Directed by James McTeigue
Screenplay by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski
Story by Matthew Sand

Cast
Rain as Raizo
Naomi Harris as Mika
Ben Miles as Maslow
Rick Yune as Takeshi
Sho Kosugi as Ozunu

Rated R for strong bloody stylized violence throughout, and language

They travel under cover of darkness, melting in and out of the shadows in their all-black costumes that break only for the tiniest opening to reveal their fearsome eyes.  The masters of a million deadly arts, they could kill you with anything from a thumb tack to one of their arsenal of lethal weapons, the coolest/deadliest of which is a circle of five razor-sharp blades known as a throwing star.  They are ninjas, and the very mention of their name set the heart of every self-respecting 10-year-old aquiver back in the early 80's, when I knew more 10-year-olds than I do today.  And it is for the grown-up, cinematic carnage-hardened versions of those little nunchuck-swinging boys that director James McTeigue and his long-time collaborators the Wachowski Bros. and Joel Silver have created Ninja Assassin, a brutally cheerful large-scale B-movie that packs all the ninja action you could possibly ask for.  Those pining for a more realistic depiction of the ninjutsu will likely be left out in the cold, but if you just wanna watch ninjas wield superhuman powers and kill hundreds of people without breaking a sweat while dodging dozens of throwing stars simultaneously... have I got a movie for you!

A Tattoo Master (Randall Duk Kim) works on one of a gang of obnoxious criminals, one of whom receives an envelope filled with black sand.  The Master is shocked, and tells them the story of a silent, demonic assassin who once attacked a room such as this one and killed everyone there but him.  Such an assassin announces his presence with an envelope filled with black sand, and within moments, everyone in the room has died a horrible death at the hands of... the ninja!  Meanwhile, Europol analyst Mika (Naomi Harris) turns in a report to her boss Maslow (Ben Miles) suggesting the existence of a secret organization of assassins who have been killing for centuries and taking 100 pounds of gold as their payment.  Maslow doesn't take her seriously until she pulls up more and more damning information and a trail that leads to Raizo (Rain), a former member of this Ninja Clan who now seeks vengeance against their leader Ozunu (Sho Kosugi).  Mika is marked for death, and ninjas led by Takeshi (Rick Yune) start attacking her, Raizo, and Europol by the hundreds.  The forces of modern law enforcement and ancient martial arts are now locked in a battle... to the death!

Ninja Assassin announces its' intentions in the opening scene with the Tattoo Master in which a half-dozen scummy crooks get sliced and diced into human salad and the final victim's blood splashes the film's title across the screen.  While it's never quite that bloody again, the movie does enjoy piling up its' casualties, and never before have ninjas seemed quite so dangerous.  Thanks to the wonder of modern special effects, they're able to melt in and out of the shadows and to engage in battles in which throwing stars and the Shogee (a large, curved knife attached to a ten-foot chain) can be deployed with such reckless abandon no living human could survive for a second in their presence.  With some level of assistance from the Wachowskis (who did an uncredited polish on this script and wrote McTeigue's classic V for Vendetta; he was the second unit director on all three Matrix movies and their Speed Racer), McTeigue has created some stunning ballets of violence, highlighted by a ninja rumble that takes place in the middle of traffic, with the combatants dodging and diving over and around the cars.

The movie does take its sweet time getting started, and doesn't really fire on all cylinders until around the 2/3 mark.  But early time establishing Raizo's time with the Clan and how he put duty ahead of his love for a rebellious student named Kiriko (Anna Sawai) pays off in a big way when it's time to fight for bloody vengeance in the third act.  There's a moment when impossible odds turn back the good guys' way when I could have stood up in my seat and shouted at the screen “Take that, you f***ing ninjas!”.  That's the mark of a fine B movie.  Of course, one could easily redub the movie turning the ninjas into creatures from outer space, and the story would play about the same way, not that there's anything wrong with that...

Asian pop star Rain takes perfectly to the martial arts and does a great job injecting charisma and charm into a role that could easily be a violent cypher.  Harris is spunky and fun as our all-important in to a world that contains both Europol and homicidal ninja clans, and Miles keeps us guessing as her boss torn between loyalty and orders.  80's martial arts star Kosugi, who hadn't made a movie of any kind in 16 years, makes a sensational comeback as one of the most odious movie villains in many a year:  Ozunu kidnaps children and tortures them until they are either powerful ninjas or dead, and watching his former prize “son” return to bring his happy home down around him is a real treat.  Sawai shines in her couple scenes as the girl whose refusal to break under Ozunu's cane touches the flame of humanity still burning inside Raizo.

Ninja Assassin fits snugly within the Wachowski/McTeigue cannon, depicting another individual's struggle against a tyrannical system through superhuman excellence at a single talent.  Attacking with relentless action and just enough heart to make that action matter, it's a rousing holiday treat for those of us on its' wavelength.  Easy test:  did your ears perk up when you first heard that there was an uncoming movie called Ninja Assassin?  If not, best to move along to the next theater and leave this one to us 10-year-old boys who're now old enough to get in to this gorefest without a parent.