Ninja Assassin
Ninja Assassin was the darling of this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival and is now in wide release. Korean superstar Rain who was introduced to North America with a breakout role in Speed Racer but is an established sensation in Asia plays Raizo, a rogue Ninja adept at a unique and particularly deadly piece of chain link weaponry. He has broken away from a large clan of mercenary assassins that train under the tutelage of the cruel Sensei Ozunu (Shô Kosugi) in a remote Japanese mountain temple. Because of Raizo’s defection he is as much a target as the victims of the clan’s regular business which by the way lately has been brisk. So brisk that the international cops at Europol in Germany are poking around and soon start giving credence to the incredulous idea of mythical Ninjas causing mayhem. Soon Rain and agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) join forces to stop the killing but the odds seem insurmountable. For fans of action flicks like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon this movie is a field day of furious fists and razor sharp weaponry. The people who brought us the Matrix trilogy are behind the glorious gore splashes ad cool moves in a year that has been slightly devoid of Martial Arts films.