Review:
Ninja Assassin

Plot:

There exists in the world nine ancient clans, who kidnap orphan children and train them from childhood to become incredibly swift and potent ninja assassins. These clans employ their assassins to governments and organizations around the world - anyone really - to kill a person. The price? One hundred pounds of gold. In Ninja Assassin, a member of one of the nine clans, Raizo, decides to turn his back on the clan, forcing the clan to send wave after wave of ninja to dispatch him. In the process, he is entwined in the fate of Mika Coretti, a Europol agent who has been investigating the mysterious deaths, leading her to the source: the clans. Raizo and Mika must unravel the master plan of the Ozunu clan before they both die in the process.

Review:

Words cannot even begin to describe the level of gore and action present in Ninja Assassin, from the very introduction of the movie, you get a powerful sense of how dangerous these ninjas are, and exactly what you're going to see for the rest of the film. Directed by James McTeigue, Ninja Assassin brings a whole new take onto the mythology of ninjas. In this movie, the ninja is a mythic creature, capable of healing wounds Wolverine-style and melting back and forth into and out of the shadows. McTeigue is a rather unknown director to me, but it makes sense since this is his first film where he is the lead director. He has previously helped direct films such as Speed Racer and the sequels to The Matrix.

One of Ninja Assassin's greatest selling points is its star actor, Rain. Rain is a South Korean actor who's played roles in Speed Racer as well as several other international titles, and let me tell you, this man is one badass motherf***er. Playing Raizo, the ninja who has abandoned his clan (the Ozunu), Rain displays a level of athletic prowess that is unparalleled in most action movies today. He doesn't use guns, or even really a sword. Raizo's weapon of choice, a nasty short scythe connected to a long metal chain, better known as Kusari-Gama. And Raizo uses this weapon well.