Shinobidô

This is not Ben Hur or Gone with the Wind. It is a fun made-for- movie TV show in almost the exact style of the Kage No Gundan series with Sonny Chiba in the early 80's. So much so that I expected to see Hattori Hanzo show up in the middle of the movie. This looks like the pilot to a TV series or the first of a series of low budget action movies. I doubt I'd want to be stuck in a movie theater for 90 minutes with this movie, but I watched it in three 30 minute chunks over a weekend and was nicely entertained. For doing what I think it was supposed to do, be a melodramatic action movie with a simple plot in the vein of Samurai "spaghetti westerns", it succeeded.

Aimi Satsukawa does a good job as an undercover ninja who has to fight her feelings to get the job done and Ryôichi Yuki does a great job acting as the "bad buy with a good heart".

If you like the Hanzo series of TV shows, this is perfect for you. If you liked this movie and want your fill of slightly schlocky but fun to watch samurai action shows, look for the "Kage No Gundan" TV series. If you want deep meaningful motion picture art, look elsewhere.