Naruto: O Filme - A Lenda da Pedra de Gelel

By definition, "Utopia" is simple in context, but every individual has their take on what their Promised Land truly is. How far must we reach to obtain tranquility, and what must we sacrifice to reach that goal?

Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru find themselves embroiled in a power struggle between a hypocritical faction forging their road to peace and the outside world in a nation where hopelessness and despair are perpetually at odds. We are once again given a meager amount of a series that has cemented its position in anime history, complete with eye-catching animation and a few fresh, believable characters.

Plot complexity can provide challenges, particularly when the authors are only allotted the running time of a movie to fully develop the story's complexities. The simple task of capturing and delivering a ferret quickly spirals out of control and becomes, well, difficult. We are left with a convoluted story and a few well-animated battles that, for the most part, lacked much substance because there wasn't much time to devote to character development.

Three of the main series' most memorable characters, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru-shine, and fortunately their boldness translates to the big screen to partially offset the lackluster new characters. We are introduced to an organization controlled by the cunning man Haido, who wants to use the Vein of Gelel, an ancient source of supreme power, to end all conflict in the globe. Haido is an instantly disliked character whose purpose is obvious from the outset and who adds nothing original to the narrative save the clichés that come with his position.

Temujin, a key player in the narrative and one of Haido's goons, is the only positive component of the film. Being one of the only (relatively) fully realized characters in the movie, we get to know him and his ideas about what it takes to reach "Utopia." The only function of the other henchwomen, Fugai, Kamina, and Ranke, is to display some amusing animation gimmicks throughout the battle scenes.

Although it is difficult to say if Naruto: Legend of the Stone of Gelel truly provides the answers we have been wondering about, we do get to see a somewhat fascinating character study. Though conceptually we are left wondering whether a "Utopia" can ever exist or whether a "necessary sacrifice" is ever justified, the novel itself is nothing special.

I liked this movie, the second Naruto feature film. I enjoyed the one in the snow a tad better though as I found the story here a bit disjointed as I was not sure where certain things were supposed to be happening or when. Still, like the first film this one too has a nice run time to it of a hour and a half, plenty of time for a nice well developed movie with some really cool fights. The story starts off with ninja from the village hidden in the sand in combat with unknown assailants. It then shits to Naruto, Sakura, and Shikumaru hunting down a ferret for what they think is going to be an easy assignment. They soon find out otherwise as they are also attacked and Naruto is separated from his friends after he has a fight with a strange young warrior clad in armor. They both are injured and taken in by a caravan and soon after Naruto is invited to join this strange organization that wishes to create a utopia. Of course, all is not as it seems and there are plenty of fights to go around. My favorite was the one involving Garaa fighting this strange woman who takes him very lightly which is a very big mistake. The concluding fight is rather good too involving Naruto and this strange man who is a better villain than any of those in the previous movie.

While probably the best of the three films that coincide with the original Naruto anime, "Legend of the Stone of Gelel" is still rather mediocre. I'd even say, I like "Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow" better, though a lot of that probably comes down to nostalgia and the fact it helps strengthen the feeling Sasuke had grown a real bond with Team 7 before the editorial mandates led to rather rushed rift that formed between him and his team. I won't lie, the second film has some really fun moments and cool aspects like starring Shikamaru, the design of Temujin, an antagonist who makes use of probably the most underutilized, but useful jutsus, Genjutsu and appearances from the Sand Village, Gaara and Kankuro. However, it's just not very strong with a predictable story, forgettable original characters, one moment that feels very out of left field, and I'm pretty sure it breaks the rules of Genjutsu to add false tension. It also introduces a concept that feels too important to be as throwaway as it ultimately ends up being, the movie being non-cannon and all. Oh, they also left out Temari which is an actual crime against humanity when the Sand Village is a part of the story.

This felt less like Naruto then the first movie. One thing I hate about these is their insistence on over advancements that don't match the era setting of the Naruto universe, honestly it feels like they're just forcing these advancements just to please the people who only like the action scenes but in doing so the take away the feeling that Naruto normally has. The story itself wasn't that interesting but it wasn't that bad, it was definitely made for the people who like the action more then the story.

This movie was good but i personally liked the first movie better. The animation in this movie is certainly better the characters were sharper and details has been looked into. the lighting was excellent and was most certainly better than the first movie.

The appearance on Gaara and the others comes as a surprise at the beginning but as the movie progresses one can see that Gaara has no part in the action. That was kind of disappointing and many fans would agree with me on that.

The background was decent throughout the movie(had a slight Indian touch here and there). The storyline is similar to the other ones that appear in the Naruto series so don't expect anything different.

Bottomline...If you are a Naruto fan then you'd definitely like it.