It’s entirely possible that Ninja Assassin isn’t actually a good movie; I can’t really tell. But even if it hasn’t appreciably enriched the world with its presence, it’s really difficult for me to be mad at a movie that a) delivers what it promises (in spades) and b) is pared down to the barest essentials of what makes ninjas cool. It’s been a long time since a really good martial arts film has come out of a major studio (in fact, I can’t remember the last one), and this certainly isn’t about to revive the genre, but for the meager ends that this film sets for itself, it succeeds admirably.
Raizo (pop star Rain) is raised from a very young age by the Ozunu clan for essentially one purpose: to become the precise thing that this title promises will be in the film. In this world, ninjas are essentially amoral mercenaries who will take whatever job comes from the highest bidder, and his grotesque and brutal training reflects that. He is whipped, beaten, and tortured for anything even suggesting a hint of inadequacy, all for the purpose of becoming a remorseless killing machine. He seems to think that this is alright for him, but has a falling out with the clan and its leader (Sho Kosugi) after they kill secondary love interest Kiriko (Anna Sawaii) for her desire to leave the clan. This plotline’s a little thin, admittedly, so the film has it juxtaposed with the modern day story of Europol agent Mika (Naomie Harris) investigating ninja-related assassinations across Europe, and stumbling into the conflict between Raizo and the Ozunu clan.
Any way you look at it, this film’s defining characteristic is the amount of blood that it wantonly sprays across the screen. It’s all clearly CGI’d (as is a good deal of the fighting, as these ninjas were doing things that I’m pretty sure that nobody could really do), and moves in such orgiastic spurts that you can’t help but wonder if James McTeigue was trying to make ninjas the new zombies(seeing as most first year film students are better at slapping on makeup than running backwards up walls, it’s unlikely). For fight fans, I feel that I should make this clear: this is not an updated Hong Kong film. While the physicality on display here is certainly more impressive than anything that I could do, it’s certainly no Drunken Master. But as long as that disclaimer is in place, I will say that this is very much a ninja film, with its themes of love, revenge, and retribution very much in keeping with what I have come to understand as being the core of martial arts film making. And they are all expressed with all of the eloquence and subtlety that we have come to expect from the Wachowski siblings. Just kidding. To be fair, though, I certainly enjoyed this more than I have enjoyed a Wachowski product in years, certainly more than either of the Matrix sequels or V for Vendetta, all of which pursued some sort of thematic significance to elevate the otherwise standard genre material. Ninja Assassin has no such problem. While the scenes regarding the police investigation of ninjas certainly aren’t as exciting as scenes of ninjas fighting each other (especially not when there are things burning around them), there at least is nothing resembling a philosophical subtext here.
I can acknowledge that some of my enjoyment of this film comes down to my low expectations for it; I’m guessing you have fairly low expectations, too. Part of those came from the sheer directness of the title, and part of that was from James McTeigue’s prior effort V for Vendetta. Speaking honestly, this might just be fun to have on in the background while doing something else, but I found it all agreeable enough to call it entertaining.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
"The Myth and the Legend of Ninjas" - A short piece on the history of ninjas, and what exactly makes them cool.
"The Extreme Sport of a Ninja" - A little look at the martial arts that were incorporated into the film
"Training Rain" - Some people talking about everything Rain had to go through to act his role convincingly
"Ninja Assassin" is on sale March 16, 2010 and is rated R. Martial-Arts. Directed by James McTeigue. Written by Matthew Sand, J. Michael Straczynski. Starring Anna Sawaii, Naomie Harris, Rain, Sho Kosugi.
