It's been a long time since we've seen a decent ninja flick. When the Golden Age of Ninja Cinema (also known as the Dudikoff Era) ebbed at the close of the '80s, the black-clad martial artists retreated to the shadows. This week, director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) aims to resurrect them with Ninja Assassin, a hyperkinetic gorefest starring Korean pop star Rain.
But these ain't your daddy's ninjas. Though they boast the familiar wardrobe (black on black) and weapons (swords, throwing stars, etc.), the ninjas in this flick are thoroughly nasty buggers. Members of a super-secret international syndicate of assassins-for-hire, they can dodge bullets, turn invisible, heal wounds and communicate telepathically. And for the low, low price of 100 lbs of gold, they'll kill anyone you want, no questions asked.
It's that latter aspect that draws the scrutiny of law enforcement — specifically, agents Mika Coretti (Naomi Harris) and Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles) of Europol (which appears to be a division of Interpol staffed exclusively with imbeciles). Fortunately for these hapless twits, they find a potent ally in Raizo (Rain), a renegade ninja of unsurpassed ability who nurses a nasty grudge against his cruel former master, Lord Ozunu (Sho Kosugi).
Fueled by childhood memories of the abuse he suffered while at Lord Ozunu's ninja sleepaway camp, Raizo will stop at nothing to bring the entire operation down. Which is good, because his former chums are a persistent lot, arriving in ever greater numbers to snuff out the powerful apostate.
McTeigue's dizzying shaky-cam, combined with the identical appearance of most of the ninja combatants, makes the action difficult to follow at times in Ninja Assassin. It's probably why he felt compelled to accentuate every fight scene with exaggerated bursts of CGI blood. Still, as disembodied heads, limbs and torsos fly across the screen in quantities not seen since Kill Bill, it's nigh impossible to determine who they belong(ed) to. Much easier to pinpoint are the glistening six-pack abs of Raizo, a fighter so badass he can ward off his pursuers while wearing little more than a thin layer of baby oil.
It's a pity Raizo couldn't have applied his blade to the Ninja Assassin script, which encumbers the first half of the movie with endless flashbacks, gratuitous training sequences and pointless political squabbling. Or perhaps he could have imparted some of his skills at deception to McTeigue, who exhibits all of the subtlety and unpredictability of a kamikaze pilot.
This is one ninja flick that should have remained in the shadows.
Hollywood.com rated this film 1/2 star.
Network Reviews
A Must See and Must Buy on DVD 
Posted by: AGGIE01 | 2/17/2010 7:15:46 AM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
The action, violence and special affects were all fantastic. Though the scripts or the dialogue was short and to the point, it did not affect the movie as much as the action. Great ending too.
Very Good movie 
Posted by: kginob | 1/11/2010 6:23:08 PM
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Very good movie worth every penny. to me it had a very high re watchable rate. i wouldn't mind paying to see this again
JUST OK 
Posted by: JAMA159 | 1/8/2010 8:00:31 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Tarantino style movie not my cup of tea
BLOODY 
Posted by: VICKIHEART | 1/4/2010 4:20:44 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
I could have probably moved past the fact this movie was way to bloody had there been more of a story line. I'm glad i didnt have to pay for the movie.
Action-Packed 
Posted by: JAMILQ | 1/2/2010 10:30:40 AM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
If you like martial arts flicks and fights....then you will love Ninja Assassin. Fight scenes were great and detailed gashes, blood flow, and broken limbs. Non-stop action.
Awesome action!!! 
Posted by: mooshmouse | 12/31/2009 10:02:37 AM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
I've haven't seen a martial arts film for a long time and I've never seen one that is so violent from beginning to end. I enjoyed it a lot.
Really enjoyed it! 
Posted by: KatCole1226 | 12/29/2009 9:02:06 AM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
I really enjoyed this movie. I normally don't enjoy action films with a lot of blood and gore, but this movie had the perfect amount of action and a little bit of comedy thrown in :)
A real Blood Bath 
Posted by: tatavegas | 12/28/2009 10:18:47 AM
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
If you enjoy movies with lots of action and blood then this is the movie to see. The fighting sequences were awesome and some of the best I have seen, surely the best fighting, and shockingly gruesome picture of the year. I am a chick and I loved it BTW! So not just for the guys!(unless you are a squeamish, powder puff type girl then stay at home!!)
What did you expect? 
Posted by: Bart_Vickers | 12/18/2009 11:55:53 AM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
The movie is called Ninja freakin' Assassin. Which means swords, throwing stars, blood, thin plot and bad acting. It IS possible to have a "five star" movie about ninja assassins with thin plot and bad acting--it's all about context and genre. So why just three stars? McTeague doesn't know how to stage and shoot ninja action. He has no sense of ninja geography, leaving the best of the ninja badassery either too poorly lit (you can still communicate darkness and show a good fight sequence), too quickly cut together, or too closely shot. Also, I get that CGI blood allows you to have a lot more blood flying around, but when there are hundreds of gallons of digi-blood in Shot A, then no blood on the ground in Shot B, it's distracting.
So, if you like the Sho Kosugi ninja movies of the 80s, this is a nice little homage. In the hands of a more appropriate director, could have been much better.
Ninja Assassin, 
Posted by: Shane | 12/18/2009 10:05:54 AM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
this was a good movie, for the most part. it was pretty predictable, and just a lot for fight & killing, not much of a pot though. If you like karate then is a ok flick. but if you realy want a good watch this might not be for you
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