Review: If you are in the mood for a simple popcorn flick, then look no further. SHINOBI is just the thing for you. While the film is easily forgettable, it does quite well at becoming a successful, single-serving flick with no attachments. Just sit down, plug in and zone out. Sure the story’s subject matter can be a little too deep for it’s own good, but it does end up adding to the overall campy and cheesy feel of the film (for those of us who know better than to take it seriously).

The plot is simple to follow and basic to say the least. There are two types of Shinobi: Genin and Jonin. The Genin are the lower class whose lives are meant to be “cannon fodder.” The Jonin are the upper class Shinobi who are privileged and do not participate in battles, but surely have no problem divvying out orders to kill others. Kagerou and his fellow students, being part of the Genin, are heavily trained in the art of combat, including fists, swords, throwing weapons and more. Here is where Kagerou separates himself from the rest of his class. He chooses not to use throwing weapons in battle (but happens to be damn good at defending them). Because of this he has become a target of his peers, mainly because they all are intimidated by his superior skills.

Most of the fight scenes were done quite well (despite the horrid camerawork). It appears that director Tanigaki enlisted many real (and decent) martial artists to accurately display the fluid movements of the Shinobi, particularly in the opening scene.

Kenji Matsuda (VERSUS, ALIVE) did a fantastic job with his portrayal of Kagerou. His ability to come off arrogant and over-confident shined through his character with the utmost believability. Surely many of us are familiar with his role as the maniacal knife-wielding villain in VERSUS. As the token female love interest, Maju Ozawa (RUN 2 U, TOKYO RAIDERS) did well… I guess. Actually, no… she didn’t. She was irritating and unlike Matsuda, her martial art skills were far from believable. She moved slower than molasses and lacked the ability to aid the emotional flow and chemistry of any and every particular scene. Luckily we are blessed with a semi-large role from V-Cinema god, Kazuyoshi Ozawa (TOKYO MAFIA 1 + 2, SCORE 1 + 2). His role as the antagonist, Shuuzan, upgraded the films complete and utter, overwhelming low-budget feel. Ozawa, represent!

Director Kenji Tanigaki has had little experience at the helm of a film, but has been part of the stunt teams used in PRINCESS BLADE and MORTAL KOMBAT 2. This may scare some of you and I can see why. But don’t worry; those pieces of crap weren’t his fault. Tanigaki’s execution as director separates SHINOBI from the likes of the aforementioned films by maintaining an appropriate balance between the cheesy and cool factors. He succeeds on many levels by keeping things very basic and formulaic. Cheesy, but not too cheesy, with plenty of action for the sake of action.

To sum things up, you may want to be sure that this is the kind of movie for you. By now hopefully you have decided. Sure this is a typical, mindless piece of V-Cinema, but who says that’s a bad thing?