I have been itching to see this said-to-be very gory movie. Reasons ?
R-A-I-N ! Well, I'm not really a fan but i'm interested to see him play a role as a kickass ninja, cause all I've seen is him being the lead romantic guy in Korean dramas. I guess Hollywood is trying to find Jackie Chan version 2.0. I was thinking about Steven Chow as well, but he's such a sweet goofball ♥ Let's skip to the main dish...
short background story:
it was in fact the last days of exam week, my mum will strangle me if she knew
i was sneaking to the theater (imagine if she found out '"what" i was watching).
i made plans with a few friends, but they came late so i decided to munch a piece of my black forest cake.
and i still waited till studio door was opened, still no signs, and i'm having a hard time contacting them.
so i thought i would just wait for them inside.
the theater was empty !
like, only ten people was inside, fifteen tops !
there were some couples in there, i hope they realized that this is not a date movie.
the lights faded, i watch one third of the movie all by myself, then my friends showed up.
*SPOILER ALERT !*
I have to say, the first scene was pretty shocking, i thought the guy was bleeding, but no he's getting a sumo tattoo, it was a Yakuza group. They had received a letter filled with dust, the tattoo artist stated that he has seen someone received the same letter and later being slaughtered by ninjas. While, they were mocking the old tattoo artist because his fear of ninjas, one of them laughed his head off... literally. Someone or something had slashed his head into half, a way over done Glasgow smile. As it turned into a blackout, more heads are beheaded, and limbs flying like it's some chicken wing in a cafeteria food fight.
I wondered, if they show this much in the beginning what more could they show next ? I had expected this movie to be as bloody as kill bill vol.1, i wasn't disappointed, but is it me or was the blood was a lil' unrealistic ? very CGI ! the blood from kill bill looked more believable.
So in this movie, Rain portrays Raizo, a young and skilled ninja that left his clan, mainly because his clan are just a bunch of heartless demons. Raizo has become the member of the Ozunu clan since he was a little boy, his life has turned into a nightmare as he underwent inhumane trainings. Fortunately, he was not alone. He has Kiriko, a girl that always watches him from afar and there to heal his wounds. The two made a pretty cute pair, but she was killed off because she tries to escape the clan. When I saw a she ninja, I kinda hoped for a very graceful fighting scene, but no i didn't get it. As the story progresses, lady number two was shown, Mika, a forensic researcher, I didn't get what was going on between Raizo and Mika in this story. Were they meant to be lovers or just partners in crime ? Well I don't agree if Raizo is paired with Mika, I'd rather see him with Kiriko, but she's dead (sigh), and Mika lives because she had dextrocardia, i think. but Raizo kisses Kiriko so I guess that's 1 point for her, haha this is so irrelevant ! Well, I don't have much to say really, the only thing i could write down to my notebook is:
- Rain says "Let's go..." like he was starting a song.
ROTFL ! I know it sounds foolish but Rain is a singer, and when he said "Let's go..." with a sexy tone, i swear i thought he was going to sing Rainism !
- Top notch cinematography.
beautifully done i must say ! my eyes are happy.
- "How did he die ? The lights turned off..."
one of my favorite quote from this movie, sorry if this is not the correct sentence, i can't remember. Well this goes to show that the ninjas are like shadows, they blend with the darkness.
- Rain was ABTASTIC.google it yourselves ! the picture shows you that his hard work has paid-off !
What I don't like about this movie...
- No twists ! Very flat plot.
pretty much nothing was unpredictable, but i've seen more boring movies
- The ending was totally not the climax.
so much for save the best for last. i wish the Europol hadn't butted in, so Raizo could ass whooped the Ozunu clan one by one.
- Mediocre dialogues.
Can't find any smart dialogues here. Even Kung Fu Panda beats this.
- Not enough jokes.
I know the whole thing is action, but a little comedy wouldn't hurt. The jeans joke was so-so, but I gotta admit I was amused when the guys from Europol said "He doesn't look like a killing machine to me, he looks like he belongs in a boy band." Gyahahahaha... That's so true, I imagined F4.
Final Words
Ninja Assassin just has to be one of those movies that receives mix reviews, there's just equal love and hate from the critiques. Personally, I liked it (No not just because Rain was there). This movie has great potentials but if the producers are thinking of a sequel, they'll have to boost their plot, patch up the plot holes, enhance the script, put the climax right where it should be, and last but not least, PUMP UP THE ACTION !
