Attack of the Ninja

MOVIE REVIEW: It didn't look very entertaining from the trailer, but Ninja Assassin seems to have a furious action sequence every single minute. Talk about getting what you paid for!

The movie surrounds Europol agent Mika Coretti's (Naomie Harris) investigation of ninja assassins which led her to Raizo (Rain) — the prodigy son of the Ozunu Clan's master ninja (played by the legendary Sho Kosugi).



Raizo was an orphan and raised to be a ninja. He probably would have become the new master ninja hadn't his love was executed for trying to abandon her life as a ninja at the hands of the Ozunu Clan. From there, Raizo grew to hate the only family he knew and left the clan himself after being ordered to kill another clan member attempting to escape.

The opening sequence pretty much sums up the pace of the movie — quick and brutal. Of course, much of the fight scenes and blood splatter have been stylized with CG special effects, but what movie produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers aren't?

Of course, the film suffers from a few cheap lines and lots of water-downed clichés that could make you wonder if the filmmakers are trying to be funny. Obviously not. But it's certainly borderlines insulting your intelligence. Fortunately, those things aren't the reasons why you'd pay to watch this movie. I hope not.

Ninja Assassin delivers tons of slice 'em and dice 'em almost as fast as you can blink. There are some gore but really nothing to disdain your hour and a half. But if you can't handle a whole lot of intense fighting, then maybe you should go out and rent any Jason Statham flick.

Ninja Assassin (2009) (Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, Legendary Pictures, Inc., Silver Productions, Anarchos Productions, Inc.). MPAA rating: R for strong, stylized bloody violence throughout and language. Running Time: 1 hour, 39 minutes. Now Playing.

ACTION: A

FUN FACTOR: A+

STORY: C+
ACTING: C
ORIGINALITY: C
SCORE: B
MUSIC: B-
STUPID LEVEL: 4/10
VERDICT: Has more action per minute than any other action movie in its entirety.