DVD Corner

Ninja Assassin Blu-ray Review

“Ninja Assassin” is a missed opportunity.

The story: Ever since he was a young boy, Raizo trained to become a deadly ninja until an incident involving his friend made him turn his back on his training. Now, as an adult, Raizo is out for vengeance against his former murderous clan. Linked to the main story too is a subplot about a Europol agent (Mika) who is investigating claims of political assassinations at the hands of ninjas.  

As someone who grew up loving ninjas, I was excited at the prospect of a big budget Hollywood ninja film. Besides, ‘Assassin’ had everything going for it. Blood, guts, sword play, ninja stars, flying body parts. Sounds like a recipe for a great ninja flick, right? Sadly, ‘Assassin’ turned out to be anything but great.

Aside from a fantastic ninja action set piece that takes place on a street, there is nothing remotely likeable about “Ninja Assassin.” The dialogue is horrendous, actor Rain has no screen presence, the CGI weaponry and blood ruin the action sequences, the slow-mo is obnoxious, and to top it off, the poorly structured script is non-sensical and clumsy. I’m not sure how you can make a boring ninja film with talented folks like Joel Silver, James McTeigue and J. Michael Straczynski involved, but it’s happened here with “Ninja Assassin.” Avoid.

The 2.4:1 1080p picture quality is sharp looking throughout. The 5.1 DTS-HD audio track sounds fantastic when the ninja action is on screen, but the quiet, dialogue driven scenes sound a bit too low at times.

Extras:
* DVD/Digital Copy.
* An Exclusive New Look At Clash Of The Titans.
* 7 ½ minutes of deleted scenes.
* BD-Live capabilities.
* “Training Rain”- A featurette on the actor’s training for the film.

* “The Extreme Sport Of A Ninja”- A featurette that talks about the actors, actresses freerunners, martial artists, stunt men, and acrobats who worked on the intense action sequences in the film. Interviews with stunt coordinators, choreographers, and directors are included.

March 14, 2010 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 1 | Ninja Assassin Blu-ray Review, Rain