Characters are, at best, cardboard cut outs and at worse painfully bland. As for our lineup of cops, we have veteran actor Hui Shiu-hung as captain Grant Gong, Sammy Leung as Tarzan, an arrogant police officer who has a crush on Hiu Wor but holds a grudge against Bo, and singer Alex Fong Lik-sun as pretty boy Handson. Blood flows like rivers as Raizo proceeds to disembowel enemies en masse; definitely not for the squeamish. We are writers, martial arts practitioners and film-makers consumed by a passion for everything connected to the martial arts, and we love sharing it! Though Ninja Assassin is no work of storytelling perfection, it delivers what it promises: lots of fights and lots of violence. Its not a serious thinking movie, it's not a Gandhi, it's not a Saw type movie. Not only does this opener set up the course of events to come,it also caters to delight action film aficionados as Bo combines bone-crunching strikes with unmistakable grace and flair thanks to his wushu background.
Forget Naruto and all those brightly dressed, magic power spewing ninjas of recent anime. We see his tormented childhood days as a ninja trainee; his only emotional refuge, an orphan girl who, like Raizo, is part of the clan. If you're not into very violent movies, this isn't for you. Ma swings his spear with a sharpness that will make fans cringe in fear and raise eyebrows in equal measure! Raizo is especially underdeveloped despite being the main character. Through a series of flashbacks intercut with scenes of a half naked hunky Rain training with some vicious looking weapons , Raizo's tragic story is fleshed out. The reason why Ninja Assassin is so friggin cool is because you know that the people making this movie had one thing in mind.
After the remains of a body that belonged to a drug lord and syndicate crime leader are found, chaos ensues and criminals ravage the once peaceful streets in a race against time to find the mysterious murderer that's loose and out for blood. The fight choreography is well executed with a good mix of slow motion and frantic close-ups. The lead actor Rain does a good job and the overall storyline was fairly well written. Imagine slow motion shots of a man diving out of the way of 100's of ninja stars, slicing people in half with samurai swords and being born out of shadows literally. Though there were gallons of it coming out they could have stepped it up some more. It's unlike anything you've ever seen. Their relationship develops further, but Kenshin is still haunted by his violent past.
Equal budget of 50 million, unbelievable carnage and pure fun. It's quite obvious that the people responsible for this film set out to make the most ass kicking Ninja movie ad they even one uped themselves. None of them come across as emotionally engaging. It's an exciting piece of cinematic brilliance. Visually the film is incredible. While Celina continues to call upon her self-defense skills, Alex Fong Lik-sun surprisingly pulls out some kicks. Every move comes with a torrent of fury and power that will hypnotically glue viewers to their seats and popcorn box, as the hero attempts to rescue a captured Hiu Wor from the vengeful, cunning Miho.
Bo side-kicks his foe Bo pays respects for a loved one Some pain in the rain vs Ken Lo Hiu Wor gears for combat Summary Okay, so the story may feel a bit on the lighter-toned side for a title that implies major seriousness, but regardless, Wu Jing and Nicky Li score superbly in the action stakes here. Thankfully some erratic camera work especially during the scene where Raizo is being chased through a busy street does not feel distracting but enhances the frantic and lightning fast pace of the fights. As the daughter of kung fu star Roy Horan, it is no surprise that Celina Jade would also step into the martial fray, and she does show some skill. On a whole, Ninja Assassin feels like a hack-and-slash video game come to life from the first skirmish to the climatic showdown involving modern day special forces taking on an army of ninja warriors. Kaoru then invites Kenshin to stay at her dojo.
What the film does explosively well is decapitate, disembowel and explode it's victims across it's blood soaked screen. Now let me tell you what Ninja Assassin isn't. It is violent, it is bloody and packed to the gills with action. One day, his friend tries to escape from the harsh ninja way of life and is executed, prompting a change of heart in Raizo who eventually betrays his clan after a narrowly botched mission. The combination of solid choreography and frenetic, kinetic attacks makes every move come off fast, furious and fatal.
It was action packed and pretty intense, squeezing in an actual storyline with all the gore was pretty seamless. I went in with an open mind, after only seeing one movie trailer I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised I liked it as much as I did. In a way this movie was like Rambo. It's just freaking crazy as hell. Wu then pits his smarts and skills against the immense strength of the giant Jiang Baocheng. The action button engages again at the start of the second half, splitting the fight-time among Bo and the police force.
. I read that the screenplay was rewritten in 50some hours, I'm not sure what it was before but the outcome was decent. Wu Jing mixes it up! The battle scars tell all Breaking those big hands! The fight Choreography was fantastic and the cinematography was beautiful reminiscent of the Kill Bill series as far as blood and choreography. Some cheesy bits here and there require a certain suspension of disbelief but the film's portrayal of ninjas in general is gritty and realistic yet preserves their mysterious and legendary status. Her father opened the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, a kendo school located in Tokyo and Kaoru is now an instructor there.
Former legendary assassin Kenshin Himura Takeru Sato has now become a wandering samurai. It is refreshing too to see that Raizo is not some invincible killing machine as he does tire and he does take his fair share of hits, even going down a couple of times. Ninja Assassin is a fun guys night out type movie, at least that's how I saw this movie. Kara Hui Ying and Ronald Cheng also make cameo appearances as a restaurant owner and noodle house owner respectively. During this time Kenshin Himura comes across and aides Kaoru Kamiya Emi Takei. Who knew that the most insanely violent, ridiculously brutal and psychotically gory film of the year would be Ninja Assassin. Have a ton of Ninjas kill each other.
Jeffrey's passion for martial arts grew as he went on to learn Muay Thai and Tai Chi. Lots of blood and guts you know it's going to be bad when the first scene involves decapitation and blood spurting everywhere but all around I enjoyed the movie. Although Bo manages to form a good relationship with Holly and most of her co-workers in the police force, trouble yet pursues him. It is a definite step down from the philosophical Matrix trilogy or the sophisticated and political V for Vendetta. It delivers on its title and the trailer's promises and more. An assassin who is fresh from his latest kill becomes stranded in an island, when he inadvertently befriends a female police officer Celina Jade.