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.
"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.