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