User reviews

Who knew that the most insanely violent, ridiculously brutal and psychotically gory film of the year would be Ninja Assassin. Look there's not much to it think 300 with Ninjas or Braveheart with less emotional involvement and ninjas. It's quite obvious that the people responsible for this film set out to make the most ass kicking Ninja movie ad they even one uped themselves. i remember when I was younger Ninjas were kinda cool but since than they've lost their flair and so has the martial arts genre in general this one brings all that back with a hellacious gut punch. Visually the film is incredible. It's unlike anything you've ever seen. The fighting is quick, furious and the story although not completely involving is involving enough so that we kinda like the characters. What the film does explosively well is decapitate, disembowel and explode it's victims across it's blood soaked screen. Imagine slow motion shots of a man diving out of the way of 100's of ninja stars, slicing people in half with samurai swords and being born out of shadows literally. It's an exciting piece of cinematic brilliance. i can't speak for the actual quality of this film despite the visual flair but I don't think anyone seeing Ninja assassin will be going in with a too critical eye. It delivers on its title and the trailer's promises and more. It's just freaking crazy as hell.

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.

This movie has some good fight scenes. Even if it uses slow-mo and cgi, it does it well and it enhances the scenes. It has the 2009 - 2010s action style. Rain did a fantastic job and got ripped for the role. You can see the dedication he put into this. I liked the weapon he uses, the swinging blade on a chain looked really badass. There was a fight scene in the bathroom which I thought was well done. There is a lot of blood in this movie so if you like that type of stuff, you'll enjoy this. They do a good job of showing Raizo's backstory and the brutally that he went through. There was a flashback scene of Raizo's training that is a foreshadow of a scene at the end which was neat. I like how they don't make the main character too OP, he still gets hit, slashed and stabbed. It makes him more vulnerable and makes it seem like there's more at stake. There were times where I was like is he even going to make it? Naomie Harris did a well enough job and I even liked the chemistry she had with her partner Maslow.

I was skeptical before I decided to watch this because I don't want to see the same ninja plots all over again but it turns out to be the best bloody ninja movie I have seen so far!

I like dumb action movies. I especially like dumb, over the top, gory, violent martial arts movies. Gimme some "Ong Bak" or even some "Bloodsport" and I'll be satisfied.

This is not a martial arts movie. This is not even an entertaining action movie in the slightest.

The story amounts to "REVENGE!" (like all good action movie plots, huh?), and of course the acting and dialogue is never up to par. But you don't come into a movie called "Ninja Assassin" looking for Mamet-like dialogue, do you? The prerequisite action is here...kinda. If by "action" you mean "we're going to CGI the crap out of these fight scenes, and make everything all blurry and dark so you don't see how bad they actually are". That's what you meant, right? Rain, I feel, is a pretty good looking chap, who's about as charismatic in the role as an Asian pop star pretending to be a martial arts master can be. And when he's laying waste to dozens upon dozens of pajama clad ninjas in some fairly slick & well-choreographed fight scenes (that comes maybe 50 minutes into the movie) you almost find yourself enjoying the film. But then we see a ridiculous amount of blood being shed, heads being cut off and severed arms flying at the screen. That's the exact moment where you'll find yourself completely taken out of the action. You'll then realize how stupid all of this is, and how there's absolutely nothing entertaining about CGI fight scenes in a live-action martial arts movie. It's a cop-out; you start to wonder whether "Ninja Assassin" is an actual movie or just the trailer for the video game tie-in.

At this point, your mind begins to wander. You find yourself asking questions, such as "Why is this movie so fake? What's the point of having cool fight scenes if you just crap it up with ridiculously fake CGI blood and gore? Why does "Ricky-Oh" seem like a far more realistic and realized martial arts film when compared to this mess? Why did I spend my money to watch this film?".

Luckily for you, you have the ability to spare yourself from asking that last question.

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.

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.

I loathed the very existence of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I knew I would hate it, but somehow managed to go in hoping for the best with lowered expectations. It made things worse. After surviving that obnoxiously loud and repugnantly offensive film, I figured I could make it through anything. Even something as silly looking as Ninja Assassin. But sadly, I was incorrect.

After a ridiculously awesome and gory opening scene setting the stage for what is to come, Ninja Assassin jumps headfirst into the story of Raizo (Rain), a ninja living in Berlin who wants to claim revenge on the makeshift ninja orphanage that raised him. Through mindlessly edited flashbacks sequences, the audience discovers how he became the ninja he is, and why he seeks revenge. And there is even a subplot about Europol agents trying to find ninja gangs, corrupt governments, and kinds of other ideas better stuffed down the rabbit hole.

In a word, Ninja Assassin is just awful. I realize action flicks are usually left mindless for a reason, but this film brings the word mindless to a new level. The confusing plot line is held together by mere threads throughout the film with no semblance of even attempting to try and make sense of itself. I realize I managed a description of the film, but trying to piece together motivations, actions, and reactions is simply an exercise in futility. There is simply no point. And even looking at it simply as a genre flick made simply for people to either laugh at its stupidity during a drinking game at home, or the type of movie people go to see to be wowed by the sheer amount of carnage on screen, it simply fails to live up to any measure of decency that any good movie should.

I was impressed by how much story the filmmakers manage to stuff into the film, but after an hour of watching a half baked storyline padded out with heavily effects driven action sequences, the film just became more boring than anything else. And for a movie that practically drowns in how much blood is spilled, that says a lot. After the opening scene, the film just fails to live up to its own desire to be a ridiculous actioner. It knows it has the ability to be the film that brings ninjas back to the box office in droves, but it lacks the capacity to go the distance and truly be that film. Some scenes are just so horribly written that one wonders why anyone ever thought it was a good idea to make this movie.

For anyone who argues that the action sequences that drive the film are what make the film acceptable, think again. These scenes are so effects heavy, so filled to the brim with CGI that I began questioning if Rain was a CGI character or not. I realize it is hard to make throwing stars fly through the air and look realistic when impaled into someone's chest or eye, but there must have been a much better way to put some of these action scenes together than like this. It just feels so haphazard, so badly choreographed. Remember when Bruce Lee and his stuntmen could pull sequences like these off in real life, without the aid of a computer? Remember when the Wachowskis made The Matrix back in 1999, with all the fight scenes and sparingly used CGI (well, at least in comparison to its two effects happy sequels)? Ninja Assassin is nothing like either of those examples, and it is a real disappointment as a result. Some of the movements and money shot-style deaths are simply incredible, but they lose their lasting effect because of how silly and fake some of the effects look.

Worse yet is the extremely obscene use of blood. Now I am not one to wince or be disgusted at the sight of a film simply filled to the top with blood. I adore Kill Bill: Volume 1 and had a great time watching the absurdly no-holds-barred ending of Rambo. But even at their silliest, the blood in those films stayed remotely realistic (key word being remotely), and was not overdone, as much of an oxymoron as that sounds. But Ninja Assassin cakes on the blood in every scene, ridiculously shooting out of every possible angle, in every possible direction. And none of it looks real. The scars and after effects of what causes the injuries this blood spills from are really well done, but every cause of injury is not. The blood is just too digitally animated for this kind of movie. It needs more in the way of realism, in these wonderful makeup effects. Hell, some of the shots are so dark and so quickly edited that it attempts to mask how horrible some of the blood effects look. Sure there are plenty of wow moments, but not enough for any of this overused CGI to be acceptable.

Getting into any pretense of discussing the acting is to acknowledge that there is, in fact, acting occurring during the film. Yes, Rain surprised me, but only because he spends most of the film grunting, yelling or staying mute. As for the rest of the cast, they either look uninterested, confused, or doing the same thing as Rain.

It simply boggles my mind to think Ninja Assassin was ever made at all. It has a really bad ass opening sequence, a few cool moments of action, but no other redeeming qualities. It does not even become so bad that it becomes good. It quite honestly, wallows away in silliness from beginning to end. I wish I could say this car crash of a film kept me mildly entertained, but even that is giving it too much credit.

2.5/10.

This is by far the best ninja movie I have seen.

Right from the very beginning this movie is up in fast pace, action-filled and soaking in blood. There is a lot of bloodshed in this martial arts fest.

The story of the movie is good and keeps going at a good pace, so you never feel bored. Of course the story is straight forward and have no surprise twists to the plot - but an action movie of this caliber doesn't need plot twists.

The martial arts choreography and fighting scenes are brilliant, fast and hard punching. There are lots of really cool weapons being used in the movie as well.

There is just one bad thing to the movie, and that is why would an ancient clan of Japanese ninjas speak English? It makes no sense, as Japanese people are bound to traditions. But of course, I suppose this is kept in English to reach a wider audience. But had they actually done it in Japanese, there would be a much more wholesome feel to the movie. And also, again why would a Japanese clan take in non-Japanese children and train as ninjas?

Anyway, the cast of the movie is good, and it is refreshing to see new faces to the martial arts scene. The dialogue is straight to the point, no clumsy, half-hearted dialogue going on here, which also helps the movie to keep going.

So if you like ninja movies and action movies, this is definitely a movie you cannot allow to miss out on. Top notch action from beginning till end. But do take notice that there is a lot of blood in this movie!

Hands down the best Ninja Movie ever made. I cant believe that its already 12 years old. Action sequence were way ahead of its time.

If you love ninja and action you will surely love it just don't expect it to have a story like some of the best sci fi's or novel adaptions out there.

Without doubt this was the bloodiest ninja/kung fu movie I've ever seen.

A secret clan of ninjas--that has existed for centuries--globally commits assassinations for the fee of 100 pounds of gold. The ninjas are brought up as children in a rigorous, despotic, brutal environment where survival of the fittest means life or death and betrayal or escape mean certain death. Raizo (Rain) was one such child under the rule of a vicious leader until he made his escape.

For you kung fu heads out there; this movie had some good fight scenes. The biggest drawback is that many of them were at night and difficult to see.

For you kung fu heads that like to see bloody dismemberment; you'll get your fill.

The mortal blows that resulted in extreme blood spatter was really for the oohs and aahs. It was like they were saying, "This was an excellent ninja strike and this bucket of blood spewing everywhere is how you know."

A lot of the blood was in CGI form ala 300 and other movies which gives it a graphic novel feel but there were also the traditional blood scenes that--although unrealistic in the amount--were more realistic.

This was a fun and exciting movie that wasn't too deep and didn't give you much to think about. Just sit back, relax and let the fighting begin.

I had no expectations going into this movie except for a crap load of blood and guts and pure cheese. It delivered that and more. I think I expected a bit of a throwback to the classic 80s ninja movies but it really took it beyond that realm and made into something new and awesome.

Director James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) took a simple script and created a serious take on a laughable genre, providing great action scenes that made me actually clap out loud with the rest of the audience - an amazing feat if you consider the lack of any recognizable actors.

I remembered seeing the "Enter The Ninja" preview back in 1980. But I had to wait till I was much older to see it. To me, that movie was tame, "Ninja Assassin" is hardcore! Here you have a young man who was raised in a orphanage that turns young men into lethal ninja assassins. In the later years, one of the orphans(Rain) decides to turn on everyone in the orphanage, and gets his chance of freedom. Since honing his skills, he makes himself known to the others by protecting one woman named Mika(Naomie Harris). She stumbles upon a secret which makes her a target for the ninjas, Razio must go through every length to make sure she lives. This movie to me is totally intense. There's plenty of action as well of violence and blood. The maiming and killings are indeeds extreme. Out of all the ninja movies I have seen, this one is tops of my list. I wouldn't want to miss this for the world. Ninjistsu has never been so hardcore like this one. So be on alert for "Ninja Assassin"! Rating 2.5 out of 5 stars!

I feel that a 4 is generous for starters. Let's first of all start with the complete lack of plot. I mean these are the same guys that brought us V for Vendetta and then they give us this nonsense. The horrible plot which is usually forgivable in an action flick just feels so overplayed throughout the entire film. You also feel no connection to the characters at all. Frankly that's all you can even say about it.

The action is laughable and yea there is tons of gore but it looks so terribly fake you'll be laughing the entire time.

Frankly the best recommendation I can give is consider getting it on bluray if only to show off your home theater setup but most of the film is so dark its hard to even consider that.

I'm sorry if I seem harsh but this movie didn't even manage to keep me mildly entertained

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.

Set in Berlin, Eurpol agent , Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris), has uncovered a connection between high profile assassinations and ancient clans of Ninjas. Raizo (Rain), a Rogue ninja hunted by his former clan the Ozunu clan headed by Lord Ozuno (Sho Kosugi) saves Mika from assassination and joins up with her to cease the operations of his former clan so he can avenge the woman he loved.

Released in 2009, the movie came about from The Wachowskis' desire to make another film with Korean pop idol Rain following his ninja based fight scenes in 2008's Speed Racer. The movie reunites The Wachowskis with director James McTeigue whom the duo had previously worked on the divisive but overall well regarded V for Vendetta. The script was apparently something of a rush job with a re-write done of the initial script by J. Michael Straczynski six weeks prior to shooting and that can definitely be felt in the end product as the plot structure is messy with rather burdensome flashback sequences, dangling plot threads, and some confusion as to why and how certain plot points come into being. But it's made pretty clear that the plot is a distant second in priorities for Ninja Assassin as it is first and foremost a showcase for acrobatics, pyrotechnics, and skirmishes and on that front it does deliver.

The movie is at its core a straight forward revenge thriller with Rain's Raizo trying to take down the clan of his former mentor Lord Ozuno as played by Sho Kosugi. This has been the plot of many of these types of movies and it pretty much hits all the expected beats here as well. Even the casting of Sho Kosugi is sort of a winking nod due to how ubiquitous his name has become with the ninja action subgenre. The investigative elements involving Naiome Harris' Europol Agent character feel like they're intended to give more weight and heft to the movie's rather anemic plot but the investigation feels like it ends up being pretty pointless as there's hints given to people "pulling the strings" but we never actually see how these syndicates operate and despite there being 8 other ninja clans for all it effects the plot they may as well not exist.

The action in Ninja Assassin is reasonably well done with good fight choreography and fun supped upped ninja action. While most of the action is well staged, there's a lengthy sequence in the middle of the second act where most of the action takes place in a barely lit underground bunker and thanks to the low lighting, muzzle flashes and quick cuts it was difficult at points to discern what was going on. For the most part when the action was on screen it was done well with maybe only the CGI blood pulling me out of it.

Ninja Assassin knows what it is and gives its audience exactly what they want. While the story is a mess of a straight forward revenge thriller and an investigation that goes nowhere, the movie does have a strong performance presence in Rain who makes a convincing ninja and does well headlining an action film. While there's not all that much that elevates it above the standards of the ninja subgenre, it'll prove a suitable in and out time killer for action fans.

I have always relied on IMDb. I have found that any movie receiving a 7 or above has something to offer. Whether that be solid acting, a great plot, or tremendous cinematography a 7 or above meant it had something. This movie had nothing.

If you really like pointless violence then by all means go see this movie. There is plenty. The acting is beyond terrible. There are line after line of poorly delivered material waiting for you as you enjoy the only good thing about this movie, your drink. One line in particular (I cannot say what it is because it may be considered a "spoiler") brought the entire audience around me to laughing out loud. The only good part about this movie was the big guy next to me who lost it at the end of the movie because of how corny and cheesy it was.

Perhaps I should have waited for the weekend to end before seeing this movie to allow IMDb to get votes from people other than the 13 year old boys who can't get enough blood. 7.7? Hahahahaha. I don't think so.

1/10 for being the first bad movie I have seen in a very long time. IMDb has be solid until now. It wasted my money and my time. Save your money and watch College Football this weekend.

First off I would like to say that anyone who thinks this movie sucks because it has very little plot is an idiot.

Now let me tell you what Ninja Assassin isn't.

Its not a serious thinking movie, it's not a Gandhi, it's not a Saw type movie.

And it isn't a Twilight that's for sure.

The reason why Ninja Assassin is so friggin cool is because you know that the people making this movie had one thing in mind... Have a ton of Ninjas kill each other. Ninja Assassin is a fun guys night out type movie, at least that's how I saw this movie. Though some people walked out booing I walked out cheering because I came in and honestly just wanted a huge body count and a ton of blood and boy did they deliver.

My only major critique was the CGI blood... Though there were gallons of it coming out they could have stepped it up some more...

In a way this movie was like Rambo...Equal budget of 50 million, unbelievable carnage and pure fun... But the difference is that its acrobatic, its hacking slashing, gallons of blood and Ninjas with blades on chains = )...

So all in all a solid 8/10 for me.

PS. Watch out for the opening scene and the police station scene because those scenes are epic awesome.

Ninja Assassin is an action movie directed by James McTeigue and stars Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Rick Yune and Sho Kosugi.

If you are a fan of brutal, violent action movie and can watch the movie without any storyline or plot then this is the movie for you.

The movie can also be called as a revenge drama which is not been written and executed properly but still the hard core brutal action in the movie will not disappoint you.

Acting is average to good as there is not much scope of acting. Rain was flat faced throughout the movie although he was very effective and impressive in action scenes, Naomie Harris was good, Ben Miles was average, Rick Yune was good in action scenes.

Screenplay of the movie is fast paced but some action scenes are shot in dark hence would be difficult to understand. The screenplay gets slow in the middle but as soon as the movie reaches it's climax the movie again comes back on the track. The climax of the movie is violently effective.

Overall this is a pure action flick which has nothing but just action. A must watch action movie.

More junk for kids. Superficially the most talented folks here were the guys that added the snickersnack sounds of the blades and the crew that composited in all the exploding blood. But there are two things that hold the interest.

One, believe it or not, is the story. It is reversal on the Karate Kid grasshopper pattern. The head guy here was more of a Darth Vader and his top student rebels out of some sense of morality. This is one of the few times we have been reminded that ninja were the bad guys. Though they still have magical powers here, there is the hint that they would rely on treachery over skill. There is of course no suspense regarding the outcome.

But the other is the manner in which the action scenes have been framed for cinema. All these martial art movies emphasize the performance more than the combat. Sometimes the camera gets involved; these things are inherently cinematic which is why we have them. But rarely is there some camera-aware innovation.

A reader put me on to this, otherwise I never would have bothered. Lana Wachowski seems to have had a hand in the middle action sequence. The ones at the beginning and end are ordinary. But the one starting with our young hero escaping from captivity is clearly an experiment by Wachowski and his support team.

You don't need a great movie to have these cinematic advances. "Transformers," and then "Speed Racer" were dumb, as dumb as this, but they added to the visual imagination in ways that matter. In this case, it is all about slicing time, manipulating light in extreme ways and suspending ambiguous causality.

I almost imagine that this got made in large part as experiment for whatever the Wachowskis do next. They are working for us, and it brightens my day.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Sung Kang & Naomie Harris head up a good cast in the latest Ninja film. The film has plenty of action & I was surprised when I went to the theater that most of the battle segments were not as dark as a critic in our paper said they were. The film is very much a martial arts film which follows a formula that has been used many times.

In spite of a lack of lines in the script, Sung Kang & particularly the theater trained Harris show considerable acting skill in their roles. You have to be prepared for a lot of violence & blood in this one. It is not for the viewer which is not ready for that. There are very few references to anything sexual in the film, even though Harris takes a couple of showers. No showers for Kang in this one, just a lot of work.

The only reason I don't give this a higher rating is that it keeps employing the same gimmick in about 3 or 4 sequences. The first time it works well, but by the time you get to the finale, & it is done for the 4th time you can actually feel & predict it coming. That makes the finale a little stale, though still entertaining.

One thing this film does is showing ninja taking down a lot of these guys with guns & body armor a few pegs. In more than one sequence the ninja have more force than the folks with guns.