Shinobi: Heart Under Blade
Country: Japan
Genre: Action
Release Year: 2005
Type: Movie
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Shinobi: Heart Under Blade Review
Shinobi is set during the 1600s during the Japanese Warring States Era. Two ninja clans, the Iga and the Kouga, have been waging a war against each other for centuries. Kouga Gennosuke and Oboro, the most powerful members of the opposite clans, coincidentally met and fell in love. The Tokugawa Leyasu, the highest lord in Japan, then pits the two ninja clans in a battle to the death in an event to decide the next shogun. Gennosuke and Oboro must then decide whether their loyalties lie with each other or their clans.
If you watch this movie, know that you're basically watching Romeo and Juliet ninja- style; and if you thought the ending to Romeo and Juliet was depressing, you can expect the same in Shinobi. Seriously, do Japanese people know what a happy ending is? The worse part was that the ending could have easily been a happy one, but it seems the director just ended it to make the movie a bit more "emotional." He fails. The storyline was weak and I thought it was incredibly predictable, but the movie's only saving grace is the cool characters and all their powers.
Although the movie is supposedly of the romance genre, I thought the action aspect of the movie was more exciting. There's not too much background information given about the two star-struck lovers, and even when the ending comes you still don't feel that emotional connection between them; an element that is crucial for romantic movies. On the other hand, the fighting was incredibly cool, especially since each character had some sort of superpower. Most of the action was of the CGI variety, not the actual realistic Jet-Li action. Still, the CGI effects were brilliant, and each Shinobi had very unique and interesting powers that were astounding on-screen.
The different characters in Shinobi are one of the movie's strengths. The main characters were mediocre, but it wasn't until after half the movie was over did you really see any character development. I didn't think the actors shined in their roles; Yukie Nakama, who is quite a renowned actress, didn't really impress me in this film. Joe Odagiri was decent in his role as Gennosuke, but all in all, I thought that the two main characters weren't developed enough for the audience to actually connect with them. You'll also see Erika Sawajiri in this film, although her role is pretty minor; she's great eye candy if you're getting bored of the story. All the characters have really awesome powers, each more spectacular than the last, but the movie didn't really showcase them well. Characters died quickly without fully using their potential. Most of the main cast died before half the movie was over, which was a shame because they could have been more important to the story.
The sound and visual effects were pretty amazing in this film and made the action more realistic. The theme song, "Heaven," sung by Ayumi Hamasaki was a great way to open up this movie. The CGI effects allowed each character's special powers to be displayed with absolute stunning realism. Although Shinobi had many problems, the movie's sound and visual effects were areas in which it excelled.
This movie will definitely appeal to any Japanese ninja buffs or fans of Yukie Nakama. It has some excellent values, but there are also flaws in the characters, the storyline, and most of all, the ending. It's worth a watch for the fight scenes, but don't expect to be blown away by a deep, sentimental, romantic masterpiece. Compared to other ninja movies like Azumi, this one was much more interesting, still, the movie was much shallower than I had initially expected. If you can stand a weak storyline and a crappy ending, but you want to watch some cool action, Shinobi is the movie for you; otherwise, go find another movie.
Written by Lance
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