Shinobi

In Shinobi, ninja Romeo and Juliet have to fight each other because the great Tokugawa ordered it. What will it happen? This is a movie that is based , apparently, on a Futaro Yamada novel, called Kouga Ninpu Chou. Both Ninja Scroll and Basilisk anime are based on it. I haven't yet seen Basilisk, but the beginning of the first episode is identical to the beginning of this movie. It might be better to watch Basilisk first to really understand the film.

For me, the more deep meaning of the film was that people are ants, and as long as there is some bigger ant that a lot of smaller ants listen to, individual skills are useless. In the end, Tokugawa justifies his actions by the eternal "you are not really human". Well, isn't that the cherry on the cake? Every war ever fought was based on the idea that your enemy is not human or at least very different. So much for the bringer of peace in Japan.

The action is good, though, you meet interesting ninjas with great skills, then they die. So much training for just one silly moment. I was expecting the two villages to unite and kick some bureaucratic ass, but that was not to be. Alas, in the modern world, the bureaucrats always win.

===== Update =====

I couldn't find the IMDb entry for the animation series Basilisk, so I will just comment on it here:

Oh my God, they killed Taizen! You bastards! :)

It makes sense to continue the comment here, as the plot is almost identical both in the series and the film. The anime has 24 episodes, the idea of each being how different ninjas fight with their special abilities. The characters are a bit different, but mostly the same powers they have in the film they have in the movie. Taizen is really annoying in the series, as well as Oboro, while some of the chicks are drawn really well :) The ending is slightly different, but essentially, if you've seen the movie, there is a high probability you will get bored watching the anime. Watching the anime first, though, would make the film seem rather silly. Anyway, good anime, but not amongst the best.

Shinobi is a story about 2 Shinobi tribal villages that must went on a deadly fight. The Lord of the Lords is a man that runs a neutral faction among the Shogun Kingdom but that everyone is bond and obeys, and when he, under clerical/military advice, promotes and proclaims that the 2 Shinobi villages must choose each 5 of their great warriors to battle until death, things turn awry.

The problem is that one beautiful woman of one of the villages falls in mutual love with a man from the other village. Love and war collide. Is the love between them so strong that can stop the war? Shinobi is a movie packed with astounding nature scenes, (I wonder if still exists such nature landscapes thru Japan...) a surprisingly impressive fight choreography and a fair story.

I really advise everyone to see this movie!

I think this movie has enough romance and fighting to please most people.. but those wanting to see nothing but action will be disappointed! The ninja techniques are not neglected in this story, these are special techniques and not just those used by the average assassin dressed in black. I don't like fantasy special effects most of the time and I thought these were fine. Some people have said that the main part of the story is the romance, I agree but I think it depends on how much you like that compared to the fighting.

The mix of genres is quite evenly balanced though. In the end you should be quite pleased if you like one particular genre and maybe very pleased if you love them all.

If I had a problem with this movie it would be that I wanted to know one or two characters better, maybe through hearing them talk about something else or seeing a bit of their daily life. They all wanted to show off their ninja techniques instead :) It's nice, I hope you enjoy it.

I'll be honest - I did not have much expectations for this film. After sitting through movies such as Azumi, Azumi 2, and Princess Blade...I somewhat lost hope for Japanese ninja movies. However I was pleasantly surprised by "Shinobi". Sure, there is the cheese factor in the film, but hey, you can't help it with this types of movies. I found "Shinobi" to be far superior to "Azumi" and "Azumi 2" in all aspects. Acting is much more bearable. Plot is existent. Character design is interesting. Action is far, far more exciting.

I give it 8 out of 10 stars. I'd definitely recommend to give this movie a chance.

Actually, 8.5 - a extra for the hotness factor of Yukie Nakama (Oboro) and Tomoka Kurotani (Kagero). ^_^

The comments I've seen for this movie are the sole reason I signed up at IMDb; in order to rebuke some of the harsh criticism given. I haven't seen the Manga cartoon, or read the comic if there was one - so I say unabashedly that I loved this film. I think at least one other comment made was a reflection of bitterness about not having the film remain faithful to the animated series, in whatever form it exists.

That said, for those who are new to it all, I HIGHLY recommend this film to action lovers. I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish... from start to finish, I say. Martial arts movies come in three "fu's" by my classification:

"Regular-Fu": the kind that the incomparable Bruce Lee brought us followed by acts like Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, Jean-Claude Van Damme and the like; clean, physical and grounded.

"Wire-FU": This sub-genre has been best epitomized in films like 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' and 'Hero', often used in Jet Li films and even 'The Matrix Trilogy'. It's fast, hyper-acrobatic and aerial.

"Super-FU": This is where SHINOBI comes in. Fighters have very unique abilities that are often much faster and deadlier that Wire-Fu styles. This kind is fantastic, exceptional, and ethereal. If you could not suspend belief enough to watch a film like 'Spiderman', there's little chance you will like SHINOBI.

Now, for the special effects fighting nuts like myself, this film is a really good one. The storyline is most reasonably adequate, I felt . It is terse (stoic) all the way through, and has the action to match... and the acting really compliments that air. And boy, do some of the actors look their parts! There are no wasted sequences of nothingness in this film; the story is coherent, especially when I consider other movies of the same category, like 'The Duel' and 'The Promise'. On this point I disagree with some other comments again.

I don't know if a sequel was planned but I really hope so. I fully enjoyed the film, especially after expecting so little from what I initially read here!