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
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