[Movie Review] The Last: Naruto The Movie

[Movie Review] The Last: Naruto The Movie

(For summarized movie review, please visit: http://loong-updates.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-last-naruto-movie-summarized-movie.html )

Introduction

After the end of the story in Naruto Manga, here comes the final movie which will tells us a story during the “timeskip” between the chapter 699 and chapter 700.

The moon is approaching dangerously close to Earth. The moon will disintegrate and shower the earth with gigantic meteors if nothing is done. In order to save the world, Naruto goes on a mission with Hinata, Sakura, Shikamaru and Sai.

In this movie, Naruto has also discovered what he cares the most and he hopes to confess his feeling to someone. It’s a movie titled The Last but it’s actually a movie which will show us Naruto’s First Love.

Will Naruto be able to save the world once again?

Will he finally get together with the one he loves?

Let’s Rasengan through the Cinema and watch the epic movie of the gutsy ninja!

Review:

“The Last: Naruto The Movie” is the first movie to be canon (relevant to main story) to the original manga series. It is written by Masashi Kishimoto sensei himself and thus it feels a bit different from other Naruto movies which is more like a filler. This movie basically tells us more about the romance between Naruto and Hinata & how it leads to what we see in Naruto Manga chapter 700.

Nostalgic Moments!

The movie started off with some great 3D CGI scenes showing us a little bit of Naruto history such as from Sage of Six Path to Madara vs Hashirama and till the last epic battle scene between Naruto and Sasuke. All of these scenes were made beautifully and it’s a great brief introduction for the audiences.

Then in the earlier of the movie, it shows us Naruto standing on top of a building looking over Konoha (just like how he did in the beginning of Naruto Shiipuuden) with the background playing the first Naruto Main Theme (the one from the very beginning). All of these are really nostalgic and trust me, all of the hardcore fans would get the same feeling when seeing and listening to this part of the movie.  The only difference here is that we finally get to see Naruto in a taller build, shorter hair and more matured look.

A Romantic Story For Naruto!

The Last: Naruto The Movie brings out the love story between Naruto and Hinata. It is great to see how they interacted with each other that much in this movie. (In anime and manga series, it’s always Hinata watching Naruto from behind). There are many touching moments in the movie and yeah, we get to see how romantic Naruto can be.

Otherwise, the movie also involves the story of Ōtsutsuki’s descendant, Toneri. While his main target is to destroy the world created by the Sage of Six Path, he actually functions as another party in the love triangle between Naruto, Hinata and him. So it’s really a romantic story for the series! Of course, the background story for Hamura’s (sage of six path’s brother) side of story is good too.

Action-Packed Sequences!

Although the movie is a romantic genre film, it does not disappoint the Shonen fans as it also features a lot of action sequences in it. You can get to see Naruto being so much stronger in this movie. (he can throw Rasenshuriken so effortlessly now without even in his Sage mode or Bijuu mode)

You can also get to see other characters such as Shikamaru, Sai, Sakura and Hinata in action. However, other main characters in the series don’t have much screen time at all in the movie. We can only see a less than a minute scene of Lee with his juniors breaking a meteorite with their Taijutsu. And Sasuke only appears a few seconds doing his Chidori too.

Just like in any other Naruto movie, there will be a special Rasengan. In this one, he does the special one with Hinata. Find out how the special Rasengan is like by watching the movie!

In addition, I really love the last fighting scenes between Naruto and Toneri. I can’t help but feel the scene resembling fights in Dragon Ball Z. Naruto is basically flying while fighting with Toneri. That whole fighting scene is really great and worth looking forward to for those who haven’t watch the movie yet. And here again, they have the background playing Naruto’s original main theme. Such nostalgia!

Great Art Designs!

The art design for this movie is top-notch. It is basically one of the best out of so many versions of Naruto movie and anime episodes. Many of the scenes are very beautifully drawn and are really memorable. (For eg, the scene when Naruto is about to confess and the very last scene in the movie)

Of course, the characters design for the well-loved characters are great too. Although Shikamaru and Sai basically look almost the same as before, I find that the grown-up Naruto looks great (I don’t like it at first, but as the story progresses, you will like his latest look) and of course, Hinata and Sakura has become much prettier in this movie.

Worth mentioning is, the credit scene is very nice too. It shows the wedding scenes of Naruto in a unique way. Do stay behind and watch the credit scene.

Spectacular background music and original soundtrack!

Apart from having a nostalgic ride with their new version of Naruto Main Theme, the movie has featured a vast array of great soundtrack that is very fitting to the movie. For example, I really like “Chain Explosion” which was played during Naruto’s final fight with Toneri. Other soundtracks such as “Naruto and Hinata” and “First Love” are also very fitting to the theme of the movie while having a little flavor of usual Naruto Anime OST feeling.

The credit song by Sukima Switch, titled “Hoshi no utsuwa” is very touching and its melody is going to make you cry as you watch the credit rolls for the finale of this beloved anime movie.

Other Things You Need To Expect From This Movie:

-       There will be a post-credit scene. Do stay behind for it.

-       Sasuke only appears briefly. So there is no SasuSaku moment at all in the movie.

-       Not all characters have adequate amount of time to show off their more matured ninjutsus.

What I like about the movie:

1. Lots of nostalgic moments.
2. A really romantic story.
3. Action-packed sequences.
4. Great art and character designs.
5. Spectacular original soundtrack.
6. Happy Post-credit scene.

What I dislike about the movie:

1. Not all characters in the series get to appear adequately in the movie.
2. Sasuke (who is supposed to be one of the main character in the series and is also featured in the movie poster) appeared briefly for less than 1 minute.
3. Naruto’s previous feelings to Sakura is loosely explained

Verdict:

This movie deserves a 8.0/10.0!

Me (wljack.com) and my fellow reviewer Paik Hwa (from altunit.com)

“It’s an action-packed nostalgic ride with a romantic touch! A must watch for Naruto fans! And a great treat for NaruHina fans!” –WLJack

“"We know that this movie's focus is on Naruto and Hinata's love story, but Sasuke's uber limited screen time is a little sad! Or maybe the truth is, Sasuke appearing before Naruto will be too great a distraction for Naruto to focus on Hinata instead... hahahaha” – Fellow reviewer, Paik Hwa (from http://altunit.com/ )

Highly recommended to all Naruto fans!

If you are someone who are not the fans for the series, you might not enjoy the movie as much due to its romantic element. However, you will definitely like the Dragon Ball Z-like fights that are featured in this film.

Million thanks to GSC Movies for inviting me to the press screening of the movie. And million thanks too for bringing the "The Last: Naruto The Movie" to Malaysia. It’s a great effort and I am sure many Naruto and anime fans will truly appreciated it!

Watch the trailer of the movie here: 

Published by WLJack.