Four flicks to tickle the Japanese car enthusiast.
THUNDERBOLT (1995)
This epic Hong Kong action film sees modest mechanic and part-time race driver Chen Fo Toh (Jackie Chan) lending a hand to the Hong Kong cops in a crackdown on illegal street racing.
After Foh commandeers an FTO and chases down a black R32-GTR piloted by crooked racer slash international gang member ‘Cougar’, things rapidly go south for the humble junkyard mechanic.
The kidnapping of Toh’s younger sisters by Yakuza thugs in an attempt to force him to race in Japan necessitates the race prep of a yellow Evo III for a Sendai showdown. Battles of blows, on and off the black top, shortly ensue.
Made in between Drunken Master II and Rumble in the Bronx, Thunderbolt is a Jackie Chain-led fusion of Kung-Fu and peak-90’s Japanese sports car imagery. A villain named Cougar, a young Jackie Chan destroying Pachinko halls, 90’s JDM racing liveries and racing warfare, this flick is worth your 90 minutes.
MEGALOPOLIS EXPRESSWAY TRIAL (1988)
Have you ever noticed that barely enough movies begin with a DR30 Skyline tooling around in a carpark? Banned from Japanese theatres on its first release, Megalopolis Expressway Trial is the first in a defining series of six movies made between 1988 and 1996.
A motley crew of racers take to the Wangan, hell bent on shattering a speed record set by a Formula One driver. Despite having different cars and motivations, the racers agree on one thing: luck is as important as skill and speed when attempting to break the record on the Shuto Expressway.
The Iron Mask DR30 gets a swathe of modifications for the task, and glorious cop dodging street racing drama follows. Be sure to check out all the other films in the series as well!
WANGAN MIDNIGHT (2009)
Manga brought to life, this live action film chronicles the unrelenting rivalry of Devil Z and Blackbird for Wangan supremacy; one piloted by a petulant but skilled teenager, the other by an ice-cold surgeon.
Also centred on the Shuto Expressway Bayshore Route, the young Akio Asakura loses face after racing his Z32 against Dr Tatsuya Shima’s black RUF 911.
On a mission to settle the score, Asakura finds a midnight blue 240Z in a junkyard. Restoring the vehicle for Wangan runs, he ignores warnings that the car is cursed, finding its heavily tuned motor maniacally fast.
Asakura spends night after night at the Wangan, learning to control Devil Z, and inching ever closer to Blackbird.
Rooted in the folklore of the legendary Midnight Club, this is a must-see for anyone that looks longingly at the right hand side of their speedo.
INITIAL D (2005)
Initial D is the Hong Kong-produced live action version of the seminal Japanese anime. No list of JDM films would be complete without the storied evolution of Takumi Fujiwara from hapless tofu delivery boy to touge menace.
Loosely based on the pursuits of Keiichi Tsuchiya, the teenage Fujiwara races the famed panda AE86 down Mt Akina between delivery runs and high school classes.
Racing all manner of JDM tuner icons, gangs of racers flock to Gunma prefecture to try their hand against the tofu kid. The ballad of Takumi squeezes love, heartbreak, adversity and self-discovery against a backdrop of street racing; certain to appeal to any soft-edged petrol-head.
