Ninja

So at one point, the leader of a cult that really has little bearing on anything in this movie proclaims, "We control the life blood of this planet!"

Wait, what? It's not just that it makes little sense. It makes no sense whatsoever. Not much of this movie does.

But hey, you want a tight plot that makes sense and gives you pause to think? Netflix "Glengarry Glen ****ing Ross." This ain't that.

You want to see a ninja cut a man's arm off with his ninja sword and the man goes "Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!" while blood spurts out of his stump, then this is the movie for you.

You want to see a stacked gravure idol as a dojo master's daughter who always needs to be saved just because she's a stacked gravure idol and even though she's a ninja, too, then this is the movie for you.

You want shurikens, poison blowgun darts, a ninja flying suit, and an SUV that rolls over and blows up spectacularly for NO FREAKING REASON, then this is the movie for you.

You want to see two ninjas have swordfight on the rooftop of a skyscraper with the Empire State Building in the background and you say, "This is the most awesomest thing ever!" in your best Peter Griffin voice, then babe, this is the ****ing movie for you.

You want sense? Read Jane ****ing Austen. You want ninjawesome, grab this baby, some chips and a Stella Artois and you're set for the night, brochacho.

I have been wanting to see a new ninja movie (that's good) for a long time, and I was impatiently waiting for this one to be released, seeing that it's a Nu Image/Millennium film (they make above average direct-to-DVD movies) and that it was to be directed by action expert Isaac Florentine. And I was overall satisfied. Granted, I could list some flaws, such as the fact the Boaz Davidson screenplay contains elements that will be familiar to those who have seen other ninja movies in the past, and it has the hero on several occasions dragging the female lead behind him despite the fact she's an accomplished fighter like him. But there's a lot more to like. The movie is slickly made, well-photographed and lit, and the chosen Bulgarian locations manage to pass off as New York (believe it or not!) The fight scenes are pretty brutal and exciting, resulting in some great splatter (though I wish the blood and gore had not been mostly done with CGI). Yes, this movie is far from great art, but if you are looking for ninja action, this movie delivers.

Yesterday i saw NINJA.I am very impress to see this flick.Scott Adkins's performance is very good.Action sequences is also impressive.Story is just OK.This movie is much better than NINJA ASSASSIN in every term.Film location are good.Script are also good.Music is suit the film.The Most good thing in the movie is Scoot Adkins's action and performance.All the stunts seances are original.Plot of the story is also good.Train seances are very good and impressive. Makeup is good. Direction of the movie is very good.We can compare the movie with kill bill.The action sequences done without CGI technology.

'Ninja' isn't a film to watch if you want ground-breaking, thought provoking cinema. However, if you're in the mood for a fast-paced action movie that features martial arts experts kicking the living daylights out of one another, look no further. It's very silly, very violent and at times comes across like a live-action version of a bloodthirsty anime, but it makes for an entertaining evening in front of the telly.

Originally released in 2009, it had the misfortune to come along around the same time as 'Ninja Assassin,' a similarly themed movie with a much bigger publicity budget. This may well have led people to dismiss 'Ninja' as a direct to video knock-off, but it's actually much better than that. This isn't a top level production by any means, but it is way more competent than the atrociously cheap movies that get churned out by Asylum Studios or the Sci-Fi channel. 'Ninja Assassin' is the superior film, but 'Ninja' is easy to recommend and well worth a watch.

The film focuses on Casey Bowman (played by the King of DTV action, Scott Adkins), a westerner raised in a Japanese Dojo. While on a trip to New York, Casey finds himself targeted by an evil secret society and a former rival turned Rogue Ninja. Soon he's fighting his way across the city, taking on gun-toting goons in order to safeguard a chest full of priceless heritage items. And it moves so quickly, there's no time to take a breath and notice how little sense the storyline makes. The secret society are trying to do something with the oil industry and the stock market, but it's not clear if they're a religious order, a cabal of financially motivated evil businessmen or just a band of heavily armed thugs with a taste for the theatrical. The script is hammy, the lead character gets surprisingly few lines and there's more than a faint whiff of cheese about the whole thing.

However, none of that really matters. The focus here is on the fight scenes and 'Ninja' delivers the goods. This is a movie where cars flip over and explode for no reason, limbs get severed and blood fountains from sword wounds in high arcs. Adkins is so adept at leaping into the air and kicking people in the head that the laws of gravity don't seem to apply and his climactic battle in the backstreets of New York is an adrenaline pumping finale.

So yes, it's daft popcorn munching fun. This is a B-movie flick that sets out to deliver an entertaining series of action set-pieces held together with a flimsy plot and it succeeds admirably. The few stabs at deeper mysticism are no more than the fast food equivalent of Eastern Philosophy, but if you want to see a man thrown out the window of a moving train and into the path of another train, 'Ninja' is your film.

The plot is pretty weak in this movie, and lacks a really intense story, despite trying so hard to be intense. It gets by on some incredible fights with Scott Adkins, and quite frankly, I bet I'm not alone when it comes to people watching this movie, simply because of Adkins. It starts off a little slowly in the first half. Tsuyoshi Ihara provides some great intensity, and some good villainy, but it lacked the proper excitement for me. Once the second half begins, things really begin to heat up. The action is so strong, you tend to block out the average story. If Adkins's subway fight sequence isn't enough for you, then Adkins's going completely ballistic in the finale, by making many martial artists look foolish will definitely hit the spot. This guy is incredible, and if given the chance, he could be the action star the genre has lacked since the heyday of the 80's action heroes. I wouldn't call it a great performance, but he acquits himself decently. If you're not blown away by some of Adkins's moves, I really question your judgment. His love story with Mika Hijii isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's moving enough. Speaking of Mika Hijii, she's far from a damsel in distress. Not only does this woman kick major ass, but she takes a beating like a champ. I cringed in some of those scenes, but she held her own big time. It's pretty violent, if you like that sort of thing. I personally like violence. The finale is a bit over the top with the dramatics, but it does the job

Final Thoughts: See it for some of the terrific action scenes. Scott Adkins won't let you down. As long as you keep in mind that it's not a great movie, you should be able to find mild enjoyment. I didn't mind it. I'm actually curious about the upcoming sequel

5.3/10