Reviewed by Johnny McNair

 

Warner Home Entertainment – 99 minutes – 2009 – Rated R – 1080p Widescreen 2.35:1 – DTS HD Master 5.1 Audio Mix

 

 

Have you ever had the experience of watching a movie and saying to yourself, “why the hell am I watching this?” Well you may ask yourself this very question if you choose to watch Ninja Assassin, the latest film produced by the duo that brought you The Matrix.

Hey we all love ninjas, but something seriously went wrong here, and someone deserves to have some parts severed. If you’re curious, or if you’re one of those who believes that the Wachowski brothers, (uh, brother and sister now) can pump out another hit without Matrix in the title, Ninja Assassin is now available on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video, but proceed with caution because this one may hurt…a lot.

 

THE MOVIE

 

The plot of Ninja Assassin is simple…very simple. Raizo (played by Korean pop star Rain) was trained to be a deadly ninja from childhood as a part of the Ozunu Clan. When various underworld figures are being killed off one-by-one by in a manner only a ninja would use, a Europol agent named Mika (Naomie Harris) begins to investigate the murders, which makes her the target of the vicious clan. She is saved by a loner who also possesses these same ninja fighting skills and learns that he is also looking for the Ozunu Clan seeking his final revenge against his former master, Lord Ozunu (Sho Kosugi).

 

Ninja Assassin, directed by James McTeigue (who helmed V for Vendetta), has stylized fighting, sliced body parts, and blood galore, but still fails to hold your attention. The fight scenes are so over the top and laced with CGI effects that they fail to amaze you. Martial arts movies capture you because of the awesome moves the fighters are doing, not effects that cheapen the shot. Just imagine if Enter the Dragon or Fist of Fury displayed Bruce Lee using computer animated nunchucks?

 

This is Rain’s first starring role in a movie, and he gets props for working on his body, but other than looking the part, he has no on camera appeal or charm. Unless you’re a teenage girl who’s a fan of his music, and just wants to see him run around with no shirt on, there’s no other reason to believe in this guy. But it’s not all his fault, because the script is so anemic that there’s no meat for anyone in this film to chew on.

 

Basically, all you’re getting here is plenty of senseless fight scenes strung together with fast paced editing and a script than could have been written on the inside of a matchbook cover. And let’s face it with a film like Ninja Assassin maybe wanting something more solid is asking too much. Most martial arts films don’t really offer much of a plot anyway, so in that sense this film is just following the template. But at the same time you shouldn’t just accept mediocre because that’s all that’s offered to you. To sum it up, if you just want to see some videogame fight scenes and nothing else, then Ninja Assassin will satisfy you, but if you dare want something more, there are always plenty of old school martial arts films available at any video store that will easily blow this one out of the water.

 

VIDEO

 

What it lacks in quality, Ninja Assassin definitely makes up for in visuals, providing a full 1080p image in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. With its colorful cinematography this film delivers the kind of image you expect from a Blu-ray. Skin tones are perfect and blacks stand strong, which is paramount for a film like this where most of the action takes place in the dark. The one issue that takes away from the visual splendor is all the CGI blood that looks so bad. What’s wrong with standard blood packs? It worked for movies for all these years. Overall, visually this film is a winner.

 

AUDIO

 

Offering a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix, Ninja Assassin sounds great allowing you to hear every slice and dice of the of a ninja’s sword, and blood splattering as it hits the ground. Dialogue sounds fine, but you’re not watching this film for its memorable lines, you’re watching it for the action. Sound enthusiast will be happy with this Blu-ray’s use of all speaker positions, which delivers the full cinema effect. Like the visuals, the sound makes what could’ve been a worse viewing experience tolerable.

 

EXTRAS

 

Looks like no one had faith in this film, because the bonus features seem more forced and definitely anemic. And of course, the Wachowskis do not make their presence known in any way, shape or form.

 

‘The Myth and Legend of Ninjas’ is the only decent thing in the batch, looking at the history of Ninjas. If you’re a fan of these mysterious soldiers of the night, this is a must see.

 

‘Training Rain’ is a fluff piece on Korea’s biggest pop star Rain, and the training he went through for the film.

 

‘The Extreme Sport of a Ninja’ is an on the scene look at the stunts and choreography of the movie.

 

Four deleted scenes don’t add anything to this movie, but since you have the disc, you might as well watch them just to say you did.

 

BOTTOM LINE

 

Ninja Assassin is not going to ever win any awards, but as long as you don’t expect much, maybe you’ll at least enjoy the fight sequences. The Blu-ray delivers great picture and sound, so if that’s what you’re looking for you’ll be satisfied. Unless you’ve seen this in theaters and loved it, you should rent Ninja Assassin and then decide if it’s worth the dead presidents.

 

SCORES (out of 5):

 

The Movie: 2.5

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 2.0

Bottom Line: 2.5