Holy shit. I’ve described this movie in a single sentence before and I’ll repeat it to kick things off: “It’s like the creators weren’t even trying to make this movie NOT awesome.” I mean seriously. This movie is a whole lot of kickassery right from the get go. Look at the name of this film for god’s sake. I saw the poster, literally just the poster, and knew this film was for me. And boy, was it.
By the way, the title is not a simple repetition of the term; it is a description of the film’s contents. Let that stew.
In the same fashion as ‘300′ or even some Tarantino films, Ninja Assassin’s violence is gratuitous, relentless and over-the-top. The carnage begins at the onset of the film and lets up only when absolutely necessary to drive the story forward. Part of what I liked about Ninja Assassin is the transparent and relatively shallow plot themes that carry some surprising weight in the film. For starters, it doesn’t try to fool the audience or itself into thinking that it’s anything more than it’s supposed to be. It’s an action film, raw and unbridled, and it excels in that respect. The story that there is though, was surprisingly satisfying. There are elements of love, loyalty, and my favorite: revenge. I really enjoy revenge flicks, mostly for the visceral fulfillment that comes with cinematic vindication. Ninja Assassin is a fantastic revenge movie. It’s not unique, it’s not philosophical; it is bloody and it is cool.
Let’s shift gears for a bit. The visual presentation in this movie rocks the shit for a couple of reasons. The first is that, well, it really is so fucking cool. It just is. There’s fire and metal, rain and blood and things move and happen so swiftly and intentionally in the film. It seems as though the direction of the film was attempting to replicate the behavior of its primary constituents: the ninja. The camera angles focuses sharply then sweeps broadly, much like the weapons utilized by the ninja. It changes from slow and deliberate, a la Matrix, to rapid and jarring, reminiscent of some kung-fu films. Several scenes involve ninja fighting soldiers that are using modern weaponry, such as guns, and it’s a really neat concept. Bullets fly and spark while the ninja creep, stab and throw shurikens. It’s an awesome contrast of two very different approaches to killing. The second aspect is one that I really appreciated, partly because of my love for anime. There are some really neat supernatural components to the film, including the ability to focus energy to physically mend flesh as well as the ability to use the shadows in order to move faster than the eye can track. The latter ability is something I think is particularly cool and a really neat visual illustration of the notion that shinobi are “shadow warriors.” As addressed before, the movie uses various, copious elemental cues to highlight the emotional context of the scene. Some battles take place in the pouring rain , while others feature a fire raging around the characters. Each seems to reflect the tone of the combat and the accompanying sentiments. Then there’s the blood. There is so very much of it. What I loved about the blood is that it acted as more than gore in this movie. For me, the blood was a separate entity, its own character in each scene. It splashed, sprayed and fell in various ways and decorated the locales wonderfully. The killing seemed almost as a dance, the ribbons of blood moving with the blades. Grim? Sure. But I can appreciate the art in this kind of violence. There’s also a good chance that I’m fucking insane. These are not two mutually exclusive considerations.
The sound is something to address as well. The appropriate use of sound is something that was clearly an important factor in Ninja Assassin. Again, drawing a parallel between style and character, it felt like the aural environment was intended to be focused and dark. The atmosphere created by the sound is a powerful device in Ninja Assassin. The weapons created dramatic slicing and metallic sounds and the spiteful and murderous intentions of the ninja resonated in Raizo’s (the protagonist) thoughts as they approached. The water fell in torrents, pelting surfaces and fires blazed and crackled. Blood splashed against walls while short dashing sounds indicated the nimble movements of the silent assailants. The effect, for me, was incredible. The sensory incitement in this film is forceful and expertly realized. It’s a wonderful mix of sight and sound.
The characters in the film are relatively standard. Rain plays the lone warrior, doomed because of his warm heart, despite an incredibly refined killer instinct. Kosugi is the strict and unforgiving master. Naomie Harris is the innocent and kind-hearted support role for Raizo and Ben Miles plays the determined, straight-edge cop with good intentions. There’s honestly nothing new or interesting about any of these roles, with the possible exception of Raizo. Though not a novel character, his personality and ability garner excitement every time he is on screen. There is a veritable increase in my heart rate every time he does anything because, for the most part, anything = ruining everyone’s shit. Everyone often being groups of ninja, hence, Ninja Assassin. See? I’ll give you this tasty morsel: there is a scene where Raizo goes to the local laundromat to, you know, do laundry. It’s not a long scene but it ends with a dead woman. Fuck. This movie is not even kidding.
So look, I’m not gonna beat around the bush on this one. Ninja Assassin is the tits and I loved it. This isn’t the kind of movie that wants to be anything more than a bloody, violent and entertaining romp through a basic narrative. The story still manages to compel a bit though and the action sequences are jaw-droppingly cool. It’s a guilty cinematic pleasure, if you will, and if this movie is wrong, well, then maybe I don’t want to be right.
Overall Score (out of 10): 8.9
Story/Writing: It should come as no surprise that this is the weakest point in the film. The story is absolutely nothing special and the characters that navigate through it are generally stifled by that fact. Still though, the developments here are surprisingly effective and drive the film to each violent landmark.
Acting/Cast: The acting matches the profile of the story in this one. So it’s not that great but works for the purpose of the movie. Rain’s performance is pretty good, actually. The casting works well, with Sho Kosugi being my favorite placement.
Camera/Cinematography: Incredible. This is what defines this movie and it works magnificently. The camera flows ethereally through the scenes, much like the ninja, and the visual presentation leaves nothing to be desired.
Sound/Music: The sounds are effective and integral to the experience. The sensory environment crafted is a notable achievement in this movie.
Recent Comments