LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

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.

aaron_do As soon as I saw these ninjas jumping from cliff faces faster than you can actually fall and then swinging along the cliff face like spiderman I knew this was going to be a bad movie. The fight scenes were filled with CG effects which took all the realism out of the movie. The love story was not believable. I suppose the acting could have been worse, and the scenery was quite beautiful, but I couldn't bring myself to give this movie a 2/10. It is really bad. Honestly I didn't watch the last 20 mins so maybe the movie suddenly got a lot better, but i doubt it. Anyway don't expect something like "crouching tiger hidden dragon". I can't really think of a movie to compare it to...whatever, i hope i manage to stop a few people from watching it.

Claudio Carvalho After more than four hundred years of war between the Shinobi warriors of the Manjidani Koga and Tsubagakure Iga clans, the Lord Hattori Hanzou decrees that they must live in peace. Both clans live hidden in the woods and mountain without confrontation and without training ninjas in the shadow art of Shinobi. In 1614, the Lord of the Lords is convinced that the clans are dangerous threats for keeping peace in his lands, and his adviser plots a Machiavellian plan to destroy their best warriors in a contest. Meanwhile, the young Iga Oboro (Yukie Nakama) and Koga Gennesuke (Joe Odagiri) fall in love for each other. When Oboro's grandmother and leader of Iga clan Ogen (Riri) and Gennesuke's father and leader of the Koga clan Danjo (Minoru Terada) kill each other, Oboro and Gannesuke must lead their warriors in the ultimate battle of the Shinobi clans."Shonobi" is a wonderful and tragic romance, with drama, action and fantasy. The story slightly recalls Romeo and Juliet, with the impossible love of Oboro and Gennesuke that belong to enemy clans, and X-men, with the dark powers of the Shinobi warriors. The cinematography, the choreography of the fights and the state-of-art special effects are awesome, and the story is engaging and shows an adequate pace. The beauties of Yukie Nakama, Tomoka Kurotani and Erika Sawajiri are amazing, but the romance of Oboro and Gannesuke should have been better explored to increase the intensity of their final act. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Shinobi – A Batalha" ("Shinobi – The Battle")

Death_to_Crackers Not to be confused with Sega's 80s hit video game series, Shinobi, was a sorely missed opportunity in my view. Having had high hopes for this period novel based screen adaptation, my expectations were only to be shattered. Without regurgitating the synopsis, Shinobi plays out like scenes from a stage bound theater play. With almost still set 'pieces' and 1 line dialogues drawing from Shakespearean tragedies, namely Romeo and Juliet. "Star cross lovers", "We are doomed by fate", abound. With a visual dictation of a video game, its not surprising some would think Joe Mushashi might have a cameo with his trusty wolf.Characters are given next to no background, nor are emotions explored beyond surface values and motivations. Audiences aren't given enough time to be convinced of the contrived romance between Oboro and Gennosuke, nor involved enough to care about the supporting cast. The narrative takes its time and draws on scenes longer than needed, with so much filler making the plot paper thin. Some scenes even invite a laugh when it's supposed to invoke sympathy, which is never good on a director's vision. Action scenes and CGI are passable at best and no doubt some Hong Kong choreography was a source of inspiration for this department. Score wise the music was suitable, and as usual in Japanese films the main theme (*Heaven, Ayumi Hamasaki) rolling after the credits never do appear in the film itself. Why is a soundtrack not in the actual movie is really perplexing. The numerous cons aside, the film does have its highlights. The cinematography is nothing short of beautiful, with shots of mountainous landscapes, gorgeous winter covered lakes and autumn leaves. The attires and costumes were also commendable, with contrast colors for both ninja clans. Lead actress, Yukie Nakama (Trick, G@me) exudes charisma and ethereal beauty, while Joe Odagiri holds his own. Besides Yukie Nakama, further eye-candy, the inclusion of cute Erika Sawajiri (1 Litre of Tears, Ghost Train) is worth a mention. But these pros alone can't overshadow the evident flaws surrounding thefilm. Had the narrative, script been given more attention, this film would have won similar critical praise as the comparable House of Flying Daggers. While both have shallow characterization, great cinematography, Shinobi differs in that it can't decide which market audiences its aiming at. With the inappropriate CGI in a period piece, and what could have been a thoughtful artistic film without the FX flair in a tragic romance drama. The main theme of Giri-Ninjo, duty over personal emotions is at least a good standing point in the film. Its worth a look, but don't expect a Kurosawa or even a Last Samurai.