Ninja Assassin

Lots of blood and guts (you know it's going to be bad when the first scene involves decapitation and blood spurting everywhere) but all around I enjoyed the movie. I went in with an open mind, after only seeing one movie trailer I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised I liked it as much as I did. If you're not into very violent movies, this isn't for you. It was action packed and pretty intense, squeezing in an actual storyline with all the gore was pretty seamless. The fight Choreography was fantastic and the cinematography was beautiful (reminiscent of the Kill Bill series as far as blood and choreography). The last fight scenes have to be my favorite out of any action/martial arts film and had me in awe. The lead actor (Rain) does a good job and the overall storyline was fairly well written. I read that the screenplay was rewritten in 50some hours, I'm not sure what it was before but the outcome was decent. All in all, a good flick and I recommend it highly.

If the Wachowski brothers' Speed Racer was the ultimate tribute to family friendly classic cartoons, Ninja Assassin is the ultimate tribute to 80s martial arts B movies like "Enter the Ninja", video games like "Ninja Gaiden" and the Ultra-violent anime genre titles like Ninja Scroll.(Already noticed the name "ninja" in all the titles mentioned? well, what a coincidence!). It is violent, it is bloody and packed to the gills with action. Every thing else ends up playing second fiddle to the fights.

Unfortunately, "every else" also includes the story which is, a hodgepodge of very familiar elements. Raizo (played by Korean star Rain) is an orphan raised by a cruel master Lord Ozunu(played by Sho Kosugi, famous for his starring roles in, what else, 80s ninja movies like "Enter the ninja".) to be part of a secret clan of ninjas that have been responsible for countless assassinations over the centuries. Through a series of flashbacks (intercut with scenes of a half naked hunky Rain training with some vicious looking weapons), Raizo's tragic story is fleshed out. We see his tormented childhood days as a ninja trainee; his only emotional refuge, an orphan girl who, like Raizo, is part of the clan. One day, his friend tries to escape from the harsh ninja way of life and is executed, prompting a change of heart in Raizo who eventually betrays his clan after a narrowly botched mission. Now on the run, hunted by both his former comrades and a special international task force, Raizo finds an unlikely ally in the form of Mika Coretti, a Europol agent who is close to exposing the secret existence of the Ninjas and hence targeted for assassination.

Simply put, the unoriginal storyline is highly predictable and filled with B movie clichés from stem to stern. It is a definite step down from the philosophical Matrix trilogy or the sophisticated and political V for Vendetta.

Characters are, at best, cardboard cut outs and at worse painfully bland. None of them come across as emotionally engaging. Raizo is especially underdeveloped despite being the main character. His internal motives for his betrayal are never fully explored and the cheesy romance bit, not to mention the whole big about "the heart' feels like a tacked-on afterthought. The acting is passable; nothing better than the level of a TV series, but the script manages to have a couple of witty lines of dialog.

Though Ninja Assassin is no work of storytelling perfection, it delivers what it promises: lots of fights and lots of violence. Limbs are lobbed off, stomachs are split open and heads are busted as the movie slashes its way from one fight scene to the next, delivering scenes of wicked weapons and bloody carnage that make even Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre look like a tame PG film. The fight choreography is well executed with a good mix of slow motion and frantic close-ups. Special effects and CGI are used to effectively give the movie a very comic book-like feel (not surprising since the Wachowski brothers are avid comic fans and one of the screenplay writers is also a comic book writer). Thankfully some erratic camera work (especially during the scene where Raizo is being chased through a busy street) does not feel distracting but enhances the frantic and lightning fast pace of the fights. Blood flows like rivers as Raizo proceeds to disembowel enemies en masse; definitely not for the squeamish.

On a whole, Ninja Assassin feels like a hack-and-slash video game come to life from the first skirmish to the climatic showdown involving modern day special forces taking on an army of ninja warriors . Some cheesy bits here and there require a certain suspension of disbelief but the film's portrayal of ninjas in general is gritty and realistic yet preserves their mysterious and legendary status. It is refreshing too to see that Raizo is not some invincible killing machine as he does tire and he does take his fair share of hits, even going down a couple of times.

Forget Naruto and all those brightly dressed, magic power spewing ninjas of recent anime. Ninja Assassin is the butt-kicking, face slashing answer to all that. A respectable re-imaging of a dated genre and 99 minutes of non-stop violent escapism once you look past its narrative flaws.

After reading a couple of reviews, i was prepared to come out of the theatre disappointed, but what i saw on screen was a fantastic homage to a a genre that has become a bit of a joke... the Ninja is back! I cannot understand why this movie could get a negative review. You are paying money to watch a film about violent assassins and this is exactly what you get. Blood by the bucket load, dismemberment, decapitation, all the things you would expect from a Ninja movie. I would pay to watch this again, and can only hope that 18 rated movies are not a thing of the past, and that this one does well at the box office so a sequel can be made.

A must see.

This is a movie about Ninjas doing Ninja things, being stealthy, practicing bad-ass moves, and killing lots of other Ninjas.

If you don't mind a plot that comes straight out of a not very good video game there is enjoyment to be had here. Sho Kosugi is excellent as the master ninja, and a great choice for throwback fans of much better Ninja films like Revenge of the Ninja (last time I saw it I was 8 years old so...) . Rain (the hero ninja) barely says a word through the movie and when he does he sounds a lot like another immortal swordsman, Christopher Lambert.

Unfortunately the Wachowski siblings seem to be getting much worse at special effects. Some of the scenes look absolutely unbelievable and the Ninja training ground almost looks like a student work for a 3D class. It must be noted that the extremely graphic decapitations look great though. Each decapitation is enhanced with buckets of blood that will make any Tarantino fan giddy with dark and kind of disturbing joy.

If you're looking for a realistic Ninja movie (I know I am) I guess you'll have to Watch Leon again and pretend he's Asian. There are a billion plot holes here, Ninjas are un-killable until the movie decides they should be cannon fodder. Your suspension of disbelief will be pushed into overdrive but in the end, a movie about Ninjas doing Ninja things is always going to be at least decent. Well if you're into low art anyway.

Oh and the movie gets an extra point for playing Being Boiled by Human League during the end credits.

This movie is as cool as ninja can get ! The action sequences are jaw dropping, the choreographies are stunning, the chases are pulse accelerating.

The story begins in a building where a yakuza henchmen is getting himself a tattoo. As they argue about trivial things, the clan receives a letter with black sand inside. The tattoo master warns them about their imminent death, but they laugh at him. The next scene is one of the goriest one I've ever seen. The ninja hired to assassinate them makes salsa out of their body. Ninja Assassin.

The plot is centered around two federal agents who are on their way to reveal the secret ninja society. Their lives are in great danger as this secret must be preserve at all cost by the clan. Raizo (Rain) just escaped from his clan and wants to protect Mika, one of the two agents, as a way to redeem himself from all the sins he's done.

As this story spins and runs, we get to see a young orphan (Raizo) grow up in a Ninja clan lead by his sadistic master who brutalizes his students to prepare them for the path that a ninja have to walk.

All in all this movie was hands down an awesome Ninjitsu experience, with enough blood to keep fans satisfied.

8/10 !

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