vipher20

The concepts are great. A ninja movie with the smooth cool effects you'd hope for, some cinematography reminiscent of 300, and the old west verses ninjas. How cool is that? Well....unfortunately, not as cool as you'd think. There was a clip on Xbox Live that shows the first 2 minutes of the movie. The crummy thing is, after that first two minutes of setting up the stylish ninja effects and sword play...you don't see anymore of it till about the last 20 minutes of the movie. And that's exaggerating. Quick fight scene at the start. Long action scene at the end. And all the stuff in between is mush. I'm not saying I don't enjoy a movie with a good plot, but c'mon...there was only reason why any guy went to see this movie---ninjas...and cowboys VERSES ninjas. They didn't go to watch a lengthy story about a ninja falling in love and getting soft. Me and my buddies were really stoked about this movie going in, but I just really can't say it was that great. I actually liked the cinematography and the sets, but it just didn't use it enough to it's advantage. And to be honest, I really wasn't that impressed by the sword play. It was like the main character was never touched and he only had one move--slice. There wasn't any fancy flipping around and doing crazy stunts. It was just: ninja comes at him, he slices, they die. Rinse and repeat. No special way of doing it, just the same move every time. It didn't even look like any training was necessary. They just handed him the fake sword and told him whenever a guy gets near him, swing at 'em, and we'll add the blood in later.

The only other thing I can say is that Kate Bosworth's accent was TERRIBLE and annoying. I know it was supposed to be a little thick, but that was just a little much. And the funny thing was, as the movie progressed, it got less thick.

Anyways, wait for this to come out on DVD at best. Believe me, this is not nearly as cool as it could, or SHOULD, have been.

I wouldn't say I had REALLY high expectations for this film, however it did look entertaining from the previews, and I'd hoped it would be something I walked out thinking it was a real solid movie like The Losers or a Mission Impossible flick. I wouldn't say the movie was a disappointment. It was entertaining and it kept me engaged the whole time. But there were a few flaws that just kept this from being on par with a Mr & Mrs Smith kind of movie. In that movie, there was plenty of comedy, action, and just a sense of coolness that this didn't have. I'm not saying I wanted a repeat of Mr & Mrs Smith, I was just kind of looking forward to some cool action with comedy thrown in.

First of all, the chemistry between Cruise and Diaz just seemed forced. Cruise had this glazed over look the ENTIRE movie as if his character was just a beaten puppy going through the motions of a spy. In the Mission Impossible movies, I felt like he was actually a spy and he had a lot of emotion. But I just couldn't get past the vacant look in his eyes the whole time. His age is starting to show a little in his face and like he's desperately trying to hold on to the younger action roles he used to play. This translates into the chemistry between him and Cameron Diaz's character. I'm not sure I can even describe it, but there was just something missing in Cruise's performance that made him seem so distant. Maybe it was some sort of confidence....I think that might be it. His character seemed to lack that bad@$$ confidence we expect from our cool spies. It was like "OK...I'm awesome. Sigh...but who cares. Guess I'll kill this guy."

The second thing that bugged me was how much was given away in the trailer that sucked the life out of the movie. There were some pretty decent action scenes, but they were almost all shown in the previews. I hate when films do that, but I know they gotta suck people in first and foremost with the eye candy. Along with that complaint, I gotta mention that the CGI was a little weak. Some chase scenes were just a bit too easy to peg as blue screen shots.

Those pickings aside, it was a enjoyable watch that will suffice as a average to slightly above average action/(barely)comedy/ date movie. There's definitely a few movies I would put above this one on the must sees for the summer before devoting your money to this. But it's probably worth a matinée.

Now I don't mind some good family fun and a light-hearted movie, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I didn't expect an award-winning movie of any sort or to laugh uncontrollably. But this was bad. The only one or two funny parts were in the trailers, which is pretty much the only reason I gave this movie more than 1 star. The plot was horrible, the acting was terrible, the chemistry between the two dad figures (Travolta and Williams) and the kids was nonexistent, and the general pace of the movie was pitiful. But then again, that could have something to do with me wishing it would hurry up and be over after the first 20 minutes. I kept looking at the clock praying that time would somehow move faster. By the 45 minute mark, I just couldn't care less how the movie ended and contemplated putting the truck in gear and leaving the drive-in me and my wife were watching this at. I hate to say it, but this ranks right up there with some of the worst movies I've ever seen. Do yourself a favor and skip this one, especially at the theater. There's so many other decent movies out right now that you could spend $8-$10 on.