People have mixed feelings about J. Michael Straczynski. In comics, JMS is known for his work at the big two, working on The Brave and the Bold, Wonder Woman, and Earth One with DC Comics. In Marvel, he worked on a series of books but is most notoriously known for the infamous One More Day storyline that broke up Peter and Mary Jane Parker. JMS is very open with his far left politics, and is known to be a difficult person to work with, which is evident by his reputation for leaving comic titles without resolution.
I’ll personally never forgive him for leaving Supreme Power and Squadron Supreme in limbo only to be dismissed in a side panel of an easily forgettable New Avengers story.
But with all JMS’ fault, there is one thing people have never said, and that is J. Michael Straczynski is not a talented writer. I say all of this because JMS pulled off what could be called a minor miracle with the 2009 action, martial arts movie, Ninja Assassin. When the Wachowski brothers had a script that didn’t turn out the way they had hoped, and with only 6 weeks left till shooting began, they called JMS and asked him to fix it.
With a pot of coffee, JMS was able to re-write Ninja Assassin in just 53 hours. That is a tall feat given how well this movie turned out and how much I loved it.
It’s time again to fight toxic masculinity with even more toxic masculinity by watching Ninja Assassin!
🎥 NINJA ASSASSIN (2009) | Movie Trailer | Full HD | 1080p
Plot:
Tapping director James McTeigue, who directed the fantastic V for Vendetta and Speed Racer movie adaption’s, Ninja Assassin has that same visceral feel, with over-the-top blood and action where ninja stars fly instead of bullets. Although you’ll see those too.
The film follows a man named Raizo, whose body is torn and scarred from a young life of training and combat. Raizo is on the run from the Ozunu Clan, an ancient, secretive organization that performs assassinations on anyone for 100 pounds of gold, no questions asked.
Raizo and other orphans were taken by the clan and given brutal training from a young age to be the successors to the assassin clans. The Ozunu are led by Lord Ozunu, played by Shô Kosugi, a legend in the Ninja film genre. Lord Ozunu is an extreme taskmaster who believes in the mission of the clan and shows no quarter as he molds the children in his image. With no discrimination between boys or girls, sleep is scarce, punishment is harsh, and the training is full contact and never-ending for the recruits and not all survive.
Raizo is one of Ozunu’s best students, taking to the training as if he was born to be an assassin and destined to take over the school in Lord Ozunu’s stead. That was until the spell was broken when Raizo’s friend and blossoming love interest, Kiriko, attempts to escape. On a dark, rain-soaked night, Kiriko scaled the walls of the isolated compound and ran through the forest, with seemingly no direction or plan except escape. Of course, Kiriko was caught as the Ozunu-trained ninjas quickly outmatched her still meager skills.
Lord Ozunu commands Raizo’s rival, Takeshi, to kill her in front of the entire school as an example of disobedience, and it’s that sacrifice that breaks the spell the Ozunu had over Raizo.
After Raizo performs his first assassin, taking down a hulk of a man in a brutal fight that leaves a bloody bathroom behind, Raizo finally chooses his own destiny. Armed with his trusted kyoketsu-shoge, which translates to long-distance wandering hair, Raizo cuts the face of Lord Ozunu as he signals his break from the clan, barely surviving a hail of thrown ninja stars as he plummets from atop a tall building, scarred but still alive.
Why You Should Watch:
This began Raizo’s quest against the clan. After recovering, and through the years, Raizo becomes the foil to the Ozunu’s assassinations, making him a top target for Lord Ozunu. No one believes Europol officer Mika as she starts to piece together the existence of the Ozunu clan, putting her on their radar and in the mix with Raizo, who comes to her aid.
There is a strange, but perfect synergy between JMS’s script and James McTeigue directing style. For just over two days of writing, JMS is able to pack a decent amount of consistent lore during the run time, giving you a clear idea the reach and impact the Ozunu have had throughout history.
And James McTeigue’s action pops off the screen just like it did in V for Vendetta. The ninja are mystical and powerful. Some of my friends take issue with the fortitude of the ninja as they are able to combat men who use modern weapons utilizing only ancient weapons, but the visuals are so stark that your mind can make it make sense. The ninja sticks to the shadows, moving like ghost, striking from impossible angles to stealth kill most enemies who never see them coming.
And Raizo, as our protagonist, uses the kyoketsu-shoge with deft skill, but still barely surviving the onslaught of the Ozunu who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals and restore their place in the underworld.
Ninja Assassin is a fast-paced action flick that doesn’t take much time to include things like love and romance. The movie, switches from one action scene to another that truly puts Raizo on the defensive with the powerful Lord Ozunu’s sword lingering over his life.
If there is any negative about Ninja Assassin, is the choice to star Rain as Raizo. A popular South Korean pop artist at the time, the director and Wachowski brothers tried to capture his fame, but his English was very limited. And that’s being kind. Physically, Rain fits the role, able to emote the brutal fight scenes with a flourish, but there is a reason why he says so few words throughout the entire film. Had they gone with a dark and brooding Raizo, it might have been more believable.
But that doesn’t diminish my love for Ninja Assassin, as I just like seeing vicious battles by nearly unstoppable ninjas fighting one of their own who happens to be their best. That formula has worked since American Ninja back in 85, and will continue to sell if done correctly.
You can also watch many of my other reviews here! And check out what you just read but with clips in the link below!
****
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English (US) · 