The James Logan Courier

By Shamal Asnani, Courier Film Critic

One of the bloodiest movies to date, Ninja Assassin, was released in theatres on Nov. 25. The film on a young man named Raizo, who was raised by the Ozunu Clan, a special group of ninja assassins.

The Ozunu Clan is led by Lord Ozunu, the man responsible for taking young children under his wing in order to provide them with the training required to become deadly assassins. Lord Ozunu viewed Raizo as very strong candidate of being his successor; therefore Raizo would constantly receive harsher punishment than the rest of his peers in order to ensure that he becomes one of his elites.

Everything seemed perfect for Raizo to become the next leader of the clan, until the day he was forced to witness the death of a fellow clan member, Kiriko, who was also a target of Raizo’s affection. She was executed by the Ozunu Clan after her attempt to escape, thus created a deep hatred in Raizo’s heart towards the clan.

Eventually he makes his position with the group of ninjas very clear, when he slashes Lord Ozunu’s face and fights his former group. After barely escaping, he saves the life of an investigator, Mika, who is also a target of the Ozunu Clan due to her investigation of the groups’ assassinations. Together, the two of them make it their mission to take down Lord Ozunu and the rest of the Ozunu Clan in order to assure that no one will ever be victimized by the assassins again.

Ninja Assassin can best be described as a movie filled with nonstop action filled with blood and gore. There was not a single action scene in the movie that did not involve someone’s limbs being cut off. Although it might seem like the violence in the film was unnecessary, anyone who is a fan of Kung Fu films purely for the action will definitely love the fighting scenes of Ninja Assassin.

Although the movie contains some of the greatest fighting scenes in a movie to date, anyone looking to watch a movie for an intelligent story played out by great actors will be more than disappointed. After the first half an hour of the film, the plot hardly progresses at all. Unfortunately, the film also contained less than average skilled cast, which only worsened the situation of watching a film that relied on solely its action to keep viewers interested. Overall, Ninja Assassin is a perfect movie to watch to pass time; however, it should definitely not be a first choice to watch.