Ninja Assassin Movie Review

Every so often a filmmaker will decide to make the bloodiest movie imaginable. The results are typically messy but fun. “300” and “Shoot ‘Em Up” spring to mind as recent examples. For a time, of course, Quentin Tarantino ruled this genre – exemplified by the bravura “Crazy 88s” sequence in “Kill Bill: Vol. 1″. Now Wachowski brothers protégé James McTeigue brings us “Ninja Assassin” and, frankly, I didn’t think he had it in him. “Ninja” makes “Kill Bill” look like an episode of “7th Heaven”.

Mr. McTeigue’s first, and last, film was 2005′s “V for Vendetta”, the servicable adaptation of Alan Moore’s groundbreaking graphic novel. You may remember a few sequences in that film which, at the time, seemed very Matrix-esque. Daggers flew threw the air in slow-motion; Hugo Weaving’s V fought a team of baddies (also in slow-motion). But very little in “Vendetta” would herald this work in “Ninja Assassin“.

The filmmakers have said that they wanted to update the ninja movie for the 21st century, and there they succeed. While the film is ostensibly a star vehicle for Korean pop-star, Rain, the actors have little to do but try to keep up. “Ninja Assassin” is a non-stop feast for fans of the genre, or those simply looking for a bloody good time.

Director James McTeigue stages the escalating battles with panache. He opts for frenetic Bourne-style action scenes with an occasional dip into bullet-time well of his producers the Wachowski Brothers. It’s computer-enhanced, wire-fu fighting to be sure, but easy on the eyes. The shooting style is occasionally frustrating as it’s sometimes hard to see exactly what is going on, but in a way that enhances the ninja mystique. They are moving faster than your perception!

Ninja Assassin Movie Review

Best of all everything is doused in wonderful excess: Blood sprays by the gallon. Shuriken hail down on victims like rainfall. Raizo’s torso is more scar tissue than skin. A dozen ninjas? Why not a hundred? Throw in a bunch of army guys with machine guns while you’re at it! This movie goes so far over the top it’s orbiting Mars.

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