Ninja Assassin
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by James McTeigue
Written by Matthew Sand, J. Michael Straczynski
Starring Rain, Naomie Harris, Shô Kosugi, Ben Miles, Anna Sawai
Warner Home Video
Release Date: March 16, 2010

When Ninja Assassin first made its presence known to us, it sounded like it could be one of the more entertaining flicks on its way to our eyes. Sometimes the production process is a long and trying one, however, and when the movie’s release drew near and every single commercial break had a spot advertising it, I found myself personally losing interest at an alarming rate. The movie had gone from a fun and exciting prospect to a title that had seemingly over-done it before it had even hit theaters.

This of course wasn’t the best of set-ups for someone like myself entering into a review of the movie, but it’s been multiple months now since the theatrical run, allowing the persistent advertisement efforts to wear off enough for me to jump in.

Ninja Assassin tells the story of a secret society of ninjas who inherit orphaned children and turn them into the deadliest killers the world has ever seen, paid 100 pounds of gold (or its equivalent over time) to remove people who need removing. One of these boys is Raizo (Rain), one of the most promising students that their “Father” Ozunu (Shô Kosugi) has ever seen. As time goes on, Raizo realizes that the methods used to discipline the students is a little too extreme. These views are confirmed when it comes to a fellow-student named Kiriko (Anna Sawai), whom he cares deeply for, is punished. Raizo eventually turns his back on everything he’s ever known and leaves this family of ninjas — something that they do not take too kindly to.