Nin x Nin: Ninja Hattori-kun, the Movie

What an adaptation! The manga I discovered after, is a real pleasure. The movie is a great adaptation from the story of a clumsy smart ninja kid's initiation to the real thing! The character itself is very lovable and the movie reproduces exactly what we can expect from the manga series. Fun, entertaining and absolutely not pretentious, this the key to enter the Hattory's story. Japanese got it all, humble, simple, smart and efficient... My first experience with this kind of comedy was the best by far. Ashamed of smiling in front of ninja kids 10 (lol), well you'll definitely crack up for something's worth it. Forget everything about Ninja Hong Kong movie for once, and you'll be extremely amazed by such a humble comedy like only Japaneses can make. A must in its kind

If you're a fan of SMAP's TV shows, then you're probably familiar with Kattori Shingo's unique humor. He leaps in front of little kids with a huge smile squeaking "NIN NIN" and quickly shifts his eyes to the side realizing that his pants are down. He is certainly one of the most talented comedians of his generation and will no doubt continue to give quality performances in the future.

He does not disappoint in NIN-NIN, a film based on an old anime broadcast on Japanese television 30 years ago. Shingo is perfect for the role and got me genuinely laughing during several scenes, but I had the feeling that he was holding back a little. On TV, he is ultra silly, like a kid bouncing off the walls, but I'm guessing that strict direction, tight schedules, and an unimaginative script from Toei Pictures must have wilted his normally vibrant silliness. Nonetheless, with Shingo in your cast, you're guaranteed a bellyful of laughs. When the legendary red-cheeked ninja is introduced, the kid in you is full of excitement that will carry you at least half-way through the movie.

The second half of NIN-NIN turns mediocre like a fading cherry blossom with no stamina, and towards the end it gets pretty stupid. I'm attributing this wilting second half to a production team with no stamina, but I could be wrong.

There's also a lot of unnecessary and misplaced additions to NIN-NIN. While there are pleasant hazily filtered daylight shots featuring the beautiful Rena Tanaka and obligatory hazily-echoed flash back scenes with the cardboard-stiff spectacled-kid squawking "thank you NIN-NIN", they could easily be saved for a more serious drama. This is Shingo's NIN-NIN, after all, and we pay to see goofy, silly comedy, not teary-eyed shampoo commercials.

Finally, the villain is terrible. At first we might think that the mysterious black ninja is some kind of Neon-Tokyo punk, but he turns out to be some pudgy 50 year old enka singer in a cheap plastic trench coat. He's the type of guy you'd find in a Japanese bar drinking sake with his salary man buddies laughing really loud about stupid stuff. His little speech at the end is like a contrived oratory to the Japanese Diet, and Shingo must have been like, "Hey, man, this is a silly ninja comedy for crying out loud, not an ovation to Japanese film or its board of directors. Jeez, someone skip to the credits quick!"

Okay, enough enka bashing for now. NIN-NIN is a decent movie, but such a nicely set-up concept deserves a production team that is more together and dedicated. While it has the potential to be molten-rock silly, it instead wanders into irrelevant territory and finally fizzles like the post-bubble Japanese economy. If you want to see a comic book remake done well, search for Cutey Honey (2004), which is full on comic book pulp-style, with all the costumes, special effects, and cult-inspired quick-cut editing that NIN-NIN fails to deliver.

JY

Starring Katori Shingo from Japanese boys to men pop band fame - SMAP, this movie is aimed directly at the immature audience. That said just because you enjoyed movies such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, it doesn't mean you'll like this one. I imagine its more along the lines of the recent Spy-Kids series, which were immensely popular. The story is typical Hollywood fare, even though it's not a Hollywood movie. What happens when a young bullied elementary kid suddenly is the master of a great if somewhat naive ninja? If you can't guess maybe this is the movie for you. Based on the comic book and Japanese television animation series - Ninja Hattori-kun, I'd like to say that it has kept the spirit of those alive but having neither read nor seen the aforementioned I wouldn't know and after having seen this movie I also had no desire to. It's not a completely dull movie and Shingo has the charisma to make the character charming for those under 10.

Like "The Great Yokai War" (2005), "Nin X Nin" is the story of a lonely, sensitive kid who is befriended by an oddball with super powers. In this case, Hattori, the Iga Ninja pal, played to campy perfection by Shingo Katori, is on a mission to obtain his graduate degree in the ninja arts. To do so, he must travel to contemporary Tokyo, (from his primitive mountain retreat,) adopt a new master and, all the while, maintain the exacting code of his ancestors.

In an especially funny scene, a (historic enemy) Koga ninja describes to Hattori the ways that members of his clan have adapted to modern society, putting their ninja skills to work in benign, useful and entertaining ways. Among his fellow Koga retirees are juggler, a skyscraper window washer and a housewife preparing dinner salad. Fans of ninja movies should get a laugh from these "adaptations."

Friendship, loyalty and discovering one's special gifts are the overall themes in this delightful movie. If you watch it without a hypercritical eye, you can enjoy being a kid again.