Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005) User Reviews

An Awesome Super-Fu Film!!

[debutante27 · 8/10 · 24 February 2006]

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!

Wonderful and Tragic Romance

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 27 November 2007]

After more than four hundred years of war between the Shinobi warriors of the Manjidani Koga and Tsubagakure Iga clans, the Lord Hattori Hanzou decrees that they must live in peace. Both clans live hidden in the woods and mountain without confrontation and without training ninjas in the shadow art of Shinobi. In 1614, the Lord of the Lords is convinced that the clans are dangerous threats for keeping peace in his lands, and his adviser plots a Machiavellian plan to destroy their best warriors in a contest. Meanwhile, the young Iga Oboro (Yukie Nakama) and Koga Gennesuke (Joe Odagiri) fall in love for each other. When Oboro's grandmother and leader of Iga clan Ogen (Riri) and Gennesuke's father and leader of the Koga clan Danjo (Minoru Terada) kill each other, Oboro and Gannesuke must lead their warriors in the ultimate battle of the Shinobi clans.

"Shonobi" is a wonderful and tragic romance, with drama, action and fantasy. The story slightly recalls Romeo and Juliet, with the impossible love of Oboro and Gennesuke that belong to enemy clans, and X-men, with the dark powers of the Shinobi warriors. The cinematography, the choreography of the fights and the state-of-art special effects are awesome, and the story is engaging and shows an adequate pace. The beauties of Yukie Nakama, Tomoka Kurotani and Erika Sawajiri are amazing, but the romance of Oboro and Gannesuke should have been better explored to increase the intensity of their final act. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Shinobi – A Batalha" ("Shinobi – The Battle")

Great Ninja Action Movie

[the_cyberpunk · 7/10 · 20 February 2007]

First I should say that I watched the subtitled version of this film but apparently there is an English dub on the North American release. Make no mistake, this IS an action movie. It is not as heavy on plot or characterization as similar films of the genre, and focuses more on matrix-like ninja fighting and great costumes. This is not necessarily a bad thing though as it does these things very well. The special effects are some of the best I've ever seen in a Japanese feature, and the overall cinematography is great. The story is pretty light and you really want to know more about some of the characters who are introduced in a totally classic "Good The Bad and the Ugly" style with their names being displayed on the corner of the screen as they are introduced.

The story centers on a pair of star-crossed lovers from rival ninja clans. The Tokugawa Government has just taken control of Japan and a new era of peace has broken out. To preserve this peace the Shogun decides that the two ninja clans must be destroyed, for their abilities are simply too dangerous and unpredictable. So the Shogun orders the two clans to each pick their five best warriors who will then battle to the death for the favor of the Shogun. Chosen to lead their respective clan's teams are the two unfortunate lovers who thought a new age of peace would allow their love to bloom, as rivalry between their clans was no longer necessary in their view – now in a cruel twist of fate they must battle to the death. This is pretty much where the story ends, and the rest of the film is a cat and mouse game between the two ninja teams as they use their seemingly supernatural abilities against each other. The team members themselves are all very interesting and I found myself wanting to know more about them but was disappointed by the rate in which they are killed off.

Overall the film is well worth watching and is smarter than your average action film, but not by much.

Anime Stylings and Innovative Characters

[UberNoodle · 7/10 · 23 February 2006]

I FINALLY got my hands on the DVD, and watched it a few days ago. I must say that I hyped this movie to myself for quite a while as I waited and waited for the film to arrive on subtitled DVD. Seeing the movie posters at the cinemas just made me salivate, and as such my view of the film was slightly slanted, and also of slight disappointment.

The film follows the story of the two tribes of Ninja - Iga and Koga, who have obeyed a non-aggression law for many generations. In a period of peace after Japan's own warring states' period, two ninjas from opposite sides meet and fall in love. In true Star-crossed Lover tradition, they have to keep their romance a secret. However, inevitably fate steps in to pull them apart, in the form of a shady tournament, designed by the Shogan's advisors.

The romance of the film takes center stage, and it fits well with the sub title "Heart Under Blade". The two main characters, leaders of their clans have to balance their love, and their responsibilities, as the Shogun's plot unfolds.

The Characters are very interestingly designed, and colourful. They all possess unique skills, and have very anime'esquire costumes and fighting styles. Much of the fighting is a combination of CGI and wire-work, and some of it is incredibly cool. The low budget effects will no doubt be critised by many who are used to ILM level of graphics, but while companies like ILM strive to make the fantastic, "real", Shinobi's effects are beautifully stylised. Regardless of how they look, their fresh and innovative look more than makes up for any lack of polish.

Character design in this film may be great, but sadly the personalities underneath have not been as fleshed-out. Except for the main characters, we are given as much as we need to know about each character to accomplish the end goals of the story, and not much more. Even the main pair felt a bit empty, and perhaps some more exploration into their feelings would have built their characters more. Seeing them hug and canoodle certainly showed that they were in love, but in the end I didn't feel it like I had hoped I would.

That said, the acting in the film is quite good. Taking cues from its comic and anime origins, the characters are even larger than life when in motion, and villains and heros are very archetypal, lending them comic-book credentials that probably would have been insufficient in a more serious film.

Perhaps it is the comic book acting, but at times the film, like many lower budget Jidaigeki, looked a little "television". I can only assume that this was due more to filming technology than quality. However, many people that love Asian film will tell you that to fully appreciate it, you have to look past the budget and see its heart. While Hollywood film tries to use the glare from all of its gloss to hide plot and character inadequacies, Asian film doesn't usually have that luxury. What it does often have though are ideas.

Shinobi does things that I have never seen a Hollywood film even try (except for a strange Spiderman like sequence which may have been in the source material anyway), and as such is something to see. It owes an awful lot to anime, and it is indeed based on one. From the character designs of the Androgenous razor whip wielder, and the silent hulking doppelganger, to the Ninja Gaiden like battle sequences, this film is an anime and ninja fans guilty dream. Plus with all of Yukie Nakama's conflicted and fragile expressions, you can't help but wish you could just give her a big cuddle! 7/10

Amazing landscapes and awesome combat choreography

[jpgonc · 7/10 · 25 March 2006]

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!

Great love story, with some action in between...

[user-14944 · 8/10 · 13 February 2007]

I must disagree with the other comment, this is one of the best movies I've seen lately. It is not meant to be a ninja story, nor a love story, but a love story between two ninjas. It is one of the most romantic movies i've seen, without being lame and girlish. It has beautiful sets, good music, and an end that will make you think twice about the difficulties of life, and honor. I can only say i cried twice on this movie, and i don't cry that easily. I saw the movie because of the video game with the same name, i hadn0t heard of this film before, and I'm so glad i saw it.

It's worth seeing, if not for the story or action, then for the great, great places they show...

a nice story with ninjas

[atomsk87 · 7/10 · 31 August 2006]

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.

Two Ninja clans are pitted against each other to see who can survive. Everyone has special abilities.The two lead characters are, unfortunately, in love.

[basilisk875 · 10/10 · 10 October 2005]

This story comes from the Japanese manga (graphic novel) called "Basilisk," and is heavily edited from it. They cut out half the characters for the sake of easy and time. Although unfortunate, I agree that they had to do it, and they did a good job of making a "short" movie plot out of long series. The special effects are breathtaking. They must have combined computer animation, and paid attention to every little detail down to making the eyes shine and reflect light in the two main characters when they're talking. I liken it to House of Flying Daggers or one of those Chinese flicks that are beautiful and have a lot of attention to detail. I love how they managed the occasional slow motion scenes. The acting is top notch. I hate love stories but I took to this one. It's not all love, and the action scenes are well choreographed and exciting. Ninjas fight, but they're not the kind of ninjas to be clothed in black jumpers with masks. The "special abilities" don't look corny or contrived, which impressed me.

I hope it is subtitled into English soon.

Lament of an obsolete profession

[harry_tk_yung · 15 May 2006]

While many see "Shinobi" as either a superb CGI visual feast or a Romeo and Juliet tragic romance transported to a Ninja setting, a broader and deeper view is possible. Recall in "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) how the character played by Charles Bronson who once earned hundreds of dollars for a gunfight assignment is reduced to being willing to accept a job at a poor village that can only pay him a miserly wage. Even more appropriately, recall in "Shichinin no samurai" (1954) (for that is the film from which "The magnificent" is adapted) how the character played by MIFUNE Toshiro longs to become a samurai, only to find that it is a dying, obsolete profession. In "Shinobi", we hear more than one character's vehement vow that he or she has been brought up and trained to do only one thing – fight. "Without an enemy to fight, we're worthless", laments one of them.

The plot is simple: two Ninja clans living in adjacent villages hidden from the world are released from the decree that has forbidden them to fight in the last 400 years. Indeed, they are now encouraged to fight, and the winner will have the honour of serving the Emperor who is on the verge to bringing Japan completely under his rule. The two young successors soon to lead the clans, as ill fate would have it, are lovers after a chance meeting some time ago.

While the royal decree is for each clan to send five top Ninjas in head to head combats, obviously you wouldn't expect to watch something like a sumo wrestling match in unimaginative symmetry. All the fights in fact take place en route to the capital, as the leader of one clan tries (against some of his team members' wishes) to persuade the Emperor to change his mind and abort the senseless duels. As to the CGI-heavy action, all I need to say that if you have enjoyed the X-men series, you will absolutely enjoy "Shinobi".

Not enough screen time has been given to the development of the love story – on that much most people agree. But maybe it's not a bad idea to leave that to the audiences' imagination. After all, we have the best looking pair on any screen – NAKAMA Yukie and ODAGIRI Jo – and that itself is convincing enough.

Footnote: This is just to remind myself of the five fighters on each side, and wouldn't make any sense unless you've seen the movie.

On his side – thousand flying blades, claws, face off, poison woman

On her side – indestructible silver hair, sleeves, glowworm, hood

Allllmost awesome.

[rooprect · 7/10 · 27 July 2019]

"Shinobi" presents us with an epic tale of love, hate, political manipulation and the plight of the underdog against an overwhelming foe, be it a tangible foe or fate itself. The coolest part about this movie is the background and super power of each character, each one being original, fascinating and deeply layered as we learn in bits and pieces. The worst part about this movie is that it falls back on a few clichés that may annoy you in this otherwise unusual spin on the classic "love in the time of hate" story.

First the cool stuff. The plot centers around a fight to the death between 2 teams with 5 warriors on each team. Here's the thing: each warrior has a unique power which isn't spelled out for us. We need to piece it together what their power is and how they got it. These aren't just a bunch of sword swingers running through the forest; they each have a very specialized skill that they stick to (often not even involving weaponry).

For example, one character is a woman who was raised on poison, and so she has literally the kiss of death. But it goes deeper than that. Having the kiss of death means that she can never know true love because all her lovers would die, and so she leads a tragic life, existing only for the sake of killing though she years to know what love is. How cool is that!

Other characters possess similarly complex powers which lead to deep conflicts in life, and you realize that even the most ruthless ones have an unspoken human side.

The main story focuses on two lovers who, you guessed it, end up on opposite teams. Here is where the Shakespearean question of fate plays heavily. One of them believes that they can somehow beat their tragic fate while the other is resigned to a hopeless ending. What I loved about this movie (at first) is that it doesn't waste time with waffling sensibility: right off the bat, the lovers refuse to fight and they make their peaceful intentions known. But slowly they start getting dragged into the inevitable violence.

But unfortunately the film later falls back on a few clichés which we've seen dozens of times before in other tales of love and war, and that's where I dock Shinobi a few points. With its original setup, I was hoping it was going to stay in that vein and avoid what so many other films have done. It does stay unique, but one or two critical plot elements were pure cookie cutter. Making matters worse, these plot elements were not in line with the characters' personalities. It's like the clichés were thrown in just because the film had to have them.

It's not a fatal flaw, and you may not even notice unless like me you've watched dozens of epic love/war stories like this. Who knows, maybe the whole thing will be fresh and new for you. But I just wanted to temper your expectations a bit. Although Shinobi is a good movie, it's not quite awesome. Still worth your time, though.

Movies in this genre which I *do* consider awesome are the Yimou Zhang films "Hero" (2002) and "House of Flying Daggers" (2004). While "Shinobi" is a great effort, I think you should check out those others first to get a taste of cinematic perfection.

Undeveloped characters, meaningless deaths

[phoenixlau · 4/10 · 18 April 2006]

"Shinobi" is one of those movies that thinks the mere act of killing off a character automatically brings a sense of gravitas or emotion to the story. Unfortunately, for the audience to actually care about the people dying, you have to develop the characters, otherwise all you have is a bunch of random acts of violence. The problem is especially compounded when you have TONS of characters, all of whom die.

OK, so if you can't be bothered to make the characters memorable or sympathetic in any way, you can at least make the REASONS for why they die plausible, right? Nope. Here we have a war between two ninja clans, with neither side really knowing WHY they are fighting each other. They kill each other because the emperor says so. Yet even well after it becomes glaringly obvious that the emperor wants ALL of them dead, they still refuse to abandon their meaningless missions. That's not stubbornness... that's just plain dumb.

Fine, fine! There is no character development, and the plot provides no reasonable rationale for fighting. At least they die fighting in cool action scenes, right? Yet again, NO! In fact, many of the fights aren't even fights at all: super ninjas that the movie spent so much time and effort introducing die suddenly (and lamely, in my opinion). I'm talking about things like, "Lalala, I'm walking along and I- *neck gets slashed*." THE END for that character. Not even halfway through the film, I threw my hands up in frustration at the ludicrousness of it.

so good

[babisampah · 10/10 · 22 September 2005]

As someone mentioned, he said that the movie was awful because it contained only 10% fighting scene. Well that person exaggerated too much. Obviously this movie is a romance just because the title is SHINOBI and does not mean it contains lots of violent / fighting scenes. Instead, this movie focuses more on the romance side rather than the violence side. and That is why the theme song is a ballad. This movie is very beautiful. it has good romance just like Romeo and Juliet. If you are a person who likes romance, than this is the right movie. and if you are a person who is looking for violence, than this movie is not the right one for you.

Passive Azumi, but a better film

[siderite · 7/10 · 8 July 2006]

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.

10 stars for the fight scenes, 1 star for the story

[The_Secret_Skull · 5/10 · 12 March 2006]

If all you're looking for are some great superhero-style fight scenes and cool visuals, listen to the people who give Shinobi a high rating and then fast-forward to the battles, because they kick @ss. Most of the characters have interesting powers and the movie isn't too bad when they're actually using them.

Overall, however, the film is slow-moving and the plot is extremely annoying. About 40 minutes of this film should have been left on the cutting-room floor, especially at the beginning and the end.

Shinobi is the kind of movie where every single character must do the dumbest thing possible at every opportunity to keep the story going. Seriously, these are the stupidest ninjas* who ever lived. To make matters worse, the two clan villages are full of the weakest, most oblivious ninjas-in-training who ever lived.

The hero and heroine are excruciatingly passive and unbelievably gullible. They never take a stand for or against anything -- they're too busy trying to pretend the movie has a message. You end up rooting for them to die just so they'll stop moping about things they can easily change.

The Romeo and Juliet comparison sounds catchy, but it only applies in the most general sort of way. This movie fails miserably as a romance because of the one-dimensional, apathetic natures of the two "star-crossed lovers." They repeat that phrase about 50 times in case you somehow forget, which is easy to do since there's very little keeping them apart. They simply prefer their angst to each other.

Shinobi is definitely not worth buying, because you won't want to sit through it twice. But the fights are fun to watch, so it's worth renting just for that.

--------------------------------------------------------------

*Technically they aren't supposed to be ninjas; they're magical warriors. Whatever.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I like the philosophy in it

[sanrishta18 · 18 April 2006]

If we are looking for elaborated Japanese story, this movie is not as elaborated as (for example) Kurosawa's Samurai trilogy. If we are looking for the actions, the movie does not offer much too. This movie is a bit of everything: romance, action, etc.

However, what I really like in this movie is the eastern philosophy. Something like "love is not everything, above love there is honor (of the clan) and the obligation (towards the government)". And also about submitting to fate; like the immortal one who choose to die by inhaling the poison, simply because he accepts that "Our time has passed".

Furthermore, this movie help me to empathically see how difficult it is to be a leader; to change the vision of the members, when the members are not ready to leave the old vision. Gennosuke fails to convince his 4 warriors about the importance of avoiding the fight; I can only imagine how hard it is for a leader to convince millions of citizens to do something different.

Beautiful movie, but poor characterization

[unbrokenmetal · 7/10 · 13 July 2008]

Gennosuke (Jo Odagiri) falls in love with Oboro (Yukie Nakama) although she's a member of an enemy clan. There is no real explanation why they are drawn to each other - except good looks maybe (pointless #1). The Shogun decides the clans shall fight against each other - the choice of his successor depends on who will be victorious. They could have voted, he could have decided about the succession himself or the 2 candidates could have challenged each other - any other solution would make more sense then killing 9 of the 10 best warriors over it (pointless #2). Oboro and Gennosuke behave according to the rules even when they realize they are cheated which leads to a disappointing end (pointless #3).

"Shinobi" is a movie full of beauty and most remarkable fights; characters with special abilities like face shifting, poisoned breath, self-healing powers or very long hair as a weapon make this a great show! Unfortunately, "Shinobi" also is a stupid movie with characters that are simply stabbed from behind (important in one moment, gone in the next!), poorly explained or act like fools; even the old leaders of the clans kill each other in a fight that goes "blink and you missed it", what a waste. The only exception is the girl with the poisoned breath - she tells she was fed with toxic substances since childhood, so she never had a choice other than become a deadly warrior, and she'll never have the possibility to kiss a friend. Such a background information is missing on everybody else, so you wonder why can Gennosuke manipulate time, why can the other guy take someone else's face, why can the eyes of Oboro be deadly, why, why, why... It's an endless list. I presume too much was omitted from the Manga. For the girl with poisoned breath, we know the cause of her despair: she has no choice and had to become a killer. Oboro and Gennosuke are not handicapped in a similar way, they have no reason to despair. They would have a choice, but they give up, anyway. One might argue it's a matter of tradition and honor, but if tradition was so strong in them, then they could never fall in love, as hate would be rooted too deeply, and also when the clans are declared outlaws and hunted by the Shogun's troops, that changes the responsibilities totally, doesn't it. No matter which way you look at it, there are serious holes in the credibility of it all. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the movie as you see from the 7 little stars, but there were moments which annoyed me so I wanted to explain them.

2005 the year of this topic

[jkind_lmt · 6/10 · 27 June 2006]

This movie is based off of a novel, Kouga Ninpou Cho, by Futaro Yamada. A manga series and anime series, called Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls, are also based on this novel. Out of all of these mediums, I prefer the anime. The movie was OK but I had already seen the anime which went into more detail, because it could. Because the anime is a 24 episode series the story followed ten and not five shinobi from each clan. The art work is wonderful, all the characters are more fleshed out than in the movie and each characters power makes more sense.

So if you enjoyed this movie, or just like anime I suggest you check out Basilisk.

Simply the best

[TwentyCalls · 9/10 · 10 September 2007]

Since young, I'm thrilled by Kung Fu action flicks and looks like I will be continuously entertained by the big screen when studios keep producing films like this. The Japanese is a culture that is very deep rooted. As such, to escape, their minds have to venture way way beyond the logic and realism. Look through the genres of Japanese anime and fantasies - they are so extreme! I would not say that this movie belongs to the very extreme, but it is at the right level for grown up audience. It has all the right ingredients - beautiful settings and sceneries, romance (the Chinese style) and most of all out-of-the-world Kung Fu powers and actions.

The story has a slow start. But as it progresses, the extraordinary skill of each fighter is revealed. You can't help but get glued to the screen for the next ninja to fight. The ending was sad but satisfying.

A lot of CGI does not a good movie make

[gwailo247 · 6/10 · 28 February 2006]

I happened to come across this film after watching Shogun's Samurai for the first time and re-watching Ninja Scroll. It made an interesting combination, with overlapping plots and characters. But I would have to rank this movie third out of the group.

This movie has pretty good action sequences, but it has very minimal character development and a rather weak plot. Unfortunately its over reliance on CGI really dulled the fight scenes, as someone pointed out, there were no real sword fights. There were definitely a lot of good characters in this film, and their unique powers were pretty cool, but they were rather wasted in the setting of the fight in the forest.

This movie would have been a lot better in an urban setting against the setting of a deeper plot. The shape shifter, the immortal, the poisoner, their powers could have been used to advance the plot instead of just providing another fight in the forest. It seems that the producers first came up with the fight sequences, and then crafted the plot around it.

Overall its pretty good eye candy, but when compared against similarly themed Japanese films, its weaknesses are rather glaring. Ninja Scroll is a far better film, both in terms of action and plot.

This movie is the best. I love the two main cast Nakama Yukie and Odagiri Joe

[johnny_evil_thao · 10/10 · 26 April 2006]

I really like this movie when I first saw it, because it is like a Ninja version of Romeo and Juliet with some West Side story ( without the singing. Odagiri Joe and Nakama Yukie gave it all they got to make this movie successful and I think its great that they did that. They also have a previous mini series together called Kao. If you movie action movie lovers are hoping for multi action in this movie, you are wasting your time, because this movie is not all about action and it barely shows it, but a lot of scene's in this movie are really strong and great. The meaning and plot of this movie is trying to tell the viewer's about how a great love and easily be torn apart by useless war and family/clans feud's against each other. Anyway this movie is really good its is the only great movie that I have seen this year.

A Nutshell Review: Shinobi (2005)

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 14 June 2007]

There are many Romeo and Juliet type stories out there, and this happens to be one of them, set in Japanese medieval times, with fantastical martial arts moves that will probably wow action fans with their pace and brutality. It reminds me of the time when I was watching Hong Kong's Stormriders which somewhat raised the bar for such movies, and in terms of action set pieces, Shinobi doesn't disappoint.

The story however, given its romantic element, somehow misses the mark. Yes, we know that it's written in the stars that the star crossed lovers are doomed to begin with when they fall for each other, having their only love sprung from their only hate, and it's actually quite a critical plot point in terms of character motivation when they become the appointed heads of their respective clans, but I guess romantic tangles get tossed aside when more room for action is required to satisfy genre fans.

Shinobi is set during the time of feuding clans in the Tokugawa era. The Iga and the Kouga clans reside in hidden villages, and the Lord of Lords have just decreed that the clans can go on an all out war against each other. This naturally spells trouble for both Oboru (Yukie Nakama) and Kouga Gennosuke (Jo Odagiri), who have recently professed their love for each other in secret. The decree dictates that each clan selects 5 of their best warriors to duke it out, and no prizes if you guess that both Oboru and Kouga Gennosuke are amongst the warriors selected. There's more political intrigue up the movie's sleeves, but these plots and schemes are secondary to the action that unfolds.

Each of the 5 warriors have unique skills, and when they're exhibited, it's edge of your seat stuff excitement. However, the major flaw is that most of them are one skill wonders, meaning they're masters of that skill, and you see little more. It's akin to X-Men's mutants, and some powers though will ring familiar, like the blatant claws from fists, and healing prowess. But the best bits of powers though belong to our leads, because it's only natural for the most powerful to be leading their respective clans, but again, they suffer from limited fighting scenes. Most are quite violent and enhanced with some really nice special effects, but for those who are squeamish, you probably would wince at the stabbing, decapitations, etc.

What started off quite promisingly, gets dragged into cliché-land. Shinobi though boasts some stunning landscape visuals, that will make you wonder if they really exist, or are spruced up with a computer. Strictly for those who enjoy Romeo and Juliet interpreted in various retellings and adaptations, and fantastical kungfu junkies.

To the point...

[RBForrest · 4/10 · 21 October 2006]

Quick review: Decent fights, though not much fighting. Artistically shot, yet great cinematography dreadfully underused. Supposed to be a love story, yet I did not feel for the two main characters at all.

Someone put that this movie deserved better, and was much better than Azumi. Anyone that picks this piece of crap over a Rhyuhei Kitamura movie deserves to be shot. Honestly...

Shinobi was well acted, but for a love story there was not enough screen time to the building of this said story. It's hard to like a love story when you don't feel the love the characters have for each other. Also, for just an action movie, it falls short, in that there are really only a handful of fight scenes (most of them quick deaths), and only one actually shows the creativity the cinematographer had in store for the whole movie.

This movie fell flat, and did not accomplish anything that it set out to do.

Excellent movie

[bogdi_baros · 10/10 · 18 August 2006]

This is one of the best Japanese movies i have ever seen.I loved it and i recommend it to anyone who knows what a good movie is.I didn't expect to be this good but it exceeded my expectations by far.I've seen twice in one day and I still want to see it again.It captured me with the story.From the title i expected an action packed movie but the beauty of the movie doesn't stand in the fight scenes but in the love story between the two 'shinobis'.The end left me speechless because I didn't portrayed it in my mind this way and it gives the movie another quality upgrade for the dramatic type of it.The characters are great and the actors outstanding...It has a 10 from me

Shinobi

[WarofGenesis · 7/10 · 18 May 2006]

I agree some who with the other comment but overall the was good but there wasn't that feel as such in the film. i was thinking that it would some kind of high level of "epic, drama and fight" because you had two Shani clans fighting and then you got the two lovers who want to be together.

but 10 fighters make their way to the shoguns place. all of them die on the way. both lovers meet their fate other one gets killed etc.

i expected more than that i mean something like more hardships, a mass Battle wither between the clans or they join forces against the shoguns. well thats just my say.

but overall great graphics, good settings. i just wanted more out the story

Beautiful but that's about all

[editor-92 · 4/10 · 14 March 2007]

I have watched anime but I'm not a die hard fan; and I don't read manga. I say this because many of the reviewers who are waxing lyrical about this film seem to have that background. I have seen "St. John's Wort," and although it isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it made me pick up "Shinobi," especially since everyone seems to love it.

Well, I watched it this afternoon, and fought very hard to keep watching. Yes, it's very beautiful - the slow motion water scenes, the autumn leaves on the trees, even the CGI eye flicker - majestic. I liked the hawk, the costumes, even some of the fight scenes, but overall this was dull as dirt.

It seemed as if someone took "Romeo and Juliet" - the translation even mentions that they are star crossed lovers - and threw in some "X-Men" for good measure. Two of the characters split Wolverine's powers - the guy dressed in a bear costume had his claws and the grey-haired guy had his ability to heal himself. Then you have the girl who has a poison kiss - that's Poison Ivy (from Batman). Why do they give these women such dumb powers? Poison girl shows her leg then kisses you to death. Man, that's some great power for you. And the other girl, can create bugs from this yellow dust that she rubs on her hands. The other woman, one of the star crossed lovers, has the power of a hypnotic stare. Wow.

I sort of made it to the end of the film, by fast forwarding it, and did see a bit more tragedy than I expected. Some people are comparing this to "House of Flying Daggers" and "Hero." Don't make that mistake. They may share similar endings, but that's where the similarities end. "Shinobi" is made by an amateur - the other films are made by an experienced filmmaker.

I would say avoid this film unless you're 12 to 18 years old.