[Movie Review] Boruto : Naruto The Movie

[Movie Review] Boruto : Naruto The Movie

Introduction

The movie is set a few years after the ending of the original Naruto Saga and our current focus now is the new generation of ninjas!

Featuring Naruto’s son, Boruto as the main protagonist of the movie alongside with his teammates Sarada (Sasuke’s and Sakura’s daughter) and Mitsuki (a ninja with mysterious parents). The movie revolves around the three of them pursuing their goals in Chuunin Exam. Boruto wants to impress his father Naruto who has always been busy with his Hokage’s job while Sarada wants to reach out for her dream to become a Hokage.

Eager to surpass his father, Boruto seeks Sasuke to train him up for the Chuunin Exam. Apart from that, Boruto has got something up his sleeves for the exam too.

On the other hand, a danger is about to set on Naruto which might even costs him his life.

Will Boruto finally able to surpass his father?

Will Sasuke accept Boruto as his apprentice?

How will the new generation do in the Chuunin Exam?

What danger will Naruto face?

Let’s rasengan through the cinema and watch the movie this 5^th November 2015!

Review:

“Boruto : Naruto The Movie” executive producer is Masashi Kishimoto sensei himself and the story has proceeded much beyond the tales of the original saga.

The will of fire passed on!

Featuring new generation of ninjas, much nostalgia can be felt as we see how the new team of protagonists work with each other to reach their goals. Much like the good old days in the younger Naruto saga, the teamwork among members can be noted, the good old training (the part where Boruto learns Rasengan is a reminiscence of the past like how Naruto used to train too) and the Chuunin exams. All of these provided nostalgic feel to the old fans of the series.

Family Focused Movie! Good Character Development for the new generation!

While “The Last: Naruto The Movie” brings out the love story between Naruto and Hinata, “Boruto : Naruto The Movie” focuses more on the family bonding of the main characters in the series. It has shown to us more interactions between the family members especially the Naruto’s family and Sasuke’s family.

Although Naruto has excelled and became the 7th Hokage, he sucks at being a father. This is mainly due to his hectic lifestyle as the hokage whereby till the extent that he couldn’t spend more time with his family. It is even shown in the movie that he collapsed inside the Hokage’s office due to the heavy workload which he has to shoulder upon.

Either way, the character development is very remarkable in the movie as we get to see how the personalities of the characters are (especially Boruto). Boruto has two different sides of him whereby one side is a loving and caring brother for his sister Himawari and the other side being the stubborn and playful self which he usually displays. You will grow to like Boruto in times because he isn’t your usual type of spoiled brats. He actually is a more complexed protagonist in my opinion instead of the generic “all good no evil” main protagonist. All he really wants is that, his father to pay more attention to him.

The family bonding feeling can be felt near the end of the movie when Boruto and Naruto finally bumped fist with each other indicating that they finally understand each other more. Of course, the interaction between Boruto and his mother Hinata and sister Himawari is equally heartwarming too.

On the other hand, the conversation between Sarada and Sakura regarding Sasuke’s return is funny. It is also quite nice to see how Sarada speak with Sasuke too by addressing him as “papa”. This time around, it felt like the Sasuke’s family has become much closer to each other compared to the “stranger-ish” relationship they have when in “Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and The Scarlet Spring”.

Greater Actions! Memorable fight scenes!

Kicking off the movie is the first confrontation of Sasuke with the main villains Momoshiki and Kinshiki. During the first few minutes, the movie has already been showing us Dragon Ball Z like fight between Sasuke and the villains. It is really cool to see how strong Sasuke has become.

Throughout the movie, there are also a few action sequence and fighting scenes during the Chuunin Exam. These action sequences are quite decent too. I think the fight between Boruto and Shikadai is really nice. How Shikadai responds during the fight resembles so much of his father Shikamaru during the latter’s chuunin exam last time.

Then, there are some clashes between the five kages and sasuke against the two villains. Those are really kage level fight.

Of course, the most memorable fight scene is when both Naruto and Sasuke beating up the powered-up Momoshiki! That fight is really epic! The motion and action sequence is top-notch! After seeing that scene, you know, you wouldn’t want to mess with both these monsters unless you want to become a mashed potato!

Old Characters Comeback!

Besides the focus on the main characters, some support characters in the past have played cameo or also appeared for a while too in this film. For example, Tenten, Sai, Rock Lee and Shikamaru have appeared in the movie as the examiners during the Chuunin Exam.

The most notable one is Konohamaru. Still remember the young brat in Naruto series? Well, he has become the sensei for the new team of protagonists. I think he’s quite cool as a teacher because of his comedic personality. It’s so funny to see how he reacts when Boruto asks him to teach him Rasengan. Such a comedic relief!

The most “kesian” (malay word for “pity”) cameo appearance in my opinion is Kakashi. He just appeared for the brief shot (less than 3 seconds I think) in the scenes showing Naruto’s Hokage lifestyle. Such a pity that the well-loved Copy Ninja sensei having such a brief moment in the new movie.

Smooth Graphical Animation!

The graphical animation for this movie is great. It is on-par with the previous movie “The Last: Naruto The Movie”. Although there isn’t any CGI graphics as seen in the previous movie, the graphics for this movie is great! In addition, I think the character designs for the new generation and the old ones are quite good too. The designs showed a much more modernized ninja world compared to the original series and it can help us relate on how much the narutoverse has grown since the ending of the original saga.  

Amazing Original Soundtrack! Spectacular Rendition and Remixed of some old OST!

The movie has featured quite a number of new OST including “Boruto” theme song. This theme song is slightly different from “Naruto Main Theme” which has more focus on the use of traditional instruments such as taiko, flute, shamisen and etc. The song “Boruto” is made by modern music instrument like electric guitar and etc. The song has quite a distinctive tune!

Of course, there is few other versions of “Boruto” theme song being played in different mood using different traditional instruments such as the saddened “Tattered Clothes”,  the depressed and resolved “Clench My Fist”, the epic “Trust Me” and the happy ending “Victory”. All these different compositions provide a different flavors on how you would enjoy the song.

My favorite song in this movie is “Spin And Burst” which is played during the most epic fight between Naruto and Sasuke against Momoshiki. It is the remixed version of “Reverse Situation” in Naruto Shippuden Anime. The original rendition has gained a lot of my affection because of its epicness especially during the fight between Gai-sensei against Kisame and the fight between Chiyo and Sasori. However, the movie version of this song is the most epic of all, so much vibes you can feel as you see both of them beating up the main villain with the remixed and better version of this song being played as the background music.

  

Last but not least, the movie theme song “Diver” is also quite catchy! The song is performed Kana-Boon who performed “Spiral”, the main theme song for upcoming Naruto Shippuden Storm 4 game. The song “Diver” actually has a motivational lyric which makes you relate much to Boruto too.

A treat to the fans!

Another worth-mentioning aspect of this movie is the ultimate treat for the fans, by featuring more screenplay time for Sasuke!

In the previous movie “The Last: Naruto The Movie”, one of the major complaints and feedback by the audiences is the lacking of appearance time for Sasuke. I am not sure whether is it really the feedback which has made it possible. But one thing for sure is, there is plenty of Sasuke’s appearance in this movie. In fact, I think his screenplay time might be even more than Naruto in this movie.

So Sasuke fans, there is no reason for you not to watch this movie!

Surprising Post-Credit Scenes!

There is a post-credit scene in this movie like in “The Last : Naruto The Movie”. So do stay back and watch the post-credit scene as it revealed one of the biggest secret in the movie!

Still remember that I mentioned that Boruto and Sarada has a teammate Mitsuki who has mysterious parents? The truth of his parents will be revealed in the post-credit scene. So, do check it out!

The only downside: The villains!

The only thing I dislike about the movie is the villain. While it’s a great idea to feature Ōtsutsuki clan as the villain in the movie (well, there’s not much candidates available to play the role of villain who is strong enough against the currently overpowered Naruto and Sasuke), the villains this time, Momoshiki and Kinshiki are less developed compared to the Ōtsutsuki villain in the previous movie “The Last: Naruto The Movie”.

Nothing much was explained about their past and their intention. Their motives are less convincing and weaker compared to the villains of the past. Usually, the villains of the Narutoverse has a background story which will make you eventually love the antagonist characters or at least feel pity for them on how and why they become someone like who they are now. The villain this time is totally lack of them. The only time you feel pity for this villain is when he is beaten up by Naruto and Sasuke in that crazy scene!

However, considering that the movie is emphasizing more on the family bonding of the main characters and has effectively convey it, it is understandable on why they couldn’t squeeze in more background story for the villains in the movie with runtime of 95 minutes.

What I like about the movie:

• Cool new generation of ninjas.
• Oozing of nostalgia! Chuunin Exam!
• Impressive action sequences.
• Great comeback of previous generation ninjas.
• Spectacular visual.
• Awesome OST.
• Surprising Post Credit Scene.
• For Sasuke Fans: SASUKE!

What I dislike about the movie:

• Brief appearance of old characters.
• Strong antagonists with weak motives

Verdict:

This movie deserves a 8.5/10.0!

“It’s great to see how much the Naruto Universe has grown and it’s a fun sight to see the torch being passed on to the new generations!” –WLJack

"Awesome movie with nice fighting scenes!" - by fellow reviewer John Chen

Highly recommended to all Naruto fans! And especially Sasuke fans!

This is definitely a must-watch for the fans of the long-time series! Of course, there’s no reason to miss the show for Sasuke fans as well!

With more action-packed scenes, this is also a great movie for Shonen fans who enjoy Dragon Ball Z like action sequences! You will definitely enjoy the movie too!

Me and the cute cosplayer for Shikadai during "Boruto Naruto The Movie" Premiere @ GSC Midvalley

Million thanks to GSC Movies for inviting me to the premiere of the movie. And million thanks to them for bringing the movie to Malaysia. It’s really a great movie and you guys should really check it out this 5^th November 2015!

Published by WLJack.