If you're wondering about the title, it's referring to an assassin that kills ninjas.
Anyhow, I saw Ninja Assassin today since The Road is not playing in my area (very limited release for some reason). The movie is a bit disappointing. The story obviously isn't much to write home about, but I"ll let that slide a bit if the action sequences deliver, which they didn't.
The biggest flaw with the action sequences is the camera movement. It's handled in very much the same way as Batman Begins. Personally, I don't mind the shaky and rapid camera movements for stealth kills, but for full blown battles it's very annoying because you can't tell what's going on. Let's not forget that the ninjas are wearing black and the environment they fight in are quite dark too.
Oh and the characters are rather forgettable. They're pretty one dimensional and they lack a coolness factor. Aside from Rain's (Razio) ability to showcase his abs, he doesn't seem to elicit much charisma. Then again, he does lose a lot of his screen time due to flashbacks, which he doesn't act in.
So is the movie still worth watching? Sure, if not for my bias fact that it's a movie about ninjas flipping out and killing people. But in terms of action movies, there are better movies out there. Likewise, the same can be said for martial arts movies (Ip Man is highly recommended).
Do note that the movie contains a ton of gratuitous gore so if you're squeamish with seeing limbs, heads, and parts of head chopped off, don't see it. Oh and I do notice a lot of similarities the movie has to Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden. I was half expecting Rain to izuna drop a ninja.
Anyhow, I saw Ninja Assassin today since The Road is not playing in my area (very limited release for some reason). The movie is a bit disappointing. The story obviously isn't much to write home about, but I"ll let that slide a bit if the action sequences deliver, which they didn't.
The biggest flaw with the action sequences is the camera movement. It's handled in very much the same way as Batman Begins. Personally, I don't mind the shaky and rapid camera movements for stealth kills, but for full blown battles it's very annoying because you can't tell what's going on. Let's not forget that the ninjas are wearing black and the environment they fight in are quite dark too.
Oh and the characters are rather forgettable. They're pretty one dimensional and they lack a coolness factor. Aside from Rain's (Razio) ability to showcase his abs, he doesn't seem to elicit much charisma. Then again, he does lose a lot of his screen time due to flashbacks, which he doesn't act in.
So is the movie still worth watching? Sure, if not for my bias fact that it's a movie about ninjas flipping out and killing people. But in terms of action movies, there are better movies out there. Likewise, the same can be said for martial arts movies (Ip Man is highly recommended).
Do note that the movie contains a ton of gratuitous gore so if you're squeamish with seeing limbs, heads, and parts of head chopped off, don't see it. Oh and I do notice a lot of similarities the movie has to Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden. I was half expecting Rain to izuna drop a ninja.