Immediately from the beginning of the film, I noticed a change in scenery. Not just because it took place in new settings, but because the villagers and their environment portrayed something closer to modern times. The modern looking clothing and technology was interesting to see in the world of Naruto and its art style, but it brought into question the consistency of technology in the world of Naruto. They have snow mobiles, but no cars? There are cameras, trains, a freaking blimp?! It felt a little steampunk.
The villain of the film was annoying and had a boring, generic motive if any. He wants power, period.
The action scenes were ok, but they really liked how breaking ice looked. They were smashing terrain so much it was like dragon ball. Nothing special about the choreography. They even showed off some key moves from the main series like Sasuke's lion barrage, his air kick thingy.
There were some sub-villains that Kakashi apparently had a run in with when he was younger, but they somehow don't look a day older despite it being like 20 years later.
The main victim of the film, is that what they're called? Star guest character? She had a background that was overlooked and got like 10 seconds of explanation so I'm not sure if it made her seem like a better person but she came off as undeservingly rude. But of course, she eventually comes around because who can't resist Naruto's influence.
I did say the film had it's moments and those were mostly when the music came in. It was a nice touch and amped up the scenes, but it wasn't anything particularly new. It was music you'd recognize from the show. Except for some funky beats at one point that felt more like they were about to have a dance battle. I also thought the ending was genuinely sweet with the message from the past.
