Fantastic Fest 2009

Ah, the ninja. There’s just so much to love about these shadowy figures, so much cinematic potential, and yet there are far, far more bad ninja films than there are good ones. The last major ninja hopeful was Ryuhei Kitamura’s Azumi, a film that promised much but misfired badly with its clumsy plot, hugely unsympathetic characters and meandering, unfocused run time. So there was some trepidation going in to Shimoyama Ten’s Shinobi. Happily this film delivers, and delivers large. Filled with absolutely breath taking cinematography, a strong cast and excellent special effects Shinobi strikes a pitch perfect balance between the romance and action aspects of its story, neatly striking the mid point between art house and glossy multiplex. The first thing that strikes you about SHINOBI is just how good it looks. This film is flat out gorgeous from beginning to end, shot on a grand scale with every frame flawlessly composed. The lighting, cinematography and sets are all astounding. This is a visual marvel, absolutely stunning to look at. The next thing you will notice is how the film balances between romance and action. While the promotional materials tended to lean towards the romance side of things, the film is far more balanced between the two elements, moving easily from one to the other, expertly using the budding relationship to add some emotional wallop to the inevitable violence while using the action to keep the emotional story from bogging down. Shimoyama dances nimbly from one element to the next, smoothly shifting gears and pressing all the right buttons along the way. And what of the action? Stunning. While the return to non-assisted martial arts has been a welcome development in Hong Kong and Thailand, Shinobi proves that CG boosted action can be just as compelling when done well. And this film does it very, very well. The Shiobi’s powers are many and diverse. Tak Sakaguchi’s Yashamaru shoots razor wire cables from his flowing sleeves, wires he can use either to sever limbs or launch himself from place to place. There’s the shape shifter, the feral beast, the poison woman, knives attached to chains, metallic claws, flying needles, spinning discs, all manner of mayhem. Each shinobi has a very specific skill and each of those skills are put to excellent use at different points throughout the film. The action sequences are plentiful, very well choreographed, and perfectly executed. In closing, Shinobi succeeds everywhere that Azumi failed. Where Kitamura’s film frustrated, Shimoyama exhilarates. This is one not to be missed. -(Twitchfilm)