Ninja Assassin

Ninja Assassin

Genre: Action, Martial Arts

Starring: Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Sho Kosugi, Rick Yune

Release Date: November 25th 2009

     With a rather unimaginative title like Ninja Assassin, one would not be particularly inclined to expect much of a film  Especially if you, unlike me, are not predisposed to enjoy that sort of hyper-stylized film.  Despite this fact, Ninja Assassin is a brilliant martial arts spectacular.  The story is intriguing, the casting adequate in the worst case, fantastic in the best, and the action is on par with anything I have ever seen.  And believe me, I've seen a lot.

     Rain (that is actually the name under which he is billed) plays Raizo, a lone ninja fighting for his honor and for revenge.  As an orphan child, Raizo was taken into the Ozunu clan, one of the Nine Clan's comprising a secret order of assassins that has been active for more than a millenia.

     Throughout his youth, and into adulthood, Raizo is trained in body, mind, and soul in the ways of the ninja. This training comes from his clan leader, Ozunu, played by Sho Kosugi.  Kosugi brings poise and strength to the role, such that even at his most monstrous, Ozuna is a powerful character that captures and hold the audience's attention.

     Naomie Harris and Ben Miles play agents Mika and Maslow.  Mika, a forensic researcher has uncovered a number of seemingly random facts that, when put together, point to the existence of the secretive order.  Maslow, her fellow agent and superior, disbelieve the facts before him at first, but as event unfold, he has to believe whether he wants to or not.  Neither give career making performances, but neither are they unsatisfactory.  Harris in particular gets more and more likeable the more her character develops, largely through her growing connection to Raizo.

     Rick Yune plays Takeshi, Raizo's fellow ninja, older "brother", greatest rival, and eventually his sworn enemy.  Though his performances in the past (The Fast And The Furious, The Fifth Commandment) have been less than stellar, his action scenes are very well done, and he pulls off the balance of being intimidating and threating, without taking it too far and becoming cheesy.  My biggest complaint about this character was that the rivalry between him and Raizo never felt truly established for me.  Through the bulk of the film, Takeshi is only shown in the past, played by younger actors, so it was sometimes confusing to me that it was meant to be the same character.

     The action is very stylized, very effects laden, but the effects aren't used to make the action.  Rather, the are used to compliment the amazing fight choreography, executed to perfection by this incredible cast of martial artists.  There is, admittedly, a good deal of gore involved in the action (severed limbs, blood spray, etc.), and it is to a large enough extent that not everyone would enjoy it.  If you are not squeamish, though, or are at least willing to give it a much deserved chance, the fighting can't be beat.  I have found myself saying that a lot lately, because I've been fortunate enough to see some really great action films in recent weeks.  Still, Ninja Assassin is miles beyond anything I have seen.  The last series of fight sequences in particular are, quite possibly, the best I have ever seen.

     I feel this was a severely underrated, underbilled, and underexposed movie, and star Rain absolutely blew me away with his skill and technique.  I don't know how much of the fighting was him, or doubles, or even CGI, because he is so talented, his every move so crisp and precise, that even the most extreme and fantastical piece of choreography seemed entirely plausible in his capable hands.

     If you enjoyed the combat sequences of 300, or the hyper-stylized fighting of the Kill Bill movies, yo will love Ninja Assassin.  I know it's at the top of my "To Buy" list, at least.

Story and Script: 3.5 out of 5

Action and Effects: 5 out of 5

Rain and Sho Kosugi (they deserve their own category): 5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5