Ninja Assassin – Available March 16, 2010

by Aaron Einhorn
I wasn’t sure what to make of Ninja Assassin as an idea, and to be honest, I missed it entirely in the theatres. But a super-intense, super violent, martial arts film, from the Wachowski’s, directed by James McTeigue, and starring Rain? Now, I liked McTeigue’s take on V For Vendetta, but the Wachowski’s projects have kind of been all over the map, and I only knew Rain from his appearance in Speed Racer. Still, I figured, why not give it a shot? So, it was with some mixed feelings, but mostly excitement, that I opened up the package containing Ninja Assassin on DVD from Warner Brothers last week. Sadly, I ended up with the standard single-disc DVD copy, and not the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo-Pack, so no digital copy for me, nor did I get most of the bonus features. But I did get the film itself, and that ended up being more a treat than I expected.

Official Synopsis
The filmmakers behind The Matrix and V For Vendetta bring new blood to martial arts movies in this smashing adventure. Korean pop star Rain plays heroic, deadly Raizo. Trained from childhood in the way of the Ozunu Clan ninja, he is stalked by fellow warriors and their dojo patriarch (martial arts legend Sho Kosugi)…and is on the run with a Europol agent (Naomie Harris) who has proof the clan sells assassination services to governments. Check out the official site at http://ninja-assassin-movie.warnerbros.com/.

The Film
Ok, let’s be honest. This is not a “smart” movie. The plot is a thinly veiled excuse to get from one over-the-top action scene to the next. And Rain, who plays the film’s protagonist, Raizo, is not a great actor. But he is surrounded by some greats in the form of Naomie Harris, who plays Mika Coretti, the forensic researcher who gets pulled into Raizo’s world of warring ninja clans, and Sho Kosugi, who plans the Clan Lord, Ozuna, and he’s a perfectly competent physical actor – which makes sense for an actor/singer/dancer.

The story consists really of two parts. You have Raizo, who was an orphan raised by the clan to become an assassin, who turns against the clan when the woman he loved was killed for betraying the clan’s rules. Then you have Mika and her boss, who have begun investigating the clans. Mika is targeted for assassination, which brings Raizo to the rescue, and then the two team up to bring down the clan.

If it sounds overly simple, it is, although it manages to be confusing as well. And the storytelling device of showing flashback after flashback to tell us Raizo’s history is clumsy.

But this movie is fun. It is very comfortable with its’ status as an amped-up kick-flick, and McTeigue manages to keep the quick-cuts to a minimum. The action is exciting and bloody – very, very bloody – and the scenes are shot beautifully.

Bonus Features
There aren’t a lot on the standard DVD release of Ninja Assassin – just a collection of deleted scenes, without any way to navigate through them. The Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo-Pack includes the featurettes The Story of the Ninja: Myth, Lore, Training and Combat, Training Rain: Transforming a Singer/Dancer/Actor into a Powerful Ninja, and The Extreme Sport of a Ninja. It also includes a first look at Clash of the Titans, and, as the name of the set implies, a Digital Copy and a DVD copy.

The Look
Ninja Assassin says it’s in a Widescreen format, and I can’t dispute that, but I couldn’t find any details about the aspect ratio.

The Sound
We’ve got the standard Dolby Digital sound going on here, with language tracks in English, French and Spanish, and subtitles in the same three languages. Nothing special going on here.

Packaging
Minimalist comes to mind. Ninja Assassin arrived as a single DVD, in a thin plastic case, with very stark front box art. There were no inserts of any kind in my package, although this may not be true for the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo-Pack.

The Good
Ninja Assassin is surprisingly fun and well-acted, and has very decent martial arts fights throughout.

The Bad
To say that there are plot holes is to be overly vague. The story meanders often, and the flashbacks are far more interesting than what happens in the present.

The Ugly
The gore approaches Tarrantino-esque levels, and not always in ways that are required.

Final Thoughts
This film is not a “martial arts film” – not in the classic sense. These characters are every bit as superhuman as Batman or Spider-Man. They don’t, however, share the same sense of responsibility towards human life. But the action is exaggerated to the point that it belongs in the pages of a comic. This film is often brutal and harsh, and easily deserves it’s “R”-rating. Still, I was surprised to find myself really enjoying and having fun watching it, and I can easily see it becoming a standard “have a beer” flick.

You can order Ninja Assassin through Amazon.com now. Additionally, you can order the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo-Pack.