avidnewbie Right away i could tell that this was not going to be another classic such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Legend of the Black Scorpion, etc. The use of CGI does not feel right. The action is not seriously depicted and therefore is not as interesting or engaging as I had hoped. The plot, however, is fairly well conceived and the set designs and costumes are generally impressive. Overall this is OK but not worth buying for your collection. Ip Man is an all around better film and relies on wire work and seamless editing to bring it's action choreography to life. All said, this was a nice try and for fans of the genre can be no worse than some of the other movies that might vie for your attention.

brandnew02 Alright, I really had to dig deep to watch this movie till the end. Horrible, just like too many other ninja "movies". Why can't they make a genuine ninja representation, instead of all this flying around, magical non-sense, stark colors and all-the-time-perfectly-combed modern hairstyles that only make it more ridiculous? Would it be so hard to make a ninja movie along the lines of, say, Twilight Samurai? Actually, how cool would it be to display the real ninja's, in a realistic setting, with real world situations and historical references that are indeed founded? REALISM, that's what the ninja deserve. They were real men, not flying werewolves. Or octopus-hand freaks. They were not even mere mindless assassins or as they mention in this "movie": weapons that need to serve someone. It's quite the opposite. If you have a bit of taste and knowledge and like to watch inspiring films, then my suggestion is to avoid this movie like the plague. What a waste of time, and effort, both from the participants in this production, and for the beholders of yet another improbable abomination. ENOUGH!

thomvic It took me a while to finally watch this film after my friend lent it to me ages ago. While I have been watching tons of Asian films since I am a huge fan of them, I decided to give this one a try on a Friday night.And I am so glad I took the time to watch this. It is a stunningly beautiful film with some fantastic scenery and cinematography. But that is not the only good thing about it - the story, despite some predictability and cliché (what is truly original nowadays anyway) is quite interesting. It's about warriors called Shinobi who have managed to reach a state of peace in ancient Japan. After some consideration by the Lord of Lords, they decide to lift a ban on the war between two opposing villages - both must fight to the death to claim victory. The only problem is that the two leaders who have been chosen to lead their parties to victory just happen to be romantically involved.So you have your Romeo and Juliet sort of story but what surprised me is that the film has a lot of fantasy elements - these warriors all have certain superpowers that not only make them strong but also vulnerable in terms of their desires and utility in life. It is sort of like Xmen in some ways as this film also touches upon the drawbacks on having certain gifts.The two main leads really do a great job in their roles. Yukie Nakama as Oboro, the team leader of the Iga clan is stunningly beautiful and combines sensitivity and wisdom into her role. Jô Odagiri, the other team leader of the opposing clan is great in his role to and both have pretty good chemistry on screen - though it is a shame that the beginning is where they spend the most time together and it's not for long though.The settings in this film are just beautiful, music score is pretty nice too and the action scenes are pretty entertaining, though some of the CGI gets a bit too much, though they didn't overblow it. The film really dwelves into the reasons for why we fight with other people and why some are for it, and others will try to resist it when it comes to human life.The film manages to be emotional yet not overly sentimental which is a good balance to achieve. At the heart of the film is a love story and if you're not into romance, well it's a shame because you have to have characters you care about to make a really great film.I'll just end this review by simply saying - go check it out. It may not be everyone's liking (and come on, a film isn't going to satisfy every person) but this did the trick for me. Recommended.

unbrokenmetal 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.