Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Wyatt There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Dragoneyed363 Fantastic action with mind-blowing fight scenes, an alluring, tragic love story equivalent to that of Romeo and Juliet, and a solid script with excellently established characters are just the beginning of what awaits in the beautiful, compelling, ethereal feature that is Shinobi.When two rival villages of ninjas are given summons to put their best skilled warriors to a contest for the pleasure of Nankobo Tenkai, who is scheming to take over the world and sees the villages as a threat, two forbidden lovers, Oboro and Gennosuke, get caught up in the duel and are forced to put their strengths against each other. That is the basic gist of the plot, and when you read that you probably think that this is some lame, poor excuse for a Japanese Action/Romance that probably has no appealing features whatsoever, and you would never be more wrong in your life!The characters are well executed and enjoyable with all their different powers and personalities that you end up loving more than just one, the main message that I mentioned was kind of like a Japanese Romeo and Juliet is handled thoroughly and beautifully to the point were you feel pain and sorrow for what they are having to go through, the acting was amazing, especially from the two leads who had good chemistry and solid performances and I enjoyed every second and was taking in every aspect of this incredible story.Everything was just so clean-cut and precise. It was so well done that I found myself astonished in the end and at how much I got into it, and there were certain scenes where I was fully capitulated in this sublime experience. Well done to the cast and crew for creating a completely enthralling and excellently handled love story with a nice blend of violence, angst, sorrow, wit and happiness thrown in at random times to keep the audience interested and on their feet.

laviskrg I gave this movie a 5 out of pure pity. My intention is not to burst anyone's bubble, because I've seen, as I've skimmed through other comments, that this movie is quite appreciated by many. Well, it is not worth any praises, and I say this because I've seen the original anime, Basilisk, and this movie shames it deeply. Perhaps if you see Shinobi alone, you could like it. It is enjoyable due to the well-choreographed battles, based on fantasy more than on martial arts, and I agree that their beauty is deeply enhanced. But the story is nothing like the original one. Now, I understand that when one transforms an anime/manga into a movie, one must make certain changes. I was not expecting to see the freakish characters from the anime, although they have a well-established role, and some are truly profound and well-designed. But I certainly did not expect to see immense and wrongly-placed changes, that basically ruin the entire story. Characters who are dramatically and unethically mutilated, transformed in something the public might love more, perhaps. For instance, Oboro, who, in the anime is a sweet, innocent girl, completely and utterly in love with Gennosuke, becomes a vengeful clan leader in the movie. I liked the fact that the woman becomes strong and evades the limitations imposed on her by the era (we are talking about Japan, 17th century), but her mood changes are unbelievable and badly written. Hotarubi, which is one of my favourite characters in the film, but who is not known for her childish and sensitive nature, becomes a pathetic little girl who is not only not madly in love like in the anime, but is more or less worthless in the plot. I could go on and on, like how they made Tenzen, the worst and most dangerous character in the anime, exceptionally weak and unattractive, or how Gennosuke, the leading character seems completely misplaced and confused, not to mention, again WEAK. The music is beautiful and the image is astounding, which was expected of a Japanese movie, and I appreciate it for that. But do not watch this if you've seen and enjoyed Basilisk, because it is just hopeless. Basilisk, although based on fantasy, with elements of horror and largely exaggerated is splendid and has so much more depth in its characters, storyline, historical value and it is, may I say, heartbreaking. Shinobi was a waste of time and I could not believe it kept on going after what was supposed to be the climax. Alas, it pains me deeply to judge a movie so harshly, but I advise you against it. Please, watch the anime, or at least watch the movie first and then repair your image of what Basilisk really is by watching the anime. Otherwise you will have a seizure when you realize how they've massacred it.

Robert "Shinobi" is the ideal movie for those who prefer their films to have utterly predictable plots, totally clichéd characters, and don't expect things to obey the laws of physics. People who thought that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was the zenith of the cinematic arts. For such people, "Shinobi" is tailor-made. Check list ready:--> "Days of yore" setting, with "days of yore", historically inaccurate costuming --> endless voice-over exposition for the first 10 minutes, then character names flashed on the screen next to the actors, for the first 15 minutes --> people who have magical skills and are uber-fighters, but are unable to make even a simple logical inference like "hey, maybe we can live in peace!" --> Hong Kong-style wire-flying--> a character who is a direct rip-off of Marvel Comics' "Wolverine"--> other straight-from-central-casting characters who would be more at home in a Studio Gainax anime than a feature film --> a brooding, mostly mute and inarticulate hero-with-a-heart-of-gold --> a hot, passionate heroine, controlled by her destiny--> a love story doomed by forces that no longer control things, leaving no sensible reason why they can't work things outThere is not one surprise to be found in "Shinobi". Wait -- I take that back -- the only surprise is that Ayumi Hamasaki, whose name is listed on the DVD case under "starring", actually only sings the ending theme. Otherwise, this flick is more predictable than an afternoon soap opera, and even less emotionally true. So there you have it: "Shinobi" is equal parts "Romeo & Juliet", anime, soap opera and Chinese "sword & sandal" epic. If that sounds like a winning combination to you, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Snowman_Mcknives Shinobi is about Ninjas. now, in case you don't know anything, on the grand list of things that are awesome, Ninjas are king, just edging "Giant Fighting robots who can break dance" and "Zombies who know martial arts". now, the basic story is "blah-di-blah, political intrigue, blah, 5 super ninjas are going to fight 5 other super ninjas", basically making this like the Ninja X men. each has their own skill, there's the master of poison, the one that's really hard to kill, Asian susie porter, the one that's shaped like an egg, seriously, that's the guy's power. for the middle half hour, the movie remembers "hey, i feature ninjas fighting each other, I'll make that my focus" but then decides, much like smokin' aces, that it wants to be taken seriously. and so, like an unusually badly scripted metal gear solid game, the remaining ninjas start to moan about how their lot in life only leads to death. now, i could forgive this in a movie that then had them put aside those complaints and go and slaughter samurai (who rank significantly below ninjas) but there isn't even a climatic fight, or any real resolution. to hell with Japanese action movies, i hope twilight samurai makes up its mind better.