Shinobi - Heart Under Blade
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Movie Reviews of Shinobi - Heart Under Blade
Movie Review: Good...No Masterpiece though...
Summary: 3 Stars
Ah, sweet memories of playing Shinobi while at home sick from school. I've always been fascinated with ninjas and the culture surrounding them, when I was younger this fascination expressed itself through video games, and now that I'm older it's done through books, movies, and anime. There are quite a bit of movies about Ninjas, some good; some horrible... this one falls towards the good end. From the beginning you'll notice this film is very visually stylized... there is plenty of slow motion, bright colors, and CG. I quite enjoyed the look of the film, even though you're going to have to forgive some of the special effects; they're passable but nowhere near big budget Hollywood quality.
The story is pretty intriguing, and involves what can best be summarized as a forbidden romance during a time of struggle between two clans. I was surprised that there was a great humanistic message hidden here within all the swordplay, which towards the end gets driven home pretty hard. Many of the shinobi in the movie have really cool unique powers, and it makes the movie a lot of fun in my opinion. Overall I was pretty pleased... if you go into this one with modest expectations you'll enjoy it. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but it does what it should well. 3.5/5 stars.
Movie Review: A visual treat but lack of substance....
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a great movie....but if you want more of a story, go buy Basilisk instead. The movie is supposed to revolve around the battle between the Iga and the Kouga, but it's also supposed to be mainly around the two lovers Oboro and Gennosuke. You barely see them together, and more time is spent on very brief but visually stunning battle sequences between the Iga and Kouga Ninjas. Isn't the point of a tragic romance to actually SHOW the romance a bit more? There's also lack of character development too, but considering how long you see some of them on the screen, it probably wasn't worth the director's time anyway. It's almost like the director chose the characters he wanted to showcase and threw the rest under a rug. Visually, this movie is stunning! The locations for Manjidani and Tsubagakure are completely different but very beautiful and show how much both ninja villages vary. Manjidani is a mountainous area that is more arid, whilst Tsubagakure is near a river and is surrounded by greenery. The special effects are AMAZING and you can tell that a majority of the director's budget was spent here instead of making more of a story. Overall, it's worth it to see this movie at least once. But make sure you watch Basilisk first.Movie Review: Okay but anime version is better
Summary: 3 Stars
The movie was very good. But I did't like how they change the ending making Oboru want to kill her love. In the anime, they were more loyal to each other.
Action was good. Thought characters were changed a little bit.
Movie Review: Shinobi - Heart Under Blade
Summary: 3 Stars
A pretty good movie overall but if you are a fan of the animation than you will be disappointed. Story line is a little bit different and the acting is ok.Movie Review: Somewhat of a disappointment
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this film just based on the storyline, and since I'm not familiar with the novel, nor the anime, I didn't think I had to do any comparision. However, I did compare, but not on purpose, it just turned out that way. The Iga vs Koga intrigued me, the love story intrigued me, the Tokugawas wanting to wipe out the troublesome villages intrigued me. I had to watch this film. While I don't regret purchasing the film, I must say that I was diappointed in it as I watched.
What did I compare it to? The first Kage No Gundan which starred Sonny Chiba as a Hattori Hanzo. Although that was an episodic television show, that too was primarily Iga vs Koga, it too had a tragic love story between the leader of the Iga and one of the leaders of the Koga and it too, complained that the Shogunate liked to play off the Iga and Koga against each other. Perhaps Kage No Gundan I gives a better essence of the novel, Kouga Ninja Scrolls because this movie just didn't do it for me.
In this story, Tokugawa Ieyasu summons the leaders of two rival ninja villages, one Iga, and one Koga, which happen to be neighbors, and observes a demonstration of each village's talents. he sets up a tournament in which 5 of the best fighters of each village fight each other. Two of the participants are the heirs to the two villages, who happen to be in love with each other. There is an ulterior motive to all this, and without giving away the rest of the plot, let's just say that Tokugawa finds ninjas to be a danger to his rule.
The tournament is that the village of the one survivor who makes it to the castle will win and the Ieyasu's heir will be determined. Thus, on their way to the castle, the individuals fight each other. This is the bulk of the action for the film. The special effects are the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon variety, but not as elaborate, and not as good. Because it relies on special effects, and the characters, we are told, have extraordinary abilities - somewhat like the mutants in the universe of Marvel Comics, the martial arts is also lacking - especially when compared to Kage No Gundan.
Lots of stuff reminds me of Kage No Gundan I. First the plot as stated in the second paragraph of this review. Second, Koga ninja Gennosuke, played by Joe Odagiri, reminds me of Hattori Hanzo, except that Odagiri plays the Koga heir as a subtle strong silent type. Third, some of the dialogue. Although different characters in the movie say these lines, I could swear that some of the dialogue is exactly what the Hattori Hanzo character would say Kage No Gundan I. But do I think the movie was paying tribute to it? No, I don't think so - I think it was just trying to adapt the story it was based on. Needless to say, however, I liked the dialogue, but I think Sony Chiba delivered those lines better.
So, what I liked was the plot, the dialogue, and also impressed with Joe Odagiri's intrepretation of Koga Gennosuke. I was not too impressed with the fight scenes. And I was really disppointed in the execution of the storyline. I wish they could have developed the characters more fully, so I could relate to them better. And while it is fine for fans of shinobi, for the less knowledgeable, there should have been a better explanation of why Tokugawa viewed ninjas as a threat. I also think the movie should have given Hattori Hanzo a bigger role somehow leading to some intrigue, given he was an Iga himself.
Bottom line is that it's an all right movie. If you are a big fan of shinobi plots, or you are a big fan of any of the actors, you should see it for the sake of seeing it, otherwise, it's okay to pass this one up - there are better choices for ninja films and there are better choices for the Romeo and Juliet type of tragic love story.