NINJA ASSASSIN- A BLOOD BATH

TRASH IT TRASH IT TRASH IT- If you've ever been a fan of those ninja cartoons or really wanted to see a solid action flick that brings the ninja myth alive-by "myth" I mean those fascinating abilities that they have- their ability to self heal, glide and slide into oblivion, hide in the shadows, be as hard to catch as a handful of black sand in a fist- then this film frustratingly, in its attempt to be a little too commercial for it's own good-not only succeeds in demystifying the ninja myth but also manages to degrade it to a B grade martial arts flick.

RAIZO played by South Korean band boy member RAIN is a rogue ninja assassin whose only mission in life is avenging the death of his childhood sweetheart, brutally killed at the command of his Master LORD OZUNU played by SHO KOSUGI, leader of the OZUNU CLAN, a secret training cell that abducts children, trains them in the art of guerrilla ninja warfare and makes them killers for hire. Meanwhile Europol agent MICA CORETTI played by NAOMI HARRIS discovers the existence of these ninja assassins and their possible hand in recent political assassinations.She's now the next target and as she's fighting for her own survival, RAIZO appears hoping to both save her and reach his goal of a final bloody face off with his own nemesis OZUNU.

Now we're talking of an action potboiler here- so as per my expectations the film is brimming and over flowing with action sequences at every turn and then some. There's something to be found here for those viewers looking for the "shock and awe" effect- the action is unquestionably violent, gruesome, bloody. Every bone in the human body and almost every limb has at some point been broken or come flying off. Yes you can't help but cringe. But let me just say here- the climax unfolds like a martial arts dance-in terms of grace and fluidity as you see Raizo and Ozunu matching each other blade for blade, fist for fist in a bed of fire. Sadly the rest of the many action sequences are poorly lit. I get why- Ninja's fight only in shadow and darkness is an essential ingredient of the ninja myth- but with all the ninja's dressed alike- it's hard to decipher one from the other and hence it will be even for the purist a bit of a buzz kill.

V FOR VENDETTA director JAMES McTEIGUE tries to achieve an authentic look and feel for the film- It's rather evident in his casting choices (mainly Asian actors), realistic setting, stunt direction, MICA'S long dialogue on how NINJA'S are for real in these modern times etc etc but I wonder about some of McTEIGUE'S stylistic choices- sudden CGI implosions with daggers flying and blood splatter looks good and captures that comic book/ video game feel but doesn't really gel with McTEIGUE'S realistic vision.

While RAIN is quite impressive in the stunts and martial arts department- the same cannot be said for his acting. A wooden performance- and a consistently blank expression is far less interesting than counting the number of scars on his body. The casting in general is a problem with actors struggling with the English language, coming off as funny and very awkward.

I really didn't think I'd have much to say on this one- but clearly I'm on a roll. It's time for me to get into the shadows myself now with an obvious but required final verdict- TRASH IT.

CHEERS

NEHA