Ninja Assassin

Ninja Assassin is a blood filled Ninja film from 2009 that has some crazy action and awesome fight scenes – all starring a Korean pop star named Rain!

The movie is about Ninjas.  No surprise there.   The movie begins by simultaneously telling two stories – one being of Mika Coretti, a Europol Agent investigating some strange occurrences which involves what she believes to ninjas. The other is about the upbringing of and eventual abandoning of the Ozunu clan by one of it’s top students – Raizo (played by Rain).

We learn of t Raizo’s ruthless upbringing and the death of a female friend who tried to convince him to have a heart and be more humane.  Raizo’s friend Kiriko decides to try and escape form the Ninja school she was born into but is caught and later killed. After keeping her memory with him, Razio eventually defects, attacking the Ninjas in front of him before making a get away.

Present day, Raizo is being hunted by the Ozunu clan and eventually steps in to protect Mika Coretti, believing that her connections may help him destroy the remainder of the Ozunu clan.  The two team up and work together while being on the run from Ozunu, and facing other difficulties form Europol and the authorities.

This is one entertaining Ninja film!

The pace this movie holds, and the way in which the story is told is a bit more unique to your average ninja film and keeps a terrific and exciting pace while evenly spreading out cool action scenes to keep you pumped.

As they explain the rough upbringing of the Ninja’s and the expectations of their teacher the we see how, in present day, world is also slowly uncovering information about them and treading with fearful steps.  This initial part of the movie (taking up a rather large chunk)  sets up just how dangerous and elite these Ninja’s really are but still keeps the action level high throughout.  The movie unfolds quite quickly but naturally.

The ninjas in this film are presented almost like the terminator – unstoppable, can’t be bargained with or reasoned with, just pure killing machines.  The dark nature of each setting and the environment just gives it a really sharp look and feel.  But it’s the action which is really the icing on the cake.

The Action & Martial Arts

Terrifically choreographed action combined with a lot of CG gore and blood make this movie visually outstanding.  The CG doesn’t over step it’s mark very much and keeps the essence of the action relying on Rain’s physical performance.

That’s the interesting thing – Rain isn’t a martial artist, he’s a popular singer form Korea.  While not the ideal sounding choice, his dancing background made him perfect for the role (this was discovered on another film he had to do a fight scene in).  For 6 months they trained Rain for 6 hours per day – 5 hours on martial arts and one hour with body conditioning.  This produced a martial arts performer who, in my opinion, really pulls it off.

His movements are fast, vicious and energetic.  The use of weapons, which may have been relation a lot of CGI, blend perfectly with his movements as he’s chopping the tops of people’s heads off and bloodying up the place.

The action gets to it’s best when the Ozunu clan starts to come after Raizo, then it’s a team of Ninja’s after him – the blood and action become pretty non stop then! Wickedly entertaining!

The Verdict?

Just a fun, action packed movie perfect for guys who love viciously fast fights and gore.  I loved this movie and recommend it to anyone!