellent actin n dubs, and they of coz understand their own native stories better... They would haf known wat wat e impt aspects of e story to film...

Unfortunately, Initial D hit Batman Begins here, its losin out man... Batman is a hit here, almost all sessions r nearin full even weekdays... But i still reccomend tis film to others... Jus keep a open mind... It made me appreciate e orginal much better...

I still recalled e Initial D crazy fad then... I was 16/17 then... And every VCD shops were playin Initial D and every CD shops were playin their sound tracks... It was crazy then... Every guy is tokin about tt show. Every guy is hearing their soundtrack, i didnt own any soundtrack though, i was bought into it... E songs were Japan pop rock... I wasnt into it then...

I will tok about e article in e next entry... Its getting too long...