Review: Ninja Assassin

Ninja Assassin

OPENING: 11/25/2009

STUDIO: Warner Bros.

RUN TIME: 99 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Fear not the weapon but the hand that wields it.

Opening Statement
Just when most studios are rolling out their serious pictures for awards season, here comes a wild bit of counter-programming from the makers of V for Vendetta and Speed Racer. As far as Japanese sword epics go, Ninja Assassin is about as authentic as sushi from McDonalds. But this plate of martial arts action is served up with all the right fixings which makes it a wholly satisfying heap of ninja carnage.

Facts of the Case
As a young orphan, Raizo (Rain, Speed Racer) is taken in by the Ozunu Clan and trained as a deadly assassin. When his childhood friend is killed, Raizo turns his back on his ninja brethren and vows revenge. Meanwhile, agents of Europol (a generic international law enforcement agency based in Berlin) are investigating a series of high-profile murders. Agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End) uncovers a complicated money trail that suggests a secret society of killers has been hiring out their services for hundreds of years. As incredible as her analysis of the clues is, Mika manages to explain it with a straight face to her superior, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles, Coupling), who appears to buy it. It isn’t long before shadowy figures are dispatched to silence Mika. The only one who stands in their way is a lone outcast ninja.

The Evidence
Fans of martial arts movies will recall the love affair American film studios had with ninjas in the 1980s. Films like Enter the Ninja, American Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination, paved the way for parodies involving kids, turtles, and a fat guy from Beverly Hills. That’s to say, maybe ninjas have never received proper treatment on this side of the globe. With Aussie James McTeigue directing and the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver producing, Ninja Assassin rights some of those past wrongs.

This genre lives and dies with its action scenes and Ninja Assassin offers up plentiful doses of exhilarating action. The choreographed fighting and the special effects are seamlessly, masterfully blended. The stunts are executed with such realism the occasional CGI assist — whether to make an actor move swiftly or to fill the screen with throwing stars — is the icing on the cake. While many of the fights occur at night and in the shadows, the darkness doesn’t obscure the action and the nighttime scenes are beautifully lit. The shooting and editing style also varies during the movie so that some sequences are framed tight and cut fast while others are afforded a wider composition. This is a gloriously gory action movie, with plenty of sword play accompanied by lots of severed limbs, sliced bodies, and gratuitous blood spatter. Fans of this kind of action will surely get their fill.

Korean pop star Jeong “Rain” Ji-hoon headlines but his acting chops aren’t really tested here. His character doesn’t say much, but he’s got that tough guy intensity and mysterious cool that says Raizo’s an action hero to be reckoned with. There’s no denying Rain looks fantastic, whether he’s posing oiled and shirtless or battered and bruised. Best of all, Rain looks entirely believable as a martial arts expert. The kusarigama — a sickle on a long chain — is his weapon of choice and he is awesome when he wields it.

The non-ninja players are pulled from the stock character bin, but they support the story without getting in the way of the action. Of course Mika gets herself into trouble, but she’s tougher than she first seems, the rare sidekick who doesn’t make you anxious to see killed off. Ryan is the standard cynical and suspicious veteran cop but he proves that he’s not too old for this stuff. Veteran actor Shô Kosugi (alumnus from numerous ’80s ninja flicks) adds some old school authenticity as the bad guy.

The story doesn’t break new ground, but works quite well setting up the action set pieces. Writers Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski don’t waste time with ancient mysticism, overwrought emotions, or corny jokes. The flashbacks to Raizo’s childhood just barely slow the momentum of this adrenaline ride. The screenplay does leave a few plot holes open. Early on, a yakuza tattoo artist recalls surviving a ninja attack thanks to a miraculous physiological anomaly but this is never explained. There’s also a brief moment that suggests someone is assisting Raizo in his quest for vengeance, but this is also left undeveloped. Maybe those mysteries will be revealed among the extra footage when the movie hits DVD. Nevertheless, the quick pace of the movie and the dazzling action is enough to distract from those gaps in the narrative.

Closing Statement
While Ninja Assassin doesn’t revolutionize the genre, it just might rejuvenate it. This may be the best ninja movie ever from the hands of Western filmmakers and it’s bloody fun.

The Verdict

8/10

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