Ninja Assassin
“Weakness compels strength. Betrayal begets blood. This is the law of the Nine Clans.”
Ninja Assassin is a 2009 martial arts film directed by <PERSON> which follows a disillusioned assassin looking for retribution against his former mentor.
Having a ninja triple feature today and this is the first — you’ll see the other two popping up later. Ninja Assassin is a film I’ve wanted to get to for some time mainly because of <PERSON> as the villain but never got around to it until now.
I straight up had a blast with this — it’s very sleek in that late 2000s style but is also absurdly violent, harkening back to the likes of <PERSON> and <PERSON> and Cub. 995
Though I wish it didn’t rely on CGI blood as much, it definitely commits to the hyper violence and is a rollicking good time with its action.
South Korean pop singer <PERSON> is our ninja here and does a solid job (I wonder if the character name <PERSON> is a reference to <PERSON>, the first ninja in film?) even if it does mean that in a film with Japanese ninjas, there are only two Japanese actors, those being <PERSON> and <PERSON> (who I got a kick out of seeing after watching Monarch: Legacy of Monsters this month).
Elsewhere in the cast, we have <PERSON> of Die Another Day and The Fast and The Furious, joining <PERSON> and <PERSON> in what is an unofficial Fast film about ninjas. In seriousness, <PERSON> is great here even if he doesn’t have too much screentime.
Speaking of <PERSON>, <PERSON> herself is also here and whilst I wish they’d committed to a romance here (got real Romeo Must Die vibes), she’s great and actually gets involved in the action somewhat without having a ridiculously overpowered contrivance.
Lastly, let’s talk about the Master Ninja himself, <PERSON> — it feels like coming full circle from him being the villain of Enter the Ninja to this and he’s straight up great here, obviously he’s not flipping around but holds his own very well and is still very believable as the aged ninja. Probably one of my favourite performances from him as well, he brings a grit to his role that is different from the overwrought intensity of his most famous roles.
Of course, as mentioned, the action here is stellar and I liked the variety of weapons shown — the police station attack is a little similar to the previous year’s Ninja but is so cartoonishly violent that I can’t help but praise it.
Overall, this was a fun start to my ninja triple feature. Recommend. 378