Ninja Assassin

When Jung Ji Hoon, more popularly known as Rain, went to Los Angeles in 2008 to make his debut in his first Hollywood movie Speed Racer, he was very much the unknown.
The movie bombed but Rain was shot like a cannon ball into the entertainment atmosphere and landed on a bigger project called Ninja Assassin. This movie has been receiving a lot of attention from Rain’s fans throughout Asia. It is now here.
The Wachowski brothers, Andy and Larry, directed Speed Racer and they instantly recognized the star quality in this Korean singing sensation. So before you could say “ahnyong haesayo” (hello in Korean), Rain was offered the major role in Ninja Assassin.
It was a role in which producers Wachowski brothers said was tailor-made for the man who was “unbelievable, a natural and a dream come true”.
With that kind of accolades from the Wachowskis who were also responsible for the Matrix trilogy, Rain dove headlong into the movie.
But first he had to hone his body most excruciatingly for the battle sequences over very long months under several physical instructors.
So the guy you see doing the almost impossible stunts is not a body double. It is indeed Rain with a superb physique and a look that sets all the young female hearts a-fluttering.
Rain’s dialogue in the show has been scripted in most parts into one-liners. But who cares? It’s Rain talking and it’s the cool dude’a moves that counts.
Ninja Assassin is very bloody, graphically violent and explicitly brutal. The splattering of blood walls, floors and bodies occur with great frequency.
Ninjas are trained killers who struck fear in the hearts of the common folk for their swift and silent assassinations back in 14th century Japan. In this show, Rain plays Raizo, an orphan who was brought up by Lord Ozunu (Sho Kosugi).
Ozunu keeps a stable of trained killers whom he adopted when they were very young. Failure to meet Ozunu’s stringent standards was met by ruthless punishment that drew blood.
The boys and girls are taught to be merciless and to ignore extreme pain and suffering. Death is not to be feared.
Raizo grows up and becomes one of the best in Ozunu’s ninja clans. His body, arms and the soles of his feet bear the scars of the arduous training since childhood.
The breath of fresh air within the walls of the ninja academy is young Kiriko (Kylie Liya Goldstein) who cares very much for Raizo. On the day Kiriko was killed for attempting to escape from Ozunu, Raizo made up his mind to leave.
The trail then leads to Berlin where Raizo stumbles upon Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris), an employee of Europol investigating the possibility of ninjas behind a series of assassinations in Europe.
By the time, Mika finds proof of the ninja existence, they are on their way to kill her. Raizo intervenes and saves Mika. And together they try their best to keep one step ahead of the shadow warriors.
The fight scenes in this film are some of the best I have seen. The Wachowski brothers have ratcheted the benchmark for choreographed martial art combat scenes.
Since Rain performed most of the difficult stunts, the bloody fight scenes imparted great visual gratification. Some of the best action sequences were between Raizo and Takeshi (Rick Yune) who was Raizo’s clan brother.
Both actors were amazingly agile and nimble on their feet. The twisting and mid-air body flips were captivating and engaging. In real life, Yune is an Olympic-standard Taekwondo expert so he was a perfect complement for Rain.
To witness these two human killing machines in action was sufficient to get the adrenaline flowing. All martial art exponents will definitely be enthralled by the interplay of light, shadow and the katana (Samurai sword) against a background of fire and a crescendo of death cries.
Some movie critics may want to find fault with the less-than-brilliant plot but the graceful movements of the finely-trained athletic actors will leave you with little cause to be dissatisfied.
Ninja Assassin is for martial art exponents who have a penchant for the art of ninjutsu. Of course, fans of Rain will need no other reason to be at the cinema.
This movie may or may not launch Rain’s Hollywood career but I have a gut feeling it won’t disappoint the Wachowski brothers at the box office.
Ninja Assassin can be summed up in two words: shockingly entertaining.