This movie may be filled with razor-sharp shuriken and katanas, but as far as the filmmaking goes, it's a blunt instrument.
Ninja Assassin (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:9
Rotten:23
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: Overly serious and incomprehensibly edited, Ninja Assassin fails to live up to the promise of its title.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong bloody stylized violence throughout, and language.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Nov 25, 2009 Wide
Synopsis: Raizo is one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is... Raizo is one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them…and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge. In Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti has stumbled upon a money trail linking several political murders to an underground network of untraceable assassins from the Far East. Defying the orders of her superior, Ryan Maslow, Mika digs into top secret agency files to learn the truth behind the murders. Her investigation makes her a target, and the Ozunu Clan sends a team of killers, led by the lethal Takeshi, to silence her forever. Raizo saves Mika from her attackers, but he knows that the Clan will not rest until they are both eliminated. Now, entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse through the streets of Europe, Raizo and Mika must trust one another if they hope to survive…and finally bring down the elusive Ozunu Clan. --© Warner Bros [More]
Starring: Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Sho Kosugi
Starring: Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Sho Kosugi, Rick Yune
Director: James McTeigue
Director: James McTeigue
Screenwriter: Matthew Sand, J. Michael Straczynski
Producer: Joel Silver, Grant Hill, Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Ninja Assassin
Since the ninjas only come out when it's dark, most of the movie's fight scenes are low on both visibility and excitement.
If Ninja Assassin boasted sexual content equivalent to its level of violence, it would be rated NC-17 and repulse even the most dedicated perverts
Gleefully bloody martial arts tribute - about a renegade ninja hunted by his clan - makes "Kill Bill" look like an episode of "7th Heaven".
The credits for Ninja Assassin list two screenwriters and one director. But it's fair to say the movie has come straight out of a box.
It's a ninja story for goodness sake, but McTeigue and his writers are on the prowl for something epic, puncturing the potential of the film by taking it all so very seriously.
McTeigue can barely shoot straight, and the editing is so hack-y, you have to take the stunts and fight choreography on faith.
It's brisk and exciting and exuberantly obvious filmmaking, but it knows how to light up every bloodthirsty pleasure center in your brain, and does so with gusto.
An action film that only works as long as there are ninjas on-screen slicing and dicing each other, and not so much when anyone opens their mouth and speaks.
If a film that's as over-the-top violent and gory as Ninja Assassin can't get an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America's ratings board, it's unlikely any film will.
Nearly incomprehensible, the picture devolves quickly into an array of shaky cam, epilepsy-inducing editing, and blatantly fake CGI bloodshed the color of red paint.
Let's be honest, killing is this film's business... and business is good.
All of the beheadings and flying body parts are done with CGI, distractingly so, and so quickly and darkly that there's no time to savor the gratuitous gore.
Uncertain of what it wants to be, Ninja Assassin will likely disappoint action fans with excessive CGI gore, and gore fans with excessive uninspired action.
[A] bloody concoction of slasher movie blended with martial arts and a small helping of faux Eastern philosophy...
It is indeed filled with lots of ninjas who are constantly at each other's throats with all manner of sharp implements.
The egregious overuse of CG and the too-dark cinematography is unconscionable.
You certainly can't accuse Ninja Assassin of not living up to its title, but the filmmakers clearly never thought beyond that point.
The rotten cliches pile up faster than the bodies in this Z-movie disaster. A total dud start to finish.
Latest News for Ninja Assassin
November 24, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
This week at the movies, we've got martial arts mayhem (Ninja Assassin, starring Rain and Naomie Harris); family-friendly hi jinks (Old Dogs, starring John Travolta and Robin... More...
November 23, 2009:
Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More ![]()
Always one of the busiest producers in Hollywood, Joel Silver has plenty to talk about right now -- including "Lobo," "Sgt. Rock," "The Losers," and the just-around-the-corner... More...
October 07, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer and Poster. ![]()
More...
August 15, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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