The entertaining, adrenaline-packed Ninja Assassin wastes no time cutting quite literally to the guts and gore of the mysterious world of ninja warriors–the blood flows as freely as champagne on New Year’s Eve. Only 3-D might have made it even better. Taken from the streets as a child, the orphan Raizo (Korean pop artist Rain, in his first leading role) is molded into a deadly assassin through methods that might make even the strong of stomach wince. The story flows from present-day Berlin to Raizo’s brutal training by the Ozunu, one of the mythical Nine Clans that perform political assassinations around the world. Refusal to follow an order by the clan leader forces Raizo into a life on the run. When Mika (Naomie Harris), a Europol researcher, gets too close to the truth, Raizo risks detection by his former clan-mates to protect her, and to exact his revenge. Fans of ninja films will rejoice in the classic story, while action aficionados will find plenty of heart-pounding thrills in every fight scene. Admittedly, the plot, especially Europol’s interest in the mythical clans, exists merely to move the story from one fight scene to the next. But who cares when the action shots–especially the literal firefight at the end–are so exciting. –Jill Corddry
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March 10, 2006
#1
“Weakness compells strength, betrayal demands blood”. this is what a Ninja sensei portrayed by Sho Kosugi tells his students. in a series of flashbacks we see the ninja Raizo’s training from childhood into a cold blooded killer. during an act of heroism, Raizo betrays his clan and becomes a target himself. i can’t say too much more as this will spoil the plot. all i can say is that the action is brutal. go see this if you can. you won’t be dissapointed. the all out brawl at the end of the movie is great with the final showdown between the members of the clan and finally his own sensei. even my girlfriend loved this movie.
March 10, 2006
#2
This was an absolutely joyously spent 90 minutes of updated 80′s popcorn ninja movies, with a very charismatic lead actor and a great performance by 80′s ninja cinema, Sho Kosugi, who starred in such films as; Revenge of the Ninja, and Enter the Ninja , among others. Sure the scenes were highly unrealistic, but so what! Suspend disbelief for 90 minutes and just sit back and have a great time.
The opening scene of the movie is quite intriguing and really draws you into the spirit of the film with our heroes first victim. Very original and quite stunning in its delivery and ranks right up there with the best in horror movie victims.
Is the acting Oscar worthy? Is the plot well thought out? Are the fight scenes realistic? Well, the answer to all those questions and more is a resounding, NO! However, this movie is simply great fun to watch along the lines of Shoot ‘Em Up starring Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti (I am fairly certain that I spelled that wrong). This movie is fairly fast paced and I especially enjoyed the flashback sequences where our hero reflects back upon his training as a boy and a young man and the friendship that develops between him and a fellow ninja in training.
This movie is quite bloody and that is reminiscent of the old “Kung Fu Theatre” movies of the 70′s and 80′s and their liberal use of copious amounts of bright red blood to along with every slice and dice throughout the movie.
I actually liked it so much that I will definitely be looking for it in a few months on DVD.
Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Krav Maga Instructor
Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.
March 10, 2006
#3
Technically, this movie is awful. The script is poorly paced and the material is extremely shallow even for a kung-fu movie. The special effects are a bit cheesy (although some claim that this is a throwback to the visual effects of old-school kung-fu movies, despite not matching the seriousness of the movie’s tone). People that aren’t fans of the martial arts genre will be spending their time wondering how this movie even got made.
However…those that don’t take movies too seriously and enjoy martial-arts action movies are in for a treat. The fighting scenes are quite good and the cinematography is pretty solid. Fans of old-school ninja films will appreciate the gratuitous violence and blood splatter. The story is seriously one of the worst I’ve ever seen, but I can appreciate the difficulty in weaving ninja clans into a contemporary setting.
If you’re in it for the “Fightan and Butt-Kickan” then this is your movie…otherwise move along.
March 10, 2006
#4
The movie was great and quite intriguing for the beginning to the end of it. Had a little too much blood in it but I guess thats what happens when you utilize such weapons and it is a situation of your life or theirs in a deadly mortal kombat.
March 10, 2006
#5
I GREW UP WATCHING MOVIES LIKE NINJA 3 THE DOMINATION AND REVENGE OF THE NINJA…THIS BRINGS BACK THAT NINJA TRADITION…THIS DEFINATELY SHOWS THAT THERE ARE STILL GREAT POTENTIAL IN MOVIE MAKING, YES THERE IS GORE BUT IN A GREAT WAY AND NOT IN A CGI OVERLOAD WAY, IT STILL LOOKS LIKE REAL BLOOD….THIS MOVIE ACTUALLY HAS GREAT ACTORS PLAYING GREAT PARTS AND ITS NOT JUST ANOTHER WHOLESALE MOVIE THATS TRYING TO MAKE A BUCK BY SKIPPING QUALITY…ANOTHER WORDS….THIS MOVIE IS WORTH YOUR TIME.