Naruto: Shippuuden Movie 1

Naruto Movie 4 is made specifically to cater to all the Naruto fans out there, just like what you’d expect from a naruto movie. So non-Naruto fans shouldn’t really expect to enjoy this, as much.

The story this time round is about; a group of rogue ninjas who decided to revive a Demon spirit, which could destroy the world if reunited with its body. The only way to prevent this is for the shrine maiden (Shion) to go and reseal the demon, so Team 7 (Naruto, Sakura, Rock Lee & Neji) are tasked to protect her. Just like all the previous Naruto movies this one uses ... the same formula; of them having to protect someone of great importance, getting to know said person and have intense battles along the way. But not only is the actual story somewhat interesting, but the underlying-plot about Shion able to predict people’s deaths helps spice things up a bit.

As I’ve stated earlier, the characters this time round are: Naruto, Sakura, Rock Lee & Neji. If you’ve been watching Naruto Shippuuden then you’d know what to expect from them but like always Naruto is the main focus and he’s annoyingly stupid as usual until, later on. Like always it does do the whole Naruto relating himself to the main character thing but Shion proves to be a fairly in-depth character herself, so it can be forgiven. The bad guys this time are rather imaginative (drug users) but there’s no real reasoning given towards their actions.

This being a movie, high production values are expected and that is exactly what is given. Fluidly animated action sequences, great lighting effects and interactive environments. However it’s easy to tell that some corners were cut in places; like the CG army and fire effects. The music is pretty awesome and matches the moods well but the soundtrack will give the feeling that you’ve heard it before. But one thing no one has heard before is the hilarious ED theme.

Overall this as a typical Naruto Movie that gives the initial feeling of all previous ones, however it’s able to provide a highly entertaining experience. My scoring may be somewhat biased, seeing how I am a Naruto fan, but this is truly an enjoyable movie to watch and probably the best Naruto Movie yet. But expect to see the usual cheesy ending... (this time it’s a Spirit Bomb).

^_^

Naruto fans, rejoice. What Gekijouban Naruto Shippuuden offers is a healthy dose of your favorite Naruto recipe. Of course, that also means it's nothing new or groundbreaking. Simply put, if you like Naruto, then you'll probably like the movie. If you're not particularly fond of the show, then don't expect too much.

Story: 5
The plot behind the movie is one that is highly unoriginal and rather rushed. The story lacks much depth, and consists of the usual, ultimate evil threatens the world, Naruto & co. get assigned to bodyguard work, they face other ninjas, almost face defeat, but then Naruto ... always comes through and saves the day. Or does he? The very beginning of the film gives a preview (I don't consider this a SPOILER since it happens within the first two minutes of the movie) of Naruto's death, and subsequent funeral. Ooh, suspense, suspense! Anyway, if this isn't enough to keep Naruto fans hooked, then the high number of action scenes will. In fact, the action scenes are the only redeeming quality to the movie, as the story suffers from almost no development at all. It's your basic high action, little story formula that's perfect for satisfying the series' generally younger audience.

The Scooby gang is switched up a little for world-saving action. Of course, Team 7 consists of Naruto and Sakura, but this time around, Rock Lee is filling in for Sasuke, and Neji in place of Kakashi, since all of the upper level ninja are tasked with stopping the massive ghost army. This is where the story falls apart. The lame excuse for having just Team 7 guard the most key person to saving the world really makes no sense. Why send all the more experienced ninja to stop this army (they end up doing no damage at all to them anyway), and furthermore, Naruto dispatches them easily enough on his own. Also, is it just Wind Village vs. ultimate evil? You'd think that at least a few other people would care a little. The resolution will most likely have many people shaking their heads in disbelief at the sheer number of deus ex machina that end up saving the world - since there are no rules regarding Shion and the demon, they can just more or less make it up along the way.

That aside, it's a good way to isolate Naruto, Rock Lee, Sakura, and Neji, and focus the action upon them. Their fights with various other ninjas and a few more sentimental moments provide just enough substance to consider this a movie. The ending will also probably have you smiling with it's tongue-in-cheek humor, and the ED song before it is rather enjoyable as well.

Art: 10
As usual, Naruto performs quite well in the art department. Unique characters, flashy jutsu effects, and detailed backgrounds are pleasing to the eye. A few corners are cut in places (most notably the ghost army, although this is understandable), but it's easily overlooked. Action scenes are fluid and well-paced, and fit perfectly into the movie.

Sound: 8
Like it's art, the sound is similarly of great quality. The upbeat music playing during action scenes will have your blood pumping and fit the fights really well. Various sound effects, such as the sounds of kunai or the rush of running water are executed in great fashion. The ending song is pretty catchy as well. Sound is basically what you've come to expect from the series.

Character: 7
What Gekijouban Naruto Shippuuden offers character-wise is really nothing new. Some of your old favorites, plus one or two new heroes and several baddies. Shion possesses just enough development to keep the story going, while most of the baddies, such as the four ninja siblings have no back-story at all, and are just thrown in to give Team 7 a tough fight or two, although they do possess some rather unique abilities with their use of chakra. The movie makes no leaps or bounds in anything new this time around, but it's enough.

Enjoyment: 7
Perhaps it's just me being reminiscent of my younger days of watching InuYasha movies, but Gekijouban Naruto Shippuuden reminded me of them, and it was kind of nice watching something less story-based and just purely action-driven for a change. If you're a fan of action, you'll enjoy it, more or less. Even if you're unfamiliar with the Naruto world, you shouldn't have too much trouble understanding this movie.

Overall: 7
As stated before, Gekijouban Naruto Shippuuden offers nothing new to the Naruto world, and as such, don't go in expecting too much. If you've been watching the Naruto series up until now, then of course watch this movie. Chances are, you'll like it. If you aren't particularly a fan of this anime, then don't expect the movie to change your mind. Overall, the movie is just a concentrated dose of Naruto action geared at younger audiences.

Score: 37/50; C (74%)

Short and Sweet Review:

Naruto Movie 4 is a stereotypical Naruto movie. This over-hyped movie portrays Naruto dying in the trailer, although this is nothing more than something to think about for all of 2 minutes. On top of that, the plot is about predictable as any of the other Naruto movies; Naruto meets brat, brat hates Naruto, Naruto is very similar to brat, they become friends, Naruto protects brat, Ultimate Resengan, and then the end. Other than that minor crack in the 5-story Naruto Obelisk, this movie isn’t so bad in terms of graphics, story, and sound. No matter how conventional the plot is, I ... always loose myself in these surprisingly enjoyable movies. This is definitely something to watch for all Naruto Fans.
I would watch this installment of Naruto Movie 4 after you understand the changes in the characters in the Shippuuden series, because apparently the only knowledge you need for this movie is the fact that Naruto trained with Jiraya.

9/10 – Great!

If you did in fact find this review helpful, I do take value in my “Helpful” rating, so please take a moment of your time to tell me how you liked this review.

I was hesitant to watch this movie since I do not like any kind of filler or extra material in general. I try to give it a chance, but I think they usually just don't work. This movie started out with "the death of naruto" which is a silly thing to throw in a side story movie. I was immediately thrown off by this "twist" or whatever they wanted to present it as. Thankfully, the story wasn't too bad, and it had a lot of pluses. When this was released it was by far the best Naruto movie. It is the first movie for the ... second Naruto series after the time skip where he trains with Jiraiya.

As I said, the story isn't too bad in this one. Shion and Naruto have decent chemistry (much better than he did with the girl in the first move from the first series) and that plays an important part in the ending of this movie. The artwork and sound were good, and really it kept my attention until the end. All in all (for FILLER) it wasn't bad. That said, it wasn't great either. As far as fan fare goes, it should have been better.

Yes this movie kept my attention until the end, but I was never on the edge of my seat. I was never excited to see what would happen next, and I really didn't care too much. I think I spent more time focused on the poor excuse of a beginning in this movie that it really took away from the overall enjoyment. This movie should have been better, it was filled with good ideas, but they were overshadowed by the bad. It really is too bad, but as with all extra material you shouldn't ever expect anything "special." That said, it is a high 6 in my book. It was almost good if not shadowed by it's beginning.

All in all this isn't a must see, but not necessarily one you should skip. If you like movies of this nature then give it a look, but don't expect too much from it.

**THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN A FEW SPOILERS**

After the TERRIBLE last impression that the third Naruto movie left with us, we move onto the Naruto: Shippuuden Movie 1 and the new anime which means a new beginning. How well does this movie fair in comparison to the last 3 Naruto movies? It is good enough to completely blow those 3 out of the water.

Story: (4/10)

The story of Naruto: Shippuuden Movie 1 begins with 5 mysterious people fighting their way into a shrine that contains a demon that was able to destroy the world and that demon is soon released. Now it is up to Naruto, Sakura, ... Lee, and Neji to escort the shrine maiden named Shion to it because she is the only one able to seal the demon. The first thing I noticed about this story is how it was the same story as the first Naruto movie because it follows the same formula that the first movie showed. Naruto and his group go on escort mission, they fight the main antagonist's servants, the main character of the movie is captured leaving only Naruto to go save her, and Naruto is able to defeat the main antagonist. But the story in this movie was much better executed than the first movie's story. One of my main problems with the story is that a mission that could end up destroying the whole world was assigned to rookies like Naruto, Sakura, Lee, and Neji and we are not talking about the extremely OP Naruto from the recent episodes of the anime, we are talking about the Naruto from the very beginning of Shippuuden. Why couldn't this mission be assigned to all the team leaders or even Tsunade because I'm sure that they would be able to guarantee the mission ending up an success and not have a 50-50 chance of being able to succeed like Naruto and his group. The ending for this movie was bad. It was never explained how they didn't die in that last scene even though their chances of escaping that was very low.

Art and Animation: (6/10)

The art for the movie was pretty good. The character designs stay consistent throughout the whole thing, the backgrounds look good, and the special power visuals looked good. I also like the use of black shading that they used for one scene. The only thing I didn't like about the art is how they used CGI stone warriors and how they didn't mesh well with the backgrounds. The animation in the movie was good even though it would look clunky at times but still good.

Sound: (5/10)

The soundtrack didn't stand out and didn't make any scenes more intense but the ending song was good. The voice actors did a fine job with the characters and the sound effects were average.

Characters: (4/10)

First we have Naruto who is always his same old self with his shenanigans and telling everyone that he could defeat anybody with the power of friendship at his side. Next we have Sakura who again, like always, is never contributing anything to the plot, come on writers! Please make Sakura an actual important character that isn't just there to call Naruto a baka and to fight the enemies that come their way. Next we have Lee and Neji in which their whole role is to be allies to fight of the main antagonist's servants. Next we have a character named Taruho who is Shion's most loyal bodyguard and that is pretty much all there is to him because he gets killed off very quickly in the movie. Finally, we have the main character of the movie and that is Shion. She pretty much is a more likable version of the main character of the first Naruto movie and she is given more backstory than the other girl. Oh and there is also Kakashi but he is not worth mentioning because he is in only one scene in the movie. The villains are also not worth mentioning because of how underdeveloped they are and how their only motivation is to destroy things because destroying things is cool.

Enjoyment: (4/10)

It had some interesting visuals, good animation, and had some character development in it.

Overall: (4/10)

Naruto: Shippuuden Movie 1 destroys the first 3 Naruto movies with its story, art and animation, and characters but there is still many things that I found wrong with it that it made it not possible for me to call it a good movie.

Now I know it is very cliche that a Naruto fan is doing a review on something Naruto-based, but I believe my opinion is strong on this movie. Of course, you could easily see other reviews from Naruto haters or people who think Naruto is OK, but I think you could take this review honestly even if I am a Naruto fan, and this is my honest opinion.

The Story for the Naruto Shippuden movie seems sort of like a Naruto filler, oh wait, it sort of is since all the movies have nothing to do with the series. But yes, it is basically a ... filler, so they are not going to make it crazy interesting and make you so hooked that you can't stop eye-bawling it, but they definitely tried to make the story at least interesting so you are able to watch it. And it definitely caught my eye, I mean, everyone who has seen Naruto before has thought to themselves, "Hmmm, what if Naruto died?" Well, basically the people who are in charge of the Naruto anime thought this to themselves as well, and they put it into the first Shippuden movie. The story is basically Naruto, Sakura, Neji, and Lee are going to protect a priestess who can seal the soul of the world-corrupting Moryo while Moryo has risen and is back to take over the world again. It definitely has an interesting plot to it, and I believe it a lot of people agree with me, but it wasn't portrayed so greatly. Not to where it comes close to the manga as of right now, but the writers certainly tried, and I do acknowledge them, but they should've used some better techniques, because a lot of it seemed cliche. They have to protect a princess or the world will end. It has been used plenty before in the Naruto series. But don't get me wrong it definitely is a smart idea.

The art was simply beautiful, and is WAY better than the series is animated. Yes though, it wasn't perfect because some of the things weren't so outstanding, like the CGI knights and the fire they use, but the movie was animated brilliantly, especially some of the fight scenes. The OST was good, but it never convinced me I would really want to download it and listen to it sometime, but what did was the ending theme by DJ Ozma, truly surprised by the fact they would choose a song with such J-pop sound, but it fit well surprisingly.

I think the acting was very well done by each character, but Naruto seemed more impulsive than he usually is. I think really Naruto took out a lot of the enjoyment for me, because he was just SO ANNOYING during the first 25 minutes of the movie, but it got much better after that, and the fights were great. All I could think of was "HELL YEAH!" when Neji pulled out the 64-palm technique and when Drunken Lee made an appearance. I just wish they would put more of the good fighting scenes from the movies and the fillers and put it in the real plot. The Naruto Shippuden movie had it's pros and cons, but if you enjoy Naruto you will probably agree with me that it was well done. If you don't like Naruto, just stay away.

Story: 7, Art: 9, Sound: 9, Character: 9, Overall: 8
I can't say the storyline is really unique or special, but it was an interesting twist on an old theme. There were some clever lines that made me laugh and overall it was an enjoyable distraction. The art was at the same level as the best of the Shippuden episodes. The fights were very well done as they seem to be in all the movies. As far the original characters of the movie, well none of them stood out, they all felt like drab filler characters. It was amusing, and I ... didn't waste my time. It was basically a very well done five episode filler arch.

Parental Caution:
Rated PG-13
Mild swearing.
Sakura screams "You bi***!" I'll admit that I laughed.

After the complete sleeper Naruto Move 3 proved to be, I wasn't expecting much when I slid the first Shippuuden movie into my DVD player. I did have some expectations that I would enjoy the movie, because of what I have seen of Shippuuden, but I wasn't expecting to be blown away. I wasn't, but I did enjoy the film non the less.

Story: The story was original to Naruto. Never had the series, cannon or filler, dealt with a Priestess storyline. However, that doesn't mean it wasn't prone to mistakes. Towards the end of the movie, you were just ... faced with so much plot to chew. Things were getting thrown at you and you had no real way of digesting them. You had no idea how things were going to go. The movie also was a bit choppy when it came to plot twists. They came out of nowhere. Just when you think you had something figured out, something would come completely out of left field. It was a bit refreshing though. So many Naruto filler arcs were so predictable, that it was nice to see something you could not figure out right away.

Art: The art wasn't horrible, but it wasn't very good. The flashback sequences towards the end of the film reminded you that this was still Naruto with the lazy animation. They still cut corners and reuse footage. The animation of the stone soldiers was also straight up weird. It left me looking for my pair of 3D glasses. Why did they animate them that way?

Sound: Sound was very good. The background music always swelled up at the right moments to create a great mood. I'm not tried of that lead Shippuuden backing track yet. It provides great moments. Also, no voice actors voice was annoying and Junko outdid herself this movie with all of Naruto's little speech patterns. However, the inner monologues sounded odd, like they were using weird mics. It sounded like they were talking into shoe boxes.

Characters: The new character was interesting. I liked her and I really liked how she bonded with Naruto. Out of all the past movie characters, I'd have to say she resonated the best with him and seemed to listen and take his advice the best. Also, her and Naruto had awesome chemistry. It wasn't forced at all. The bad guys were a little disappointing, but I have to praise them for not going with the typical 3 man bad guy squad that they normally do. Also, why was Temari randomly there? Did they feel bad about leaving her out of the second movie or something? It was really odd.

Enjoyment: I really enjoyed the movie. I wasn't left watching the clock and I really got into the movie. I also enjoyed the element of comedy they brought in this time around. I found myself rewinding back a couple parts again and again.

Overall: 8 out of 10. It had it's faults, but it rose above them and produced something pretty good.

Ok this is my first review so go easy :3
I just only recently heard about it, so no hype or expectations = perfect
I've heard plenty complaints, about how battles are too long in the naruto universe, but they seem to be nice and short in this movie.
It starts out with what seems to be a battle with a shadow demon were naruto bites of more than he can chew. But then you learn that its a foreshadow of what’s to come. Naruto then goes on a Body guard mission with Sakura, Lee, and Neji. Their mission is ... to protect a high priestess who’s supposed to seal a newly released demon.Naruto instantly has a problem with the priestess but once he learns of her past he understands because he can relate. The priestess becomes fond of Naruto three quarters into the movie adding that "Is it love" feeling.
The overall art quality of the movie is up to par with most animes but noting exceptional.
The sound quality was nothing new either but I have no complaints.
The characters had a little room for improvement. I felt like I needed a little more information on of the villains, they had little back story.
I gave the enjoyment a ten, because from start to finish it was enjoyable, that and it has an great ending
Overall the movie is one of the best naruto pieces I’ve seen, plenty of enjoyment if you have at least some knowledge of the naruto universe.

(SPOILER WARNING) This anime movie is pure sexiness. I remember finishing this and I was in love with it. I am currently rewatching it for the 2nd time! It's cool to see Naruto change from the first anime to Shippuden. He grew badazz and cooler. In the first episode of the original Naruto, Naruto was like a little kid that was a big troublemaker in the village. When Kakashi trained Naruto, he got like more powerful. Then he learned his Rasengan while training with (forgot name cause spodermen is dumb) It was so cool to see Naruto use it! Also this movie was the first ... Naruto Shippuden content related stuff. I am currently watching Naruto Shippuden right now. Although the Character wasn't as good as I think it is (MY OPINION) I thought they were like to cocky. Really enjoyed the movie though!

Very entertaining visual, really confusing with the content
Actually, I'm not too surprised by the kind of movies that go with Anime in Japan. But every Anime has characters and everything around comes with its own world, which is unique. And each character has also unique characteristics and personality.
And I can't imagine how disappointed I was at the way my favorite characters were treated in this movie. I no longer recognize them. Of course, the humor still exists, but the content of the film is too bad, the characters are too boring and the mage princess Shion is like a fusion of Garra and Neji.
The villains ... also don't last very long in my memory, they just show up, get defeated, and then disappear. And when they were killed, sure enough, it was when Sakura, Lee, and Neji laughed and enjoyed it with no mercy.
At that time I wondered "What the f** sh*?" why should the voice actors have to put up with this, they're destroying every teen's favorite characters and no one is protesting?
And if for comparison, look at the pointless and offensive joke at the end of the movie, then the scene is cut suddenly, that's my feeling. If this wasn't a Naruto movie, I would rate it 2 stars.

The short: An evil villain along with his group of 4 ninjas, are trying to revive Mouryou, a demon from another world. This demon apparently
controlls an army of soulless warriors which conquered several of countries a long time ago. Konoho must stop these villains now, by sending two teams, one to stop the army (Kakashi and Guy) and the other group (Neji, Lee, Naruto and Sakura) to guard a priestess, which has the only power to stop the demon...

Overall: Cheesy opening, weak plot, I felt like this movie was like a filler that was on it's way to the little screen, but then ... took a wrong turn and ended up on the big screen.
That being said, I couldn't wait until it finished - sadly, but not surprisingly.

Verdict: Well if your a Naruto fan, this movie will peek your interest, but only because it IS a NARUTO movie.
If you dislike fillers, then this shouldn't be a movie that you'd want to see. You won't miss out on anything important nor good for that matter.
If you like fillers, then this will be your cup of tea.

3/10 = Boooring

The first Naruto: Shippuuden movie was much, much better than the last Naruto (just Naruto) movie. That doesn't really say much, considering that one was just bad. What we have here is a generic but still enjoyable movie nonetheless.

The story in the movie is pretty mediocre. Naruto and his buddies have to escort some princess. And there are some bad guys who look pretty bad. It's nothing to write home about as it is also quite predictable minus a few "eh" plot twists. It is still enjoyable nonetheless. I will admit that the beginning of the movie was actually quite strong. It definetely got ... me intrigued in the movie. The characters are actually presented better this time around, though it's still kind of mediocre but it definetely is better. The princess is pretty annoying for the majority of the movie and wasn't that great of a character, honestly.

The art is pretty good, minus some unnecesary and not great 3D animation for some stone army. The soundtrack is pretty good, mostly because it features more songs from the anime but the songs from the movie also do a fair job.

Naruto: Shippuuden Movie 1 is an alright movie overall. I give it a 6/10. It has several flaws, it's nothing too special, you can entirely skip it and you won't do yourself any harm this way. If you want an enjoyable, generic Naruto movie, you've got it here. So far, this is the best one in my opinion but it's still nothing impressive. Just alright.

Naruto Shippuuden: The Movie
Directed by: Hajime Kamegaki
Written by: Junki Takegami
Original Creator: Masashi Kishimoto

Naruto Shippuuden: The Movie is the fourth Naruto film overall and the first in the Shippuuden series which is based off of Part II of the Naruto manga written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The film is directed by Hajime Kamegaki.

Story (7/10): A good story, but extremely predictable for a Naruto film. Naruto & company have to be bodyguards for a preistess and Naruto learns that he may die through a vision. However, everyone knows he keeps the preistess safe because this is Naruto, and that Naruto doesn't ... die because HE IS THE MAIN CHARACTER!! Still a good story, just extremely predictable, hence why i took 3 points off.

Art (9/10): The art is fantastic and is slightly better than that of the Naruto Shippuuden anime series. The backgrounds are very vibrant and colorful. The fighting scenes are great and look as well as you thought they would be coming from Naruto-standards. One of the best aspects of the film.

Music/Sound (9/10): The soundtrack for this film is great. My only small complaint is that the music from the show is nowhere to be found in this film. That being put aside, the music works fantastic with the action sequences.

Characters (9/10): What can I say about the characters in the Narutoverse?! The characters for me is what makes Naruto so great as a film series, an anime, and especially the manga. The main characters were fantastic as usual but the preistess wasn't as great in my opinion. Therefore, my hypothesized 10 goes slightly down to a 9.

Enjoyment (9/10): I enjoyed this film a lot as it was much better than I expected and is the best Naruto film that I have seen yet. Keep in mind that I have not seen the other Naruto Shippuuden films.

Overall (9/10): Overall, Naruto Shippuuden: The Movie, directed by Hajime Kamegaki, is a very great Shounen anime film with vibrant art, fantastic fighting sequences, and a very great soundtrack to boast as well. Definitely recommended, especially since you don't have to watch the series to understand the film.

It's honestly a whole lotta nothing. There's no build, no tension. It just simply...is. The opening is confusing and it's mostly hey we gotta get to point B. I was shocked when I looked at the time and with 30 minutes to go there wasn't much buildup.

Some movies are enjoyable, this one just felt like a movie where they ninja-ran places and had a few fights. That's it. That's the entire plot. It's hard to really feel any tension with the prediction of Naruto's death....since, you know....he's the main character.

Some of the art was at odds with each other too. Like, the terracotta ... warriors, that apparently can't be broken at all? I feel like at times their animation was different than the rest of the anime.

Idk, it just felt like a waste of time and empty.

I feel as though I'm running out of ways to review the Naruto films since their almost all the same. For me, the main problem is the lack of originality, maybe this would get higher than a 6 if I hadn't watched the previous Naruto films but unfortunately I can't go back in time and change that.

They use the same formula every time, (a selfish/troubled [insert: priestess] becoming better person with Naruto's help) but they change the character and plot, in a kind of half-assed manner. Which is what makes me so frustrated, don't get me wrong I love the Naruto series but ... I'm not blind enough to overlook the scrappy work here.

I guess the only redeeming quality was the art, so while I was zoning in and out of the boring-as-hell story line at least I had pretty pictures on my tv screen. It's not enough. In fact, I'm being generous by giving this a 6, and I know that if they keep producing Naruto films like this the score shall continue to decline regardless of how much the art improves.

There's not any more to say, I would only recommend this if you were willing to waste your time on a extended Naruto filler.

STORY: 4
ART: 7
SOUND: 5
CHARACTER: 5
ENJOYMENT: 6

OVERALL: 27/50 : 54% : (Fair - 6)

If you have not previously watched Naruto, or at least know a bit of his story, then you probably won't like this film. The plot it's not very original, and there isn't anything that we haven't seen before, it is not a groundbreaking film, it is a very regular Naruto story, you know, with Sakura- hitting- Naruto scenes, Rasengan, some fights, and of course Naruto changing somebody's perception of life with his freakin' style. On the other hand if you are indeed a Naruto fan, then you'll probably enjoy the film just like you would enjoy a normal filler episode, you know with one part ... of you screaming for a non-filler episode, and the other part enjoying the episode anyway because you just can't get enough of these characters!
The animation was excellent tho, and each frame was very beautifully coloured, which is something that sometimes gets a bit lost in the tv series, so that was really good, yeah okay bye

It's crazy to think that when this movie came out Naruto Shippuden was still in it's infancy and barely had 20 episodes under its belt. The Kazekage arc was still in full swing, and it being the first canon material I'd seen from the show in such a long time I was loving it. So taking a break to watch this movie wasn't so bad. I'd seen a few of the Part 1 Movies and kind of knew what to expect. The plot wouldn't matter to the main story and it could be thought of as a one off adventure with some characters you already ... know.

When the movie opens on some melodramatic "Naruto's gonna die" prophecy I pretty much zoned out. A story that's already non-canon threatening to kill off the main character? Oh no, the stakes are so high! I'm so worried, will Naruto survive?

I know that's a really cynical outlook. Stories can still be fun even if you know how it's going to end. But it's making that pathway to the ending interesting that's the trick. This movie really wasn't. Standard affair, go to a new place with new characters, use a new version of the Rasengan at the end. And, gasp, the prophesy was subverted and didn't come to pass the way they expected. I think prophecies and visions as a trope are super played out and you have to be really careful how you implement them, if you feel the need to use them at all.

Like with the other movies it's inoffensive enough and can be a nice diversion if you want to see the characters do something other than the main plot for a bit, but it's probably safe to skip unless you really like Naruto and feel the need to do a 100% speedrun. 6/10

This is the fourth Naruto movie, made after the horrible fillers were over and the franchise returned back to being good for awhile. In an attempt to make the old fans return as well as gaining new audience, they poured a lot of money into making both the first dozen episodes of Shippuden, as well as this movie, to look as slick as possible. And indeed, both the series and the movie feel like they are trying to convince you that the show is back on track, better than ever. The characters are older, more powerful, more mature, the stakes are up, the action is ... better, and the pastures are greener hereon.

They even combined the best elements of the first and second movies (disregarding the third as a complete joke) in an attempt to offer the best possible movie-based plot the setting can offer. Thus we get the team having to escort a young snotty girl with a tragic past (again) and fight their way through villains who want to get their hands on something that will help them rule the world (again). They even went as far as throwing in a vision from the future, where Naruto gets killed and they keep insisting his fate can’t be altered. So yeah, on paper this sounds to be by far the best movie so far… And sadly it ain’t.

Although it looks spectacular and exciting on a superficial level, the directing is bad, many things make no sense, and there are major power level inconsistencies. Just like the second part of the main series, it starts with a bang which promises to be super awesome, only to quickly disappoint you with its juvenile gimmicks and messy storyboard. And here is what I mean in detail.

The first quarter of the movie is nothing but a silly build up without any actual depth. All we see is the villains slowly doing their thing and plotting to kill a priestess. All this time the heroes are not even seen or heard of. When we finally do get to see them, we get the same treatment of what the tv series did. They constantly try to impress us with silly bravado of the type “we are here, better than ever, but still funny and silly occasionally so don’t feel alienated because we are still the same”. And again nothing of importance has happened up until the middle of the movie.

The second part of the film on the other hand is quite amazing in terms of action and dramatic tension. Priestess Shion quickly changes from an apathetic doll to a snotty girl who is feeling depressed for the task that is given to follow all her life. There are side stories like fate that can’t be avoided and obedience that must be followed to the death. And the battles are simply spectacular and even tactical as far as the setting goes. It even has a twist in the end with the demon revealing stuff about his true nature. I must say in terms of superficial entertainment the second half is exceptional and rewards you to the fullest for having to tolerate the most boring first half.

Other than that though the scenario is done on the run and you easily see lots of things that could have been done much better. There is a part for example where someone disguises to look like the priestess to lure the enemy away and yet they make it appear like he used an amazingly hard and forbidden technique to do that. Big deal, they do it all the time in the main series and it isn’t hard or irreversible at all. The evil henchmen in another case lose the fight because they ran out of power and not because they were bested in battle. That makes them feel lame because they were never really strong and the good guys won because they stabbed them in the back while they were defenseless. That is just cheap and mean. Also, they keep on saying how the demon lord will be undefeatable if he ever finds his material body to merge with but they otherwise never seem to care how he was defeated a few decades ago WHILE he was in full power. And as usually, most never heard of such an important event, such as an army of tens of thousands of statues almost taking over the world, even when it happened a few decades ago. Heck, even the statues don’t make much sense since they appear indestructible in the beginning yet are trashed easily towards the end. And the whole prophecy of Naruto getting killed or duty to the death issues are dealt with in a most cheap and childish way for anyone to care. I can go on forever but the storyboard is full of holes.

But in case you disregard all that, Shion is fleshed out nicely for the crummy time she was given and the battles are super cool. Lee and Neji in particular steal the show even if they are cameos in the plot. Because eventually it is still just Naruto doing all the work, being the usual idealistic immature idiot with a golden heart he always was. And yes the ending is once again throwing a Rasengan on the villain’s face and giving his motivational monologue to the emo kid that makes everything feel right. So it is ok as far as action goes but it still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of story.

This is an unprofessional review.

The story is obviously cliche but it's my type of cliche and I enjoyed it a lot.

Great art style as expected from the movie.

The villains are very skilled. I love their fight scene.

I rate it based on how enjoyed I am, not how good it is. I don't recommend this cuz it's not cannon unless you wanna kill some time and a hardcore fan. But, the ending was worth it, it's even in a meme I've seen before. That's it, hope this review is useful.

Why do we need 100 words for a review? Give me a break.