The Wachowskis' Ninja Assassin

The W Bros. are not terrible directors though. If you had Spielberg producing something you'd give him more credit than the director.
 
xwolverine2 said:
not so much mcteigue either... its the amazing stunt/choreography team.
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That's definitely a factor but James Wong for example had the exact same choreography team from The Matrix and 300 yet he easily messed up DB:E because of his zero ability to correctly shoot a decent fighting scene.

A choreography team can do wonders but if its shot, edited poorly then it isn't worth squat.

NickyTea said:
Don't take credit away from McTeigue.

A terrible director can ruin choreography, no matter how good it is.
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Exactly.

terry78 said:
The W Bros. are not terrible directors though. If you had Spielberg producing something you'd give him more credit than the director.
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No one is saying they are. They are great at shooting fight sequences as well its just that giving them credit for the work in Ninja Assassin isn't quite fair.

Sure they've served as a good inspiration for James and given him great practice serving as assistant director in many of their films but that hasn't been his only source of learning on how to direct great action sequences.

As a matter of fact I don't see people hating on Spielberg as much as they do on Michael Bay for the Transformers series. You might hear the complaint every now and then on how he hired Bay but most of the whining all goes towards Bay (deservedly so in many regards).

The same goes for District 9, I applaud Neill for giving us a great film and Jackson for producing and believing in the project others would have deemed "impossible" or "not financially viable".

For the W Bros I give them all my thanks for producing this film but not for the footage I'm seeing. That's mainly the directors vision who has control of almost every aspect of the filming process.
 
terry78 said:
The W Bros. are not terrible directors though. If you had Spielberg producing something you'd give him more credit than the director.
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nobody said they werent lol...

not only are they amazing directors but their great writers too.


that being said ..this movie was not written by the W bros. unfortunatly.
 
awesome... cant wait to see that whole training sequence
 
Woot. Seem the press ban has been lifted cause this is the first official review :woot:

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12...-m-c-review-ninja-assassin-is-bloody-good-fun


The M/C Review: 'Ninja Assassin' is bloody good fun

James McTiegue, director of "V For Vendetta," is back in the saddle for the new Warner Bros. action movie "Ninja Assassin," and the good news is that it's an energetic, gore-soaked bit of fun.

It's Teflon, slick and without substance, and you may have a hard time describing the film's plot two hours after you see it, but I'm not sure I would hold that against the film. It's so aggressive about delivering a series of crazy set pieces that I admire it for it's single-mindedness, and there's at least one major choice made by McTiegue that I really like.

Hats off to Warner Bros. for taking a chance on Rain as a lead actor. Although I'm one of the most ardent supporters of "Speed Racer," I wasn't convinced that Rain really worked as a lead. Here, he's absolutely charismatic enough to pull it off, and although it's a very simple character arc overall, Rain plays enough shade and nuance to make me think he can handle even more the next time out.

Naomie Harris ("Miami Vice," "Pirates Of The Caribbean") stars as an analyst for an intelligence agency who is convinced that she's uncovered proof of a shadowy organization of ninjas who work as paid assassins around the world. Her investigation eventually brings her face to face with Raizo (Rain), who is the one member of that organization to ever successfully walk away. Together, they go on the run and have to face down the killers who are chasing them.

The end. It really is just that simple. There's some stuff about Raizo's childhood, and some stuff about the people Harris works for, but most of the film is a chase, one set piece to the next, and on that level, it really works. McTiegue's best decision in the entire film is to shoot the ninjas as monsters and to shoot the film as a horror movie. That way, it gives him permission to keep them offscreen except for glimpses, and it keeps them from feeling ridiculous. Cranking up the gore to a ridiculous degree also works in the film's favor. The action choreography is good but it's also studio-safe, meaning you don't get the same kind of kinetic "did they just kill that guy?" thrills you get from Thai action movies, so they ladle on the CGI gore as a distraction.




The strangest thing about Naomie Harris so far is how she vanishes into each movie. I watched this whole film wondering who the female lead was, and when I saw her name in the closing credits it surprised me. She's a chameleon. Overall, the movie comes down to the chemistry she has with Rain, and that works. The two of them make an engaging couple on the run, and it's smart that they never try to turn her into an ass-kicking fighter. Considering how polished everyone in the movie is, they'd have to fake it with her, and it would just come across as silly. Bonus points also for the casting of Sho Kosugi as the mentor leader of the ninja cult. He almost single-handedly defined ninjas onscreen in the '80s, so it is appropriate to cast him here as the guy passing the torch.

I do think the film is narratively thin, but J. Michael Straczynski said he rewrote Matthew Sand's script in less than a week so that they could make a start date. I'd believe it. You've seen most of this before. It's just that McTiegue shoots it with a vigor and a joy that is almost palpable. I get the feeling he really enjoyed shooting the film, and it's nice that he and the Wachowskis seem to be developing a working method that makes all of them happy and that results in solid B-movie-with-A-list-values films like this one. It feels like an origin story, and I'd love to see Rain return in a series of films as Raizo works on an international scale.

If you're into crazy violent blood-soaked revenge stories, this is going to make you very happy on Thanksgiving weekend. Now if we could only find a way to cross this movie with "Old Dogs." I'd love to see John Travolta making lame baby jokes only to have Rain cut him in half with a giant sword. That would be a very happy Thanksgiving, indeed.

"Ninja Assassin" opens nationwide November 25th.
 
I just saw another kick ass TV Spot during the Angels/Yankees ALCS game on FOX!!
 
Dark Victory said:
CGI blood's usually a "no no" for me. Hopefully it's pulled off well here.
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The movie is stylized. It has blood practical and CG blood. It's not like Kill Bill bllood. It's something unique for the film. Watch the interview and hear James explain it before you criticise. lol
 
rashad said:
The movie is stylized. It has blood practical and CG blood. It's not like Kill Bill bllood. It's something unique for the film. Watch the interview and hear James explain it before you criticise. lol
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:whatever:

Whether or not the film's stylized and uses squibs, too, I never cared for CGI blood and I might not care for its use in this film. Way to judge, too -- I watched the interview. Just because James guarantees stylized, innovative CGI blood doesn't mean it's automatically going to be good -- you've seen Tommy Boy, right? If you're judging a film from an interview then I guess all of the horror remakes were good, too.
 
I cant wait, gonna be epic ninja movie ive been waiting for.
 
I agree with Dark. CGI blood sucks. UNLESS it's stylized, such as 300, or Sin City.
 
source: http://shogungamer.com/news/reviews/ninja-assassin-review-our-thoughts-pre-release-screener-viewing

Ninja Assassin review: Our thoughts on the pre-release screener viewing
Submitted by Corey Rollins on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 13:32


Overall Feeling:
A much needed roundhouse kick of refreshment in the Ninja genre. Intense action, a good plot and some light humour make this a must see for any fan of hardcore action flicks. Especially if you like Ninjas.
The Pros:
Fantastic back story around how the Ninja's train their warriors. Excellent over the top visual FX help sell every action scene. As far as Ninja themed flicks go, there is a great mix of action, intense graphic violence and drama.
The Cons:
Some action scenes could have benefited from more wide shots. A few of the more dramatic dialogue exchanges were overly cheesy. A few lose ends that would have been nice to tie up or further explain that I won't reveal due to MAJOR spoilers. Not a huge deal though.
ShogunGamer.com Rating :
9

Let me start off by pointing out the logo for our website has a Ninja in it. We don't screw around when it comes to reviewing Ninja flicks and demand only the finest in stealthy bad ass action. Knowing this, you can imagine how high my expectations were for a movie titled "Ninja Assassin" that writes its logo in blood. A bold statement considering the lead actor is a Korean pop mega star.

To most North Americans whenever a pop idol steps onto the big screen and attempts to become a rough and tough action hero (e.g. Justin Timberlake as Green Lantern), the idea is not only ridiculous, it's just wrong. Very wrong. However, here's a Korean pop star who simple calls himself "Rain" who manages to be perfectly plausible as the baddest, bloodiest, most hard core Ninja assassin mother *****er on the planet.

I seriously applaud his role in this film and the training he underweant to make it. Infact, the entire theatre I was in applauded him at least five times during the movies 99 minuet run time. And I'm not talking about a few easily amused fanboys shouting "wooh!" No no my good sir. I'm talking about the entire sold out theatre with viewers young and old, male and female roaring with applause, cheers and whistles. Let us discuss why.

Ninja Assassin follows an orphan boy (Rain), who was taken from the streets as a very young child by a thousand year old Ninja society known as the Ozunu Clan whose existence is considered a myth. He is bestowed with the name Raizo and transformed into a ruthless killer along with an army of other orphans from a variety of races. The movie frequently inter-cuts between scenes of Raizo's youth in the brutal orphanage/ninja factory and the modern day ninja war that is taking place. In Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) stumbles upon a money trail linking several political murders to this ancient network of untraceable assassins. Unfortunately for her, this makes her a prime target for assassination. The Ozunu Clan sends a team of killers, led by the lethal Takeshi (Rick Yune), to silence Mika forever. Raizo, for his own honourable reasons, betrays his clan and saves Mika from her attackers, but knows that the Clan will not rest until they are both eliminated.

Whenever you start mixing certain characters and plots with modern urban city settings you have to be very careful. Things can get cheesy fast. It may not be a Ninja movie, but Predator 2 is a prime example of this. Kinda like McDonalds food, it got the job done but you felt like a dirty ****e for enjoying it because deep down you knew it was wrong.

Ninja Assassin on the other hand does a wonderful job of giving you hardcore no BS action that mixes characters from very two different worlds in a way that exudes awesome. There are few things more rewarding then watching a team of highly trained tactical SWAT officers armed with SMG's, rifles, shotguns and pistols get messed up and diced into pieces by Ninjas. The way they use shadows to conceal and reveal Ninjas in this film is simply brilliant. You honestly believe that people could be trained to become that stealthy.

The action in this film is not for the gore sensitive. Less then three minuets into the movie a Ninja cuts a Yakuza looking gangster's head clean off at the mouth, leaving his tongue flapping in his now exposed throat and the top of his head on the floor. Eyes rolling and everything. The crazy thing is, this death was actually one of the more merciful ones in that scene.

Ninja Assassin is jam packed full of over the top intense action that punishes the viewer for blinking. You do not want to miss a split second of this movie because in that time someone could be cut in half in a ridiculous display of acrobatics. Honestly, I couldn't tell you where the actual stunt work and wire work ends and the CGI begins in most places, because the choreography is just seamless, and breathtaking. Which makes sense, since it's produced by The Wachowski Brothers and directed by their protégé, James McTeigue.

Now, as good as the cinematography and fighting is there are a few scenes where I felt like they got a little lazy and used a lot of close up shaky footage (Michael Bay Transformers Style). Fortunately there are plenty of wide angled and slow motion ass whoopings in this movie. There's even a scene that resembles the multi-zooming-slow-motion-single-shot mayhem found in the movie 300...BUT WITH NINJAS.

One of the other things that really sells this movie is the emotional relationships it builds. You actually care who dies, who survives, who is betrayed and what happens to each characters. Sure, there's a few laughably cheesy dialogue exchanges between some of the characters, mainly between Raizo and his Ozunu Clan female ninja friend. But it's kind of believable that two people who were raised to do nothing but murder in sneaky ways from the age of four and now have feelings for each other might not have the best conversational skills.

If you're like me and have an affectionate soft spot for Ninja's this movie is a must watch in Theatres when it releases this November. Ninja Assassin is by far the best martial arts movie I've seen in a big theatre since The Matrix. I'm not saying the story is nearly as deep, but remember when you first saw bullet time? Imagine that scene involved Ninjas and was 99 minuets long. Go see this movie.
 
im hoping the cheesy dialoge is spoken in japanese with subtitles...
that tends to make things way less cheesy.

its a ninja movie (in a city) what do you expect lol

awesome review... i hope the hype is warranted.
one more month!!
 
I was just wondering has anyone seen the trailer in theaters? Because ever since it was released online I've seen quite a few movies and not one of them played it.
 
cg blood looked ok in V, but overall i really truly hate it.
 
xwolverine2 said:
what'd it show???
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-It featured a bit more dialogue including lines from Sho Kosugi
-New shots including Raizo training, extended shot from the Betrayal scene, shots during the final battle, etc. It's hard to remember everything but it was badass.
 
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