We are all familiar now with the nature of Japanese jidaigeki (period drama) epics set in the age of the samurai. By going back to what appears to be relatively simpler times when everyone knew their place in the social order, films like Yoji Yamamoto's Twilight Samurai (2003) and The Hidden Blade (2004) try to remind us that what is really important in life is respect for order, attention to duty, and acting with honour and loyalty. Director Yoshiho Nakamura, known for somewhat off-beat dramas, presents a more modern and comic outlook on the jidaigeki epic in Mumon: The Land of Stealth, where there is only one thing that is important to the citizens of Iga; it's all about the money.

Skirmishes are an everyday occurrence in Iga, the Land of Stealth, home of the ninja. Which makes you think that they would know by now that Mumon (named after the fact that 'No gate' is closed to him), the greatest ninja in the land, is pretty much invincible, so there's not really much point in taking him on. If they did that however, life would be fairly dull (and there wouldn't be much of a film), but life is cheap in 1579, and the ninja love nothing more than a good fight. As long as they are being paid for it.

The opportunity of a handsome pay-packet comes their way with the news that the warlord Nobunaga Oda has been conquering neighbouring provinces. Ise has just fallen and, vastly outnumbered, Iga is sure to follow. Rather than being concerned, Iga's Council of Twelve see it as an opportunity to make some money and decide to invite Nobunaga Oda into Iga, where - for a modest salary - they will even build a castle for him in the heartland of the country. Oda however has warned his son, who has taken up command of Ise - on no account to make war with Iga as it is nothing but a "swamp of rabid beasts", but headstrong junior thinks he knows better and ignores his father's advice...

Filled with comedy and irreverence, if Yoshihiro Nakamura's Mumon is not what you traditionally expect from a samurai film, it at least delivers where it matters most; in the spectacular fight scenes that inevitably ensue. Battle sequences and individual duels are thrillingly choreographed and intensely staged, with hordes of flying ninja warriors leaping around, appearing out of rocks, trees and from underground, without over-reliance on CGI. Just as importantly however, director Nakamura doesn't indulge in sepia-tinted nostalgia but rather - amidst all the comedy - has something relevant to say about the 'ninja warriors' of today, where it is indeed all about the money.