I’ve been a fan of Naruto for over ten years now, after
meeting the voice actress, Maile Flanagan, at a promotional event for the
official UK DVD releases in 2006, since then I’ve read the manga, played the
games, and bought the countless merchandise and figures, having started watching
the animé in its dubbed form though, I will only watch it dubbed, so as it
stands I’m still waiting to watch season 17, but despite that, I’ve now just
watched the latest film, set fifteen years after the forth great ninja war and
the end of Shippuden. Boruto: Naruto the Movie is the eleventh Naruto film, and
the third to be written by series creator, Masashi Kishimoto, whilst these have
proved to be each more popular than the last, personally I’ve found them a
little boring, the stories have been very good, but lacking the bombastic fight
sequences of perhaps, Legend of the Stone of Gelel, or Bonds, which have always
been my favourite parts of Naruto, films or otherwise. This latest cinematic adventure starts very promisingly, a
fast and frantic fight between Sasuke and an unknown assailant, each seeming
equally matched, battling it out around a snow-capped temple of the god of
chakra, Kaguya, the fight is brought to an end when a mysterious onlooker
notices Sasuke’s Rinnegan, and with that we find ourselves in the Leaf Village,
as a mission for Team Konohamaru is underway. Almost mirroring the opening mission of the second Naruto
movie, Boruto and his teammates are tracking an animal, only this time rather
than a ferret, this mission has them chasing down a bear, something they
achieve with ease, indicating that Boruto is showing more potential than his
Hokage father at the same age, though despite a successful mission, Boruto
still yearns for his hard work to be recognised by his dad, growing more
frustrated by his absence at home, more so when Naruto sends a shadow-clone
home to celebrate a birthday instead, owing to being overwhelmed with work in
his role of village leader. With the Chûnin exams approaching, Boruto decides that in
order to impress his father and show him what he’s made of, he’s going to cheat
using a prohibited ninja tool with the ability to summon any jutsu as and when
needed, all is going well until Naruto discovers his son’s dishonesty and
disqualifies him from the tournament, but before Naruto can finish chastising
his son, the arena is attacked by the same duo seen in the opening sequence, a
fight ensues and despite their best efforts, Naruto finds himself abducted, the
rest of the Kage with Sasuke and Boruto launch a rescue effort, but will they
reach him in time, and do they have the strength to save him?
The story rattles along at a fair pace, we’re introduced to
the new generation of Leaf Village youth, many of them combinations of
well-known characters, Boruto of course, being Naruto and Hinata’s son, Sarada
being the daughter of Sasuke and Sakura, but also son of Shikamaru and Temari,
Shikadai, and Chocho, Choji and Karui's daughter, each sharing similar physical
characteristics of their parents, as well as some skills and abilities, with
mastering the rasengan being Boruto’s primary goal. Seeing how some fan favourite characters have grown up was
probably my favourite part of the movie, slight variations on how they looked
and dressed in previous outings, with elements of the story actually featuring
Naruto’s original outfit, my main problem was the science team and their
ninjutsu tool, that whole subplot just felt forced and seemed a bit too convenient,
especially toward the film’s climax, even though it’s all set in this world of
ninjas and such, it just didn’t come across as believable. Whilst the overall story of Boruto vying for his father’s
attention, and subsequent lessons learned are well played and hit most of the
right notes, none of it has quite the impact it should, with little development
in the duo that attack Naruto and his village, the threat that they pose falls
short, and gets lost amongst the father and son plot, which even then seems to
fizzle out to only the smallest of things being learned from everyone’s
experiences, and personally I felt the story was told better in the Road to
Boruto expansion for the Ultimate Ninja Storm game, but then I suppose that’s
the benefit of having more time to tell a story than compacting it down to
ninety minutes. All that being said, this isn’t a bad film, it won’t win over any new fans, but does tick all the boxes for anyone already familiar, there’s plenty of heart mixed in with the sporadic fight sequences, and it’s all beautifully animated, though each iteration of the animé looks great, the movies always have that extra bit of sparkle that sets them apart, and Boruto is no different, the colours and lighting give a an often moody atmosphere, and there’s a great level of attention to everything, breathing life into the new Leaf Village, high rises and tall towers dotting the skyline, the now six Hokage carved into the cliffside, fifteen years may have passed but it still retains the characteristic look of the Konoha of old. The fights move quickly, and the scale ramps up nicely as the movie progresses, with the final confrontation swooping around enormous vines, darting across and through giant stone columns, and huge attacks battering massive chunks out of the landscape and scenery, even when things are at a standstill, backgrounds are detailed, crisp and colourful but not distracting, character animations are subtle, and the look of the new breed of Leaf shinobi is great, modern yet recognisable and definitely in keeping with everything that has come before. Audio-wise, the English dub is fine, but having started watching the Boruto series with the Japanese audio, I found Boruto’s English voice grating, so another watch with the original soundtrack might prove beneficial, with Shippuden finished, and the Boruto anime just beginning, this movie is ideal for those in need of their Naruto fix, not the best but any stretch, but it is the perfect bridge between the characters and stories we’ve all come to love and the next generation of ninjas that inhabit this unique and entertaining world.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie is out on 05/06/17 on DVD and Bluray