Shinobi

Now the samurai movie and its variants are back, but the model has changed. Films like Hiroyuki Nakano's 'Red Shadow,' Hideyuki Hirayama's 'Makai Tensho (Samurai Resurrection)' and Ryuhei Kitamura's 'Azumi' are closer to video games than Kabuki or ballet. The fighters have highly distinct powers, costumes and physiques, but little depth -- they are types, not individuals. The story is a series of fight scenes, with the supporting players falling by the wayside (or vanishing into a clouds of pixels), until only the hero and the leader of the bad guys are left to duel it out. The ending, unlike the final 'boss' stage of a game, is a foregone conclusion.

Ten Shimoyama's 'Shinobi,' with its story of two warring