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review | notes | availability | |
Notes:
As with previous films in the series,
the credits include outtakes and behind the
scenes footage of stunts
Availability:
DVD (USA)
Region 1 NTSC
ADV Films
16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Japanese and English Language Tracks
Dolby Digital 5.1
Removable English Subtitles
Literal Translation Version and Trailers
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Review by
Calvin
McMillin: |
Do you like ninjas?
Well, if that's the case then maybe (just maybe)
Shinobi: Hidden Techniques is right up
your alley. The third installment in the direct-to-video
Shinobi series once again centers on
the dynamic duo of Kagerou (Kenji Matsuda) and
Aoi (Maju Ozawa), two low-level ninjas looking
to forge a life of their own away from their
turncoat ninja clan. Accused of a crime they
didn't commit, their only hope is to vacate
the region and find freedom elsewhere. And the
two heroes intend to do just that, but of course,
things aren't that easy. It seems that trouble
stands in their way in the form of…other ninjas.
Bad ninjas. Ooh, scary.
Like its predecessors,
Shinobi: Hidden Techniques suffers from
an inconsistent tone, low rent production values,
and an overall anachronistic feel. For example,
after an epic voice-over detailing the history
of the ninja in the opening scene, the film
suddenly plunges into a cheapo rehash of the
ninja "skills" displayed in the first
film. Even worse, the footage is shown at such
a high speed that it looks like a ridiculously
sped-up Keystone Cops parody, albeit
Japanese-style. And it's in scenes like that
where it's sometimes hard to tell whether you're
supposed to be laughing with the filmmakers
or at them.
For what it's
worth, Shinobi: Hidden Techniques consists
mainly of wall-to-wall action sequences that
range from "incomprehensible" to "not
bad," interspersed with either scenes of
the two heroes seriously contemplating the meaning
of life or the villains elaborating on all the
inter-ninja machinations that are going down
in the film. And honestly, to even begin to
comprehend what's going on, one needs more than
a basic familiarity with the previous two entries
in the series.
In the end, while
Shinobi: Hidden Techniques transcends
its shoddy production values on a few rare occasions,
the movie more often than not just feels like
a glorified fan film shot in someone's backyard
than a legitimate, honest-to-goodness motion
picture actually worthy of a mass audience on
DVD. Like the techniques in the title, some
things should probably remain hidden. (Calvin McMillin,
2005)
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