Ninja Gaiden

Gorosaurus is a legend. For many reasons: he's brilliant with 3dmm, he consistently pushes the process to new levels and he's not a bad guy either. Therefore it's fitting that his career matches his competence and the effortless cool he reeks of. So to open a review the query has to be why exactly I'm bigging up the director rather than the movie with such immediacy as other reviews. The answer is put very simply, it is because of Gorosaurus that Ninja Gaiden is a wondrous masterpiece. His skills not only define the movie's principles and the awesome spectacle of Ryu in all his hand-made glory, but he also maintains and competently adds to what made Ninja Gaiden so attractive as an existing franchise in the first place. Ninja Gaiden is the pivotal movie that has churned irreconcilable emotions clean out of me. Sadness, awe, joy, jealousy, irrepressible urges to watch it again months after release... etc. The last shot above all is my favourite ending shot, right up there and floating a considerable height above GITS' sunset and Bodily Functions' pan out of the hand. Which is ironic considering I spent so much time rewinding to the beginning of the film when the credits had rolled.

What Goro brings to Ninja Gaiden rather than taking away from it is the sense of spirit that makes not neccessarily NG in this case but ninja movies as an institution so succinct. Ryu is a hugely athletic behemoth of a protagonist, demonstrating torment, anger and a real sense of himself as his story unfolds. Bearing this in mind, Goro carefully crafts the elements of drama alongside the action, proving the script is far more intelligent than the average license tie-in. There's certainly a great deal of satisfaction to be had out of this, as NG is extremely capable of doing its job, telling a story. The movie prides itself on this, and to compliment it further Goro has raised the stakes to a degree of detail so coherent and stylised thats its not even remotely surprising that NG is rarely bettered. Most astounding is the animation itself. Ryu flips, he ducks, he high-kicks, he rebounds, he recoils, as if someone has made these moves on a set, Ryu really does move, both esquisitely and believably. And only Goro could have made this happen. What is at first a collection of conveniently placed spheres with a pair of eyes suddenly becomes a member of a living breathing world, a world in which Goro plays by his own rules and rightfully so. Perhaps its not as enjoyable if you're a lycan judging by an abundance of full moons, fabulous 2d style and comic-book stand-offs, but nevertheless in this world, as recognised by the nature of Ryu's violence, vengeance is in our nature. Which, ultimately, makes Ryu a hugely sympathetic character and one we can truly emphasise with. For character development alone in a bladder friendly run-time, NG is visually stunning. It's when Goro walks into the room and makes Ryu move, creating an action to compliment the ninja that the film really takes off on an emotional level.

What I love about Ninja Gaiden, what I really love about it is its unconvoluted talent for making my emotions crumble. Above all else its telling a story, but it's because its telling such a tale that makes it so epic for the viewer. At the end I was saddened by what had happened, but at the same time redeemed and relieved by the events. It made me happy and it made me sad on different levels. Which made that much more of an impact when I first saw it when released because ninja movies just didn't fit in with my taste. If Goro aimed to make a film for fans, he has succeeded. However, triumphantly if he aimed to make a film to turn viewers into fans, he succeeded to a far greater extent. You've got to respect Goro for that. And Ninja Gaiden is a unique blend of different styles coming together to produce an unparrallelled form: an epic story dealing with the messages of how powerful we can be and bring ourselves to be, and how last stands come as a result of falling down. What adds to NG's substance is that the end shot of the grave adds to the sense of potentially falling back down again, and that peace has in fact not been found. Something no doubt to be left for The Dragon Born to fulfill.

My main gripe with the film is at first it seems longwinded (but certainly not the second time), and while the film is undoubtedly sweet and choosing not to inevitably outstay its welcome during the showdown, by the end the audience is distrought. Goro was in more danger of understaying his welcome with Ninja Gaiden. I know I definitely wanted more. I was greedy for more. Thus when the credits came I remained silent, choosing to watch the film again and cry in a corner later. And its with this thought that I eagerly anticipate the coming of the sequel, which with Goro's skill not only as a director but as an auteur, is unlikely to fail. As sure thing as a spidey sequel, it's unlikely to flop too, as appreciation for the film is littered everywhere and of course clones have been tried before (let us try to forget Carl Arnold's soiled attempt). So on that upnote of anticipation, I'll end the review and humbly bide my time, waiting to hug and kiss Goro upon The Dragon Born's release. And that's not a plug. That's a fan talking.

Ninja Gaiden is, much like Ryu's carefully constructed and now iconic attacking silhouette over the full moon, absolutely phenomenally brilliant. It's my favourite 3dmm movie of all time, and put quite simply unlike the rest of the review: it's fucking great.