Ninja Assassin Reviews

Before this movie was released, there was a pretty good buzz about it. Eventually, it turned out to be a flop (it seems that the Wachowskis can’t get a break nowadays) but since it looked pretty badass, I still wanted to check it out. Eventually, even though the concept really had some potential, I thought the whole thing was actually quite underwhelming. Yes, there are some nice action scenes but because those Ninjas work mostly at night or in the shadows, you barely see a damned thing and the story was really weak. I mean, it starts basically with 3 storylines (Raizo as a kid training, Raizo as an adult training and the investigation by Naomi Harris). I understand that the whole investigation thing was to give the proceedings a more grounded setting but, man, that was really tedious. And, honestly, you spend a good chunk of the movie watching the guy training. The only thing which was remotely interesting was the conflict between Raizo and his trainer but, apart from that, I thought that the whole thing was pretty boring. Personally, even though I did like ‘V for Vendetta’, I thought it was vastly overrated and this movie was a huge step backward for McTeigue and the Wachowskis. To conclude, even though it could have been pretty awesome, I thought it was actually pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

We went into this with low expectations, other than expecting the writing to be fun (the only reason we gave it a change at all was J. Michael Straczynski). It's not Great Cinema, but it is a fun action film. The gore is, for the most part, stylized, so it wasn't as bad as we'd expected, but still not for the squeamish. They even manage to justify using both "ninja" and "assassin," in a couple of ways.

Weakness compels strength, betrayer begets blood; this is the Law of the Nine Clans.

Ah, yes. This film was surprisingly good, and I have to credit Rain for being able to ease away from his Korean pop singing forte and land a starring role in a Hollywood film. Most of the actors are Oriental (well, what do you expect from a film which involves ninjas?), but the setting is far from China, Japan, or other Asian countries.
Raizo (Rain) is brought into a life which honours strength, physical endurance, and other mystical powers, while at the same time condones weakness and swears off betrayal. He is one of the most lethal assassins in the entire world, and he used to be part of the Ozuna Clan, where he was trained since he was young. He turned his back on his clan when they killed the girl he loved, Kiriko (Sawai), after she tried to escape. Now, he is constantly haunted by memories of his bloody and violent past, which eventually catches up to him when he saves the life of forensic researcher Mika Coretti (Harris), who has accidentally stumbled upon the existence of the Ozuna Clan. Now, she is being hunted by literally hundreds of ninja assassins, and Raizo is the only person standing between her and an early and bloody death.
Excellent fight scenes, and although the blood was a wee bit over the top, somehow it didn't bother me as much. Well, for starters, it looked too fake to be real, as the blood spurts and the extreme fluidity of the blood showed it to be a red dye mixture. In terms of the action... wow. Definitely wow. Although I felt that Harris didn't have a strong character unlike her previous films (such as 20 Days Later and the Pirates films), she was somewhat a good sidekick/damsel in distress in the film. Favorite scenes would be the final showdown between Raizo and Ozunu, as well as the slaughter at the start of the movie.

"Weakness compels strength, betrayal begets blood."

A stylised, excessively violent slice of martial arts pulp, Ninja Assassin reunites director James McTeigue with producers Joel Silver and Andy & Larry Wachowski for the first time since 2005's V for Vendetta. It nothing else, Ninja Assassin can be commended for staying true to its title. There are ninjas in the movie, and they indeed assassinate people in action set-pieces that highlight director McTeigue's trademark flair for slick, highly choreographed action. If this is all that matters to you, then the film delivers. However, those looking for anything resembling an actual movie - with character arcs, a plot, nuances, etc - will likely be disappointed once the blood begins to dry. Still, when you're dealing with a movie entitled Ninja Assassin, the quality of the ninja-ing rules all.

The protagonist of the story, Raizo (Rain), was raised by a secret underworld of ninjas, and has been trained to become an unflinching killing machine. During the many years of his training, Raizo managed to retain enough humanity to want to rebel against his future as a heartless killer, and eventually turns rogue. He decides to help Interpol researcher Mika (Harris), who is attempting to convince her superior (Miles) that ninja clans still exist and carry out international assassinations for a high price. It's lucky for Mika that Raizo is around, as Mika's investigating has made her a target. What follows is a fairly rudimentary exercise in run-from-the-bad-guys-until-it's-time-to-kill-them action cinema.

First-time screenwriter Matthew Sand and TV veteran J. Michael Straczynski have concocted a narrative for the film that's strangely reminiscent of Batman Begins, with story beats as predictable and generic as Raizo's gradually-revealed motivations for becoming a rogue assassin out for revenge. It's a crying shame the Wachowski Brothers neglected to hire a writer who could have at least developed an interesting story to accompany the mayhem, but what Ninja Assassin offers is a flimsy, thin plot that struggles to hold the movie together in between the action sequences. Unfortunately, whenever the badass action halts, the dialogue is usually howlingly bad and comes off as merely perfunctory. What's more heartbreaking is that glimpses of a much smarter movie are present from time to time, but are ultimately wasted. All the talk of international intrigue suggests a Bourne-style action-thriller which could've resulted in a far more engaging cinematic experience. Instead, we're left with a ninja seeking revenge who's trying to protect an attractive stranger. Alas, this alone is simply not enough.

Decades ago, ninja movies were almost entirely reliant on the physical capabilities of the picture's stars, with a bit of clever editing to enhance these abilities. But in the 21st Century - in the world of post-Matrix digital effects - any actor can be made to look like they can do anything. Thus, as McTeigue pulled off for 2005's V for Vendetta, a combination of traditional fight choreography and CGI is utilised to pull off the action sequences. In fact, a number of the set-pieces within Ninja Assassin feel like video game cut-scenes, and it's surprising that no-one suggested the film be in 3-D. At times, the frantic editing/shaky-cam techniques do become pronounced to the point of distraction, unfortunately, and it's difficult to fully appreciate the graceful athleticism of the choreography. Also, unlike the masterful use of digital effects in V for Vendetta, the violence is occasionally far too cartoonish to be effective. While some of the violence was done practically, most of the maiming is CGI, which allows the filmmakers the freedom to be mega bloody, but it also mars their work because it's less visceral. Thank goodness the action still remains eminently watchable.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ninja Assassin is thoroughly absurd. For instance, heavily armed SWAT teams have no chance against a few well-trained ninjas, yet 800 well-trained ninjas have no chance against Raizo? How come one ninja on his own is unstoppable, but ninjas within an army suddenly lose their invincibility? While killing ninjas as if he's merely swatting flies on a hot day, Raizo is even critically injured every few minutes, but it never seems to bother him. Maybe Raizo is using that miraculous healing power that was demonstrated earlier in the film? If he is, it's poorly delineated. Meanwhile, the acting in the movie is generally subpar. Playing Raizo, Rain acquits himself well in the action sequences, but he's bland, and lacks the requisite charisma to create an indelible screen anti-hero. Ben Miles is the only other cast member worth mentioning. The actor - who earned his stripes featuring in the highly acclaimed British TV series Coupling - submits a perfectly adequate performance.

While V for Vendetta was a wonderfully intelligent, well-performed and provocative action film, James McTeigue focuses squarely on the action in the case of Ninja Assassin. Heck, the film's producers, the Wachowski Brothers, also showed an ability to mix action and intelligence in The Matrix, but intelligence and solid acting are nowhere to be seen in Ninja Assassin. To its credit, this is still a well-paced actioner which delivers if all you want is some kinetically exciting, blood-soaked ninja fighting, but given the talents involved, we have to mourn what the film could've been. In this sense, the film only works in pieces, and five minutes after watching it you'll probably forget you ever saw the flick.

5.9/10

Raizo, interpretado pelo coreano Rain (Speed Racer 2008), foi um órfão criado por um clã secreto que desenvolve exímios assassinos sob intensa e dolorosa rotina de filosofia e treinamento ninja. Quando outra aluna com quem nutria afeição mútua é executada depois de tentar fugir, Raizo se volta contra seu mestre e assim declara guerra contra seus ‘colegas de escola’ com clã. Sob este contexto e a premissa de que esses mestres marciais existem e são pagos 100 libras em ouro por governos do mundo todo para assassinar, “Ninja Assassino” entrega o que vende, muita cena de ação, alguns dedos e membros inteiros pelo chão decepados impiedosamente pelas poderosas lâminas samurais.

O desproporcional burburinho se deve a produção dos irmãos Wachowski, criadores da trilogia Matrix (1999-2003) e a direção de James McTeigue (“V de Vendetta”2005) abusando de recursos computadorizados para captar os vôos alçados por membros fatiados, jatos de litros e mais litros de sangue espirrados artisticamente pelas paredes de forma surpreendentemente convincente.

Sequências dos confrontos e carnificina resultante de difícil coreografia são muito bem orquestradas, inclusive uma que remonta timidamente e evoca o know-how da cena da via expressa em Matrix Reloaded(2003), o que corresponderia a elevar o status do longa no gênero não fosse, apesar de se assemelhar a uma versão oriental do Keanu Reeves, Rain não possui o magnetismo suficiente esperado para o protagonista, tampouco a agente Mika (familiar rosto coadjuvante Naomie Harris) com quem Raizo formará uma dupla dinâmica com posterior conotação romântica.