This review is based on all the cam leaks that I watched/gathered.

You can still read the version with mild spoilers here.

One thing I can tell you for sure: this movie is wayyy better and more exciting than the Last.

Of course, this all depends on tastes, and mind me, I DID like the Last: Naruto the movie, but I felt that the plot was just too simple, even for Naruto movie standards, and it was a device to rush up Naruhina in the process.

And I want to clarify from the beginning: my bias is towards SasuNaru/Narusasu, but I don’t mind at all a well done NaruHina or other pairing for that matter.

But let’s cut to the chase:

This review of course is not definitive, as the BD/DVD release date is still to be known in Japan and the US, but I’m betting for a February / April release in the midst of the hype of Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.

Boruto Naruto the movie full recap /synopsis/ storyline

It’s been 15 years after the events of chapter 699, it has been a time of peace and development after the last war.

Konoha begins to resemble a small scale Tokyo with its concrete buildings and first skyscrapers, the old mingles with the new. However, the faces of the 7 Hokages still stand out.

This is interesting because at last we get an inkling that the Naruto original series may have taken place around the 70’s, and the ‘actual’ time of this storyline must be around the 90’s.

But Kishimoto-sensei clarified at NYCC that it’s its own continuity, with elements from different decades.

So, what happened to Sasuke?

‘To atone for my sins’, as he has said, he has gone away on S-rank level missions all these years to confirm a possible threat around the ruins of Kaguya’s Castle.

And the movie opens with him battling two guys that appeared in this dimension, who may be Kaguya’s relatives.

It is not clearly specified, but both Naruto’s and Sasuke’s arms can still form some seals, though they are badly damaged beyond repair.

One of the guys, Kinshiki, is impressed by Sasuke’s Rinnegan.

From his research, Sasuke was able to retrieve a scroll from Kaguya’s Castle but so far can’t decipher it, so he goes to Naruto for help.

Cut back to the prosperous Konohagakure. We finally see Naruto as Hokage and as he struggles with endless paperwork, we see his fugly face doing it.

But it’s awesome to see Shikamaru as the city’s planner (a Mayor, perhaps?) and sorta an architect, with a small beard that resembles the Third Hokage Sarutobi.

There’s also a new character, Katasuke, a thriving ninjutsu scientist behind all the technological developments in the city.

Boruto Naruto the movie characters: Team Konohamaru – Boruto x Mitsuki x Sarada

Anyways, we get a first shot of the protagonists in a D-rank mission that consists of capturing a wild bear that looks like a panda.

Team Konohamaru is different from Team Kakashi, as we have seen in the Road to B special that Konohamaru is a light-hearted sensei, more in line with Ebisu and Iruka, rather than the seriousness of Kakashi.

Boruto already mastered the Kagebunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) and he and Sarada argue over if that thing was a bear or a panda. Sarada was about to capture it but Boruto gets in her way.

We see Mitsuki using his stretching ability to trap the panda while Boruto kicks him straight in the face.

There’s some chemistry between Boruto and Sarada, a bickering that remind us of Naruto and Sasuke as friends and rivals, it’s a way of having a hetero!Narusasu, but I’ll argue later why this pairing doesn’t seem convincing enough, and rather forced for me.

I’ll say without reserves that Mitsuki is one of the best characters of this new time-skip. He has a gentle personality, reserved, calmed, deductive and thoughtful. He brings a nice balance and brains onto the team.

Mitsuki comments that Boruto would make a nice successor, due to being a son and granchild of previous Hokages, and it seems to be the general opinion of villagers.

Sarada is just annoyed, no one seems to recognize her wish to be Hokage?

The bear attacks again and Konohamaru traps him with the Binding Shadow no Jutsu that the Nara clan uses.

He pulls out a Rasengan out of a Kote, which is a device that can store ninjutsu, and it looks like a pendrive. He just has to open a scroll to store it and it closes like a microfilm. You’ll see later why this is a problem.

Despite everyone being in awe, the Rasengan deviates and destroys a nearby farm o.o

In the trailers, Boruto seems like a dick all around, but here in the actual movie his main and most obvious conflict is how he despises his Father for being away all the time due to his Hokage duties.

The movie does a good and not cartoony depiction of him as a problem child. However, he has the weight in his shoulders of living in his Father’s shadow and that’s why he initially comes across as having no charisma and seeming like a generic spoiled brat. But again, I think this is the writers’ fault as that’s how they wrote him.

And what also bothers me in this sense is how Hinata doesn’t seem to have a solid presence here, we only see her with Himawari. What is the reason for this? Why is this not explained more?

Boruto and team are summoned to Naruto’s office to give account of the accident.

Boruto is defiant as always, questioning his father’s authority and morale, that he can’t even take care of his own family.

As for Naruto, indeed it’s a bit OOC for him to ask his son to address him as Nanadaime (Seventh) and not ‘Dad’, considering how he addressed Tsunade as Tsunade-no-baachan, or simply ‘Baa-chan’ and not as Godaime.

Naruto has indeed become a multi-clone workaholic. Why has he become this way? Does he want to prove something to Sasuke? That the shinobi system is still viable?

Don’t get me wrong. Frankly, while I love this bidanshi adult Hokage Naruto, the main problem I have with his characterization is that having been accustomed for years to the classic 15 year old Naruto that defeated Pain with his Jesus no Jutsu, I don’t really see the transition or the journey to this guy that is married to Hinata and has two children.

I had the same problem with the Last movie.

You know what I mean, right? It’s like they’re two entirely different characters, not necessary an evolution.

I get the feeling that this was due to these timeskips being added, rushed and forced. First, the timeskip in the Last, making it the Third timeskip and the Fourth timeskip being the one in Naruto Gaiden and this movie.

Anyways, Boruto warns his Father that he better be in Himawari’s birthday party or he won’t forgive him.

Boruto brags and brags to his father that he can dominate wind, water and air elements, besides doing more than 3 clones, but in reality he  is so apathetic that he only wants to play video games and avoid the Chunin exams.

But Sarada knows him well enough and challenges him to take up on the exams to impress his father, as she already realizes that Boruto’s attitude is due to resentment.

Boruto asks her if her father Sasuke will be there to watch her, and she says she doubts it, foreshadowing the drama in Naruto Gaiden.

Boruto and Himawari

Mitsuki is there and they ask him who his parents are, but he is cut off by Hinata and Himawari who came to pick up Boruto for Himawari’s birthday party.

At home, Boruto is justifiably outraged that his father ultimately sent a clone to stand in, as it comes undone and the birthday cake he had in his hands gets ruined as it hits the floor. And it bothers me that Hinata has been reduced throughout this arc to such a passive, at the margin, borderline stoic character after her development in the second time skip.

Her theme was to overcome her insecurities and become strong, go her own ninja way. What happened here? Why doesn’t she stand or empathize for Boruto?

It isn’t even explained why Naruto couldn’t be fully present, a vague reference that he couldn’t get out of office, which makes him deliberately look OOC and a dick here.

This is the infamous temper tantrum scene in which Boruto lashes out at his mother for siding with his father, goes to his room, and throws out Naruto’s pre-first timeskip jacket out of the window.

Then Sasuke knocks the door.

Boruto ran and thought it was his father and tries to punch him, stopped easily.

Boruto apologizes and when he learns who he is, his father’s rival, he starts to gush and go all fangirl on him.

After Hinata informed him that Naruto was still at the office, Sasuke was heading there when he found Naruto’s old jacket in the street, looking amused.

Delightful Sasunaru moments (in subtext)

Sasuke’s characterization in this movie is much softer than what we saw in Naruto Gaiden. Through his introspected actions, you can see that he deeply cares about his loved ones. There’s even a dry sense of humor about him that makes you think that all his tribulations were worth it.

Then Sasuke finally meets Naruto at this office, giving him a report of these two guys with Rinnegan in their hands, and explaining that he couldn’t decipher completely this scroll he found at Kaguya’s Castle.

He then gives Naruto his rumpled old uniform he found on the streets.

This is one of the best scenes in the movie because they remember their childhood days and their chemistry is sizzling here.

But ironically, Sasuke is in the right here, Naruto has somehow become isolated of his own reality due to the title of Hokage, that’s why he has neglected his family duties.

So much for the dream of being Hokage, eh?

Sasuke tells him that he met Boruto and comments how much he resembles his father, even a bit worse loser, he wonders that at the end, the nature of a shinobi never changes. They make a bet.

Naruto is indeed disconnected of the core of his own son’s troubles by saying that Boruto reminds him of Sasuke.

Or this could mean that he wishes he had a son/daughter with Sasuke o.o

Isn’t it strange that they never talk about their wives?

Well, Sasuke is on his way home when Boruto intercepts him and have a pseudo-fight in which Sasuke easily puts Boruto down.

Boruto asks Sasuke to take him as a student and Sasuke tells him to go back to him once he has learned to perform the Rasengan.

Then comes the hilarious scene with Konohamaru in which he learns to do the Rasengan.

At this stage, the pace of the movie is slow. It somehow wishes to be an episode.

But I don’t think at this point that people would be interested in watching a Boruto anime series. Kishimoto said that he was done with it for good.

Boruto is clearly frustrated that he needs to go beyond and overachieve at all times and this is only addressed subtly by Sasuke. And you’ll see why.

Boruto shows his Rasengan to Sasuke, who simply states that it’s smaller than his predecessors. But Boruto takes it the wrong way and storms off.

Sarada has been watching for afar all this time, playing stalker, and asks her father to accept Boruto as a student. Sasuke said he is actually not dissapointed in Boruto and will do so.

If Boruto can perform a smaller Rasengan, it means he has a greater control over his chakra.

But Boruto went to Katasuke, who consoled him by giving him a Kote that can store and create a Rasengan. Yes, quite the spoiling uncle and used car salesman. I can even compare him to Saul from Breaking Bad, he’s actually that greasy.

Kotes are considered a form of cheating, and that may have been what has actually been hindering Boruto’s training development, since he is not creating the jutsu manually. That’s why he hides it. He hides it because he doesn’t feel confident in his own capacity, since he feels neglected.

BTW, where’s Sai? He should be Konoha’s resident psychiatrist/counselor by now. He should be telling this to Naruto and addressing Boruto’s issues.

Boruto returned to Sasuke performing a larger Rasengan, but created with the hidden Kote. Sasuke noticed it, but didn’t say anything, he only insinuated how Naruto always relied on his own means.

Sasuke begins to walk away when Boruto reminded him of their deal to train him. “Yes, I guess I said that”, Sasuke replied.

Cut to another key scene, a fireplace in which Boruto asks him about his father, what are his weaknesses. This is quite a tender scene because Sasuke fondly rememorates that Naruto was annoying in how he always wanted to be Hokage and be recognized, and now he seems to be tired of all that.

Boruto asks him how his father was as a child, and Sasuke has the image we all know of Naruto being alone in the swinger. “Your father was always alone and nobody liked him, that’s why he wanted to become Hokage and change all that”

The fact that Sasuke has that scene in his mind too is proof that he was in fact, the first person to recognize Naruto. Now it bothers me that Kishimoto mentioned in this interview at NYCC that it was Hinata the first who recognized him. Revisionist much?

If we read the manga and watch the original anime scenes, Hinata was the second person, then Iruka-sensei, then Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and so on.

“You may not understand why your father is the way he is today, what he had to do to get to where he is”, Sasuke continued. Boruto makes a fugly face and a snide remark.

Cut to the other dimension in which the villains present themselves as Momoshiki and Kinshiki, they begin creating another chakra tree over the ruins of the destroyed one.

Then they crossover and attack Killer Bee and Gyuki the Eight Tails by surprise, sucking all their chakra and leaving them like hell.

The Chuunin exams

Meanwhile, some days have passed and the Chuunin exams begin. The first round is easily won by Mitsuki as he solved the riddle and ink trap, set by Sai, the examiner ^^

Boruto can feel his limitations and pressure, needing help from Mitsuki and Sarada.

But with the use of the Kotes, he easily defeats his opponent in the second round and tells everyone that he’s more than okay. He receives an email from his father congratulating him. “At least it’s not a clone”, he thinks.

Then the second round comes and he easily defeats his opponent by using the Suiton (Water Release) and Raiton (Lighting release) that are stored in his Kote.

What I have noticed throughout the plot is how everyone, even TenTen, the examiner for the Second round, keeps mentioning that he’s of course great due to being the Hokage’s son. It’s like they stereotyped him and have him for granted, yet they don’t know the real damage they’re doing.

Sarada, Mitsuki and Boruto celebrate. He begins to feel guilty of cheating. Sarada goes over him and questions him what’s wrong.

This is hilarious scene as Sarada comments that his eyes are just as profound blue as his father’s. He blushes to have Sarada’s face so close to his. But then Mitsuki gets close too, Sai-homo style. He freaks out.

Cut to Naruto’s face. He feels so sad due to not being there for his son, feeling guilty in a parallel way. He may be suffering too some form of 4-wall office anxiety procrastination because he paces and paces around with heaps and heaps of paperwork and doing nothing.

See? That is why I never envisioned him as Hokage. I honestly thought that Shikamaru would be it instead.

For me, Naruto has always been a guy of action, with the journey of becoming Hokage being more relevant than the title itself.

Shikamaru knocks the door, startling him from his thoughts.

Shikamaru lets him know that Boruto passed the second round, and insinuates that he should be indeed be spending more time with his son, commenting also that he looks forward to their sons fighting in the third round.

Naruto is nothing short of frustrated with this conflict between his work and personal life. Everyone realizes that he is neglecting his son.

Boruto gets home, congratulated by Himawari and Hinata, but he heads straight away to his bedroom, and Hinata starts sensing that something is wrong.

Naruto personally goes to his bedroom to congratulate him, but there’s tension and awkwardness.

This scene got to me because this Naruto is so out of touch with his important relationships, when he contemplates the portraits, and he’s just so impersonal with his son.

I just got a flashback to the Zabuza arc, what would Haku say now?

That’s why I feel that Naruto is so OOC here, because the Naruto I (we) have known for years in the manga wouldn’t neglect his important bonds for the sake of being Hokage, he even said at one point that what would the Hokage title serve for if he couldn’t even redeem his best friend Sasuke?

“Don’t lose against Shikadai”, and he presented his fist, but Boruto doesn’t bump it because that would reveal the Kote.

Then Naruto bumps his small chest instead, “I’ll be watching you, see you then”, smiles and exits.

Boruto is sad but at the end he grabs his chest, smiling, “He could just have sent an email if that’s all he had to say, stupid old man”

Then the big day of the Third Round of Fights of the Chunin Exams arrives.  The venue is full and the Five Kages are present.

Rock Lee is the examiner this time. The first round has Boruto against Yurui, a ninja from the Hidden Cloud that has the ability to make explosives out of his bubblegums, like Deidara but without the art.

Boruto at first resisted the temptation, but ends up using a cheat shuriken to defeat him, making explode in his face the current bubblegum he was chewing.

Sarada defeats Tarui in one second by giving him one of her superpunches o.o

One Punch Sarada would be the title of a good spinoff manga indeed.

Then she’s embarrased by Sakura cheering for her at the top of her lungs.

Mitsuki easily defeated Toroi, they didn’t even show the fight.

Then the awaited fight of Boruto vs Shikadai.

Boruto cheats again by putting shadow clones in his Kote so that Shikadai can’t trap him with the Shadow Binding no Jutsu. Shikadai simply shrugs his shoulders and gives up because it’s a drag.

At this point Hinata and Naruto are sensing that something is wrong, and at the same time the greasy Kote salesmen have been monitoring and experimenting with Boruto all along.

“Hinata, use your Byakugan and check Boruto’s hands”, Naruto tells her.

She confirms that he has an artifact under his sleeve.

He interrupts the event and comes down, looking dissapointed as Boruto wants to bump his fist with him. He disqualifies Boruto, takes away his headband and declares Shikadai as the winner.

He tries to take Boruto away from the arena but Boruto refuses and sprouts at him how he’s never had real time for him, that he would never had the time to do something like this.

Hey, at least we begin to see the beginning of Boruto Jesus no Jutsu.

Then, the greasy Kote salesmen come down to the arena with TV cameras around, proclaiming that they are responsible for this, because they used Boruto for this experiment of this Kote ninja product tool that simplifies everything, since Boruto just wanted to be recognized by his father.

And that they were awaiting precisely for the opportunity to sell it to the five Kages.

Wow, talk about wanting to turn a profit from a troubled father-child relationship.

But thankfully their speech is interrupted by Momoshiki and Kinshiki, who destroy the venue.

The legendary battle begins!

There’s an incredible scene with Sakura simply punching away the falling roof and shattering into tiny pieces to save the people around her.

The legendary Rookie 9 avoid the place from falling and evacuate all the civilian villagers.

Momoshiki kicks the shit out of Naruto several kilometers away and Sarada is about to be hit when Sasuke saves her.

Boruto tries to delay him using all his remaining Kotes but they are absorbed by the Rinnegan in Momoshiki’s hand.

It seems his Rinnegan can create chakra fruits from everything he absorbs. Again they reinstate their plan of gathering all chakra under one person yadda yadda yadda, universe domination, etc.

The sky darkens and he begins to create a massive chakra bomb with all five elements and a world creator similar to that of Nagato. Poor Sarada falls to her knees in shock.

Then the real epic fight begins with Naruto using his Rikudou Sennin mode with Kurama, enough power to protect them from the blast. Momoshiki keeps throwing blasts and Sasuke helps protect Naruto with his Susanoo armor over Kurama.

What Momoshiki wants is to make a special chakra fruit out of Kurama with enough power to gather all the chakra in the world.

He sets up another mega chakra bomb, when Naruto in a resigned tone says: “Sasuke, take care of the children for me”.

“I understand”, he replies. Without uttering a word they both know what they really mean.

To contain the impact of the second mega chakra bomb, Naruto and Kurama use all their power and decide to get captured on purpose to take the fight somewhere else, most likely in Kaguya’s dimension.

The explosion is fully contained within Naruto’s full Kurama chakra, and Boruto is speechless, remembering what Sasuke fully told him that night: “Your father had plenty of weaknesses, he was a good for nothing (usuratonkachi!), but pulled himself with his strength until he became Hokage, you don’t need to understand the way he is now, you need to understand that this is his ninja way”

Boruto sees his father being barred away by the explosion, he can only remember a last smile.