Zhang wu shuang

The martial arts film seems to finally be making a comeback in the US market, but a far cry from the boom of the 80s and 90s. Most of the ones that still deliver come from the Asian film market and usually are slapped into a large scale period piece. Every so often you get one that feels more like an old school action film of the past, but a lot of time the action just doesn't live up to the hype. The latest to bring it into a more present day scenario is Ninja Masters but does it bring the action with it or will it be a quick knockout?

Ninja Masters follows a martial arts instructor who is hired as a bodyguard for a powerful couple. When they are kidnapped on her watch, she sets out on a mission to get them back. As her search begins she is given cryptic messages leading her into the world of underground fighting and will have to fight her way to the top to save her clients and get out alive. First and foremost there needs to be a disclaimer on this film. The action is awesome and the story delivers, but there is not a single ninja or anything related to ninjas in this movie. Clearly this was an US release decision to capture audience's attention and will most likely work. That being said the fight scenes are so awesome here you will quickly care less if there are ninjas or not. Sure there are some silly moments and over the top action, but for the most part the story doesn't matter as you are taken on a video game like journey through one awesome fight after another that is sure to keep you entertained. It starts off a bit slow, but rest assured once things get going you will have a blast.

This movie had the feeling of the old school martial arts films and works on just about every level. For the most part the actors all do a great job, but classic ninja movie fans will no doubt get a treat from seeing Kane Kosugi, son of Sho Kosugi, in action tearing up the scene at times even better than his legendary father. If you are a fan of old school martial arts films, then you will love Ninja Masters, just take the title as a nod to Kosugi and don't read into it and let yourself get in on the fun.

This effort, directed by newcomer Xin Xin Xiong, takes movie-making down many notches beyond amateur. Nothing in the movie makes any sense at all.

Nie Yiyi (Jiang Lu Xia) is a skilled martial arts expert working as a security guard after her father's death. A childhood friend, Zhong Tien (Sam Lee), who works as a personal assistant to billionaire Mr He (Eddie Cheung), persuades Yiyi to become a bodyguard to Mr He's wife. Reluctantly Yiyi accepts and she takes her job very seriously.

When both her bosses are kidnapped by a gang of thugs at a restaurant, Yiyi blames herself for it and goes all out to trace the culprits. She is dissuaded from contacting the police by Zhong Tien - and the two follow dubious leads that involve duels at a disco, on top of bamboo scaffoldings, alleyways and bridges. Yiyi soon discovers that all her fights are being recorded on video by a gambling syndicate and streamed over the Internet for people to bet on. And yes, Coweb alludes to Combat Web! There are very few hits but a whole lot of misses. For one, director Xiong mistakes kungfu talent for acting talent and casts newcomer Jiang Lu Xia in such a demanding role. Going through the paces with just one or two expressions (like looking angry and angrier), she fails miserably of course. Jiang's claim to fame was showing off her martial arts skills on the Internet and competing on Jackie Chan's "The Disciple" TV series (a hunt for the next big Hong Kong kungfu star). She can fight but she can't act to save her life.

Next, the dialogue is appalling and you just can't believe the moronic stuff that the director allows to get into the movie. Xiong has one of the baddies go through a door cartoon-style with a cut-out hole; he has Jiang playing a bodyguard without any firearms or contact with the authorities; he portrays Yiyi as an utter idiot believing and following ridiculous leads and clues when the obvious could be seen a mile away; and no attempt is made to explain how the gambling scam works.

However, the most unforgivable flaw is the badly filmed martial arts action. Ever since Raging Bull in 1980, directors and cinematographers have learnt to dramatise the scenes with close-up and slow-motion shots, not to mention CGI-enhanced views to excite our senses. The action here is repetitive and boring, except for a brawl at the bamboo scaffoldings. It is obvious Xiong tries to imitate Jackie Chan's comic 'kungfu' tricks but again, he fails miserably due to poor timing. Jiang is not good enough to carry the movie and Xiong has no idea how to direct a modern martial arts thriller.

Ninja Masters is yet again further proof that Americans, it seems, have great difficulty attempting to market products from overseas (no offense). Korean movies, like The Voice and The Wig both, respectively, when released in America, received incredibly violent covers, despite the general lack of blood present in both features. In the case of this particular martial arts film, to title it Ninja Masters would be like calling me an astronaut - it is false advertising at its most ridiculous.

Initially titled Coweb when released in Asia, this is an entertaining martial arts feature, and though not the greatest movie in the genre, it certainly deserves to be viewed. I might be criticized for writing this, but I wasn't a huge fan of The Protector, a movie this particular film can be contrasted with: in both titles, a brilliant martial artist goes out of their way to save those they've been tasked to protect. Although the choreography, action scenes and direction could not be faulted, I found much of the dialogue in The Protector to be rather uninteresting, and many of the individuals involved to be severely lacking characterization.

Although a similar argument regarding character depth could be made concerning Coweb, the frequency and focus on the fights make up for any lacking substance, and entertainingly keeps the audience vested. The fights do occasionally go for longer than they probably should, and during other moments, it is unfortunately obvious no contact is actually made during a physical altercation, an irritating fact furthered when some characters are kicked backwards, occasionally appearing as though they're either on wires, or jumped at their own volition.

This aside, the use of slow motion that is occasionally employed accentuates the speed and agility of the combatants, while the use of ambient sound during one scene, rather than non-diegetic resources, assists in thrusting the viewer right into the middle of the fights. Although each of the fights are very obviously filmed on sets, the film offers a range of locations, including a traditional fighting ring, a disco club, and a street tourists generally flock towards, the vivid incorporation of color adding an additional visual treat for the senses.

Story-wise, Nie (Jiang Luxia) is an exceptional Wushu trainer, who, after coincidentally bumping into an old acquaintance, is allowed the opportunity to demonstrate her skills, alongside other adept fights, in an attempt to acquire a position as the bodyguard to Ho Kwon (Cheung Siu-Fai), a well respected and revered business man.

Nie, an attractive and honorable individual, who desperately needs the money in order to restore the martial arts academy developed by her father, accepts the offer, however it doesn't take long before her skills are put to the test. When Kwon is abducted, Nie goes to extraordinary lengths to reacquire him, in the process discovering that the kidnappers are directly linked with an online fighting ring, that she will have to descend into if it means saving the man she has sworn to protect with her life.

Over the course of the film, there are a number of predictable moments, including the ending, which doesn't offer a total sense of completion, while on other occasions, annoyingly, characters are unable to see the obvious surprises coming to fruition, though some of them are equally well hidden. Potentially, the film could be accused of revealing some plots a littler too hastily, the decision to hold some moments back for a while longer perhaps been something deftly advantageous the writers ought to have considered. Adjunctively, there are occasions when further explanation might have been a requirement: an example would be when Nie finds herself up against dozens of antagonists, and pulls nunchucks out of, well, to be honest, I'm still unsure where.

Over the course of the title, Ms Luxia is very impressive, her commanding stance being equaled by the confidence she displays in her abilities. Ms Luxia brilliantly coveys emotion through facial and bodily expression, the piano soundtrack that accompanies some of the films more story-oriented moments establishing her personal journey and proficiency, alongside the internalized struggle of what humanity will remain of her once all the fighting is over.

Despite other martial arts features offering material that is potentially more outstanding, there are several moments in the film where Coweb will leave you breathlessly riveted. Though the story is limited in its capacity to hold one's attention, Ms. Luxia not only commands the screen, but is easy on the eyes as well (actually, she's gorgeous), and it's peculiar this talented young woman hasn't appeared in more films. Although Coweb won't appeal to everyone, it certainly doesn't deserve to be discarded simply because American public relations specialists have little idea how to market this product.

"Ninja Masters"? This title was so off that it was painful to bear witness to. There were no ninjas in this movie whatsoever. This title was so misleading and poorly chosen that it was bad on so many levels. A movie title like "The Game" would have been much more in tune with the movie.

The story in "Ninja Masters" is about Nie Yi Yi (played by Luxia Jiang) who goes to Hong Kong with her childhood sweetheart Chung Tin (played by Sam Lee), where she is to work as a bodyguard. But when the ones she is meant to protect are abducted, Nie Yi Yi finds herself in a cruel game of arranged fights for money.

Storywise, then "Ninja Masters" was rubbish. The storyline was so simple that you could keep up with it even with your eyes closed. It was predictable to every step and aspect, and the story is something that has been seen before in many other movies. Not impressive, not great.

However, what managed to keep this movie afloat was the fight scenes. Luxia Jiang is definitely one to keep an eye out for, because she really impressed with her athletics and martial arts in this movie. Sure, the fight scenes tended to drag on too long and take up too much time, and let's face it, no one can sustain such beatings as they did in the movie and still be standing. But still, it was action-packed and full of good moves.

Personally, I think Sam Lee was rather poorly cast for this movie, because his usual pseudo-comedy styled acting was really misplaced in this movie, and it just brought a level of immaturity to the movie that it could have done well without. I am not saying that Sam Lee is a bad actor, as he is fun to watch in Hong Kong comedies, but not in a martial arts movie like this.

And why do movie companies in 2009 still opt to release movies with an English dubbed feature? Seriously, try checking out the dubbed version. It is without a doubt the worst dubbing job I have witnessed. Not only was it done without any heart, soul or interest in the movie at all, but it also sounded like it was done by two or three people sitting around at home with a cassette recorder. It was just awful. Movies are meant to be watched and experienced in the language they are filmed, produced and released. Dubbing is so 1980's!

"Ninja Masters" was far from impressive. And the extended fight scenes couldn't salvage this train wreck of a movie. If you enjoy Asian martial arts movies, then there are far better ones available. The only reason I could think of for anyone to watch this, it would be for the showcasing of Luxia Jiang's skills.

The 4 out of 10 stars rating I am giving "Ninja Masters" is solely because of Luxia Jiang's martial arts performance, and because this is a Hong Kong movie.

If you are looking for a movie with Ninjas: This movie has not even remotely to do with anything Ninja. The cover and the title are purely a marketing lie, there are non Ninjas in it.

Story: Lame, but if you like martial arts movies you, like me, probably don't always expect a witty story.

Martials arts action: Like another reviewer wrote, the editing is bad. But it's not the kind of super-fast editing that covers up completely lame fight choreography, it just feels amateurish. Here and there the choreography lacks a bit of diversity but it is definitely above average. There is some wire work but for my taste it wasn't overdone. And Luxia Jiang got some fine moves.

Bottom line: If you love martial arts movies and don't need outstanding acting and a good story, go for it if you can rent it for a buck or if all the good movies are already rented out.