劇場版 NARUTO-ナルト- 疾風伝 火の意志を継ぐ者 / Naruto Shippuden movie 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire

The third shippuden movie may be the worst yet in the Naruto franchise. Soulless, totally lacking in a decent plot development, contradicting things established in the main series and ending on a really contrived, rather bewildering gay joke that I can’t imagine anybody, anywhere finding funny, it’s probably the worst of a pretty bad bunch.

There are some good points, but they go but a short distance to redeem the overall picture: as usual, a theatrical release allows for superior art and animation, although this film continues the lazier but less conventional trend of direction in Shippuden movies; the young female characters actually got to do things that look impressive and stand as equals on the team; and best of all, some parts of the Kakashi Gaiden get animated.

The story is as flimsy as they come: some super-powered exiled Konoha shinobi nearly starts a war, and the only way Tsunade can think of to stop him is to give in to his demands and send Kakashi to him, but then blow him up using a power that, when he's used it before, has not blown him up. As opposed to sending some excellent shinobi and kicking butt. Naruto doesn't like this idea so goes after him, and shows that actually, a bunch of kids could do the butt-kicking so there wasn't much of a problem from the start.

Much of the tension is provided by the difference between following orders (represented by Shikamaru) and disobeying them for your own morals (represented by Naruto). While this, a theme of the series since its first chapters, is a good thing to question, especially given world history, and allows for some good fights between friends (although the fight with Gaara has a very unlikely and convenient end), it doesn't get adequately explored. Naruto gives an impassioned speech to Shikamaru, and that's all sorted, but Shikamaru could have easily given the opposing argument just as emotionally (probably starting 'If I could give my life so that Asuma never had to fight and die, don't you think I would? If my death could avert a war that saves hundreds of lives, would you stand in my way?' etc.). Trouble is, the two sides are never actually put into opposition, and really it's a case of Kakashi giving his life and the Leaf winning, or the Leaf fighting and the Leaf winning. In other words, there is just no tension in the premise as executed.

I wrote recently that shounen filler is getting better. Movie versions, it would seem, have yet to catch up.