Ninja

I have been wanting to see a new ninja movie (that's good) for a long time, and I was impatiently waiting for this one to be released, seeing that it's a Nu Image/Millennium film (they make above average direct-to-DVD movies) and that it was to be directed by action expert Isaac Florentine. And I was overall satisfied. Granted, I could list some flaws, such as the fact the Boaz Davidson screenplay contains elements that will be familiar to those who have seen other ninja movies in the past, and it has the hero on several occasions dragging the female lead behind him despite the fact she's an accomplished fighter like him. But there's a lot more to like. The movie is slickly made, well-photographed and lit, and the chosen Bulgarian locations manage to pass off as New York (believe it or not!) The fight scenes are pretty brutal and exciting, resulting in some great splatter (though I wish the blood and gore had not been mostly done with CGI). Yes, this movie is far from great art, but if you are looking for ninja action, this movie delivers.

A westerner young ninja named Casey Bowman (Scott Adkins) is trained since chidhood to be a deadly Ninja , studying Ninjutsu in Japan , then he is asked by the Master (Igawa) to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu , an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja . But an angry revenger called Masazuka (Tsuyoshi Ihara) is nowadays seeking a merciless vendetta for his old mates and taking on the former master who trained him . As the ominous Masazuka to return demanding vengeance against the veteran Sensei . Things go wrong when Casey's girlfiend , Namiko Takeda (Mika Hijii) , is captured. At the end the terrible happenings leading to a lethal confrontation with the old fellow Ninja , our tough-fisted hero and other Ninja assassins . A silent warrior. A deadly past. A lethal mission. Revenge will rise . From the shadow of the night, a warrior is born not the weapon but the hand that wields it. Raised to become an assassin... until betrayal made him a target . Prepare to enter a secret world of heartless assassins .

It's a westernized oriental action film with an interesting mingle of suspense , brutal martial arts , sword-play , ancient ritual with typical code of honour and bloody combats . The gory plot is simple and plain , a nasty Ninja confronts the clan that raised him , and starring Casey/Scott Adkins being forced into action and steadily butchering his relentless enemies , while inching ever closer to the long-awaited bloody reunion with the infancy contender. This a nail-biting thriller with ustoppable action , including impressive fighting with a lot of blood and gore . It's a mindless but enjoyable story for martial arts aficionados of the old style , but adding some new technical being made by means of wires , cables and digital computer generator . Abundant fights as swords struggles in which arms , body parts and beheading are slice off here and there and limbs are slit open everywhere or blasted apart . Of course , highlights of the film are the breathtaking and groundbreaking fights with lots of blood dropping here and there . Cruel, savage murders and blood splatter , make only recommended for those adults no squeamish and with strong stomach enough to take it .The motion picture was professionally directed by Isaac Florentine .

This film belongs to ¨Ninja sub-genre¨ that achieved splendor in the Eighties : The first movie was ¨Enter the Ninja¨ (81) by Menahem Golan with Franco Nero , Menahem Golan was director of the first film , and was to direct its sequel also , but shortly before production was to start he decided to turn over directing chores to Sam Firstenberg . It was followed by the martial arts features ¨Ninja II¨ or ¨Revenge of the Ninja¨ (1983) with Shô Kosugi , Keith Vitali , Kane Koshugi and ¨Ninja III , the domination¨ with Lucinda Dickey and again Sho Kosugi . These pictures were well produced by Cannon -Golan and Globus- and all rightly directed by Sam Firstenberg . Following others also directed by Sam Firstenberg for Golan-Globus' as ¨American Ninja¨ , ¨American Ninja II and III¨, ¨Forced vengeance (82)¨ and ¨Avening force (1986)¨ most of them starred by low-grade expert on karate genre and Ninja sub-genre Michael Dudikoff . Following this 2009 ¨Ninja I¨ by Isaac Florentine , along with ¨Ninja II¨with Scott Adkins and Kane Koshugi . Furthermore , ¨Ninja Assassin¨ by James McTeigue with Rain , Naomi Harris .

The plot is pretty weak in this movie, and lacks a really intense story, despite trying so hard to be intense. It gets by on some incredible fights with Scott Adkins, and quite frankly, I bet I'm not alone when it comes to people watching this movie, simply because of Adkins. It starts off a little slowly in the first half. Tsuyoshi Ihara provides some great intensity, and some good villainy, but it lacked the proper excitement for me. Once the second half begins, things really begin to heat up. The action is so strong, you tend to block out the average story. If Adkins's subway fight sequence isn't enough for you, then Adkins's going completely ballistic in the finale, by making many martial artists look foolish will definitely hit the spot. This guy is incredible, and if given the chance, he could be the action star the genre has lacked since the heyday of the 80's action heroes. I wouldn't call it a great performance, but he acquits himself decently. If you're not blown away by some of Adkins's moves, I really question your judgment. His love story with Mika Hijii isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's moving enough. Speaking of Mika Hijii, she's far from a damsel in distress. Not only does this woman kick major ass, but she takes a beating like a champ. I cringed in some of those scenes, but she held her own big time. It's pretty violent, if you like that sort of thing. I personally like violence. The finale is a bit over the top with the dramatics, but it does the job

Final Thoughts: See it for some of the terrific action scenes. Scott Adkins won't let you down. As long as you keep in mind that it's not a great movie, you should be able to find mild enjoyment. I didn't mind it. I'm actually curious about the upcoming sequel

5.3/10

"Ninja" does something that is hard to do.... it updates something from the past but still retains a nostalgic feel about it. Sometimes it felt like it was 1985 and I was a kid sitting on the living room floor eating popcorn and watching American Ninja. But then I see Scott Adkins do an amazing aerial kick and I know I'm not watching Michael Dudikoff. "Ninja" takes a similar formula and story from those ninja movies from the 80's and combines it with a hard hitting and acrobatic fighting style seen in today's martial arts movies. This movie was a lot of fun and if you grew up watching ninja and martial arts movies in the 80s like me, you will definitely enjoy it.

First let's get one thing straight! This is a genre movie. If you go into it thinking you are going to watch the Godfather then you are going to be disappointed. Scott Atkins delivers the goods big time as the hero ninja Casey further cementing him as a go to action guy. The moves this guy can do are out of this world. The story is pretty basic. An adopted American taken in and raised as a ninja. The fight scenes for the most part are beautifully done. Tsuyoshi Ihara is the real discovery of this movie. This guy should be getting some steady work. Now the bad stuff. The C.G.I. blood was cool in some parts, but over the top in others. The gliding with the wings could have been left out. The C.G.I. was a little over the top in the sword fights. I was also disappointed with the character Namiko. She was a little to frail for modern day women in action movies. Yes there are some cheesy lines, but that is part of the fun of these movies. The movie screams old school 80's movie, but in a good way. It ends up being a far superior film than Ninja Assassin and was made for a fraction of the cost. If you love action movies and hate the metro-sexual heroes that we get jammed down our throats every film then this is the movie for you. I hope we get to see more like this because this movie had my blood racing the entire time.