Carefully! There may be spoilers!
I should say right away that I'm a movie buff, Asian, and a martial arts practitioner, so my review may be a little critical, and may serve as some kind of proof for the eager teenagers who were happily shaking the seats of the movie theater (“Ninja” was shown in in Malaysian cinemas, as opposed to the US, where the film will appear straight to DVD) as blood spattered and heads rolled. “Ninja” turned out to be not as dull as “Ninja Assassin,” which I came across while searching on Google, deciding to find out what the film would be about with the announced mysterious poster depicting a “cookie cutter” ninja against the backdrop of New York. So I I went to the cinema without much expectation.
The film starts out quite well, with some historical background on ninjas in Japan, followed by some beautiful footage of a Japanese dojo with fighters performing katas and combinations of moves. Since most of the actors are Japanese, it feels like a typical Japanese martial arts action movie, until the very different main character played by Scott Adkins appears on screen (though if you think that a Caucasian the guy who played Goku in the film “Dragon Ball: Evolution” is quite suitable for the role, then everything is fine). He showed off his half-naked, muscular body carved from stone. There's nothing wrong with that if you're a screaming fan (like the one in the group of teenagers behind me. Ahem!), but it clearly predicts the direction of the film. This is one of those films that sacrifices the storyline in order to amaze our visual senses. Undoubtedly, it would have been an indescribable delight for the eyes and ears if the main character had not been made such a useless, miserable girl. She is the daughter of a great ninja school teacher and at the beginning of the film she has almost the same level of skill as the main character, so the fact that she is saved countless times becomes very annoying.
If you're wondering why I've been harping on the opening of the film for so long, it's because all the storyline and character development happens in that relatively short period of time. Essentially, the classmate villain attacks the protagonist in anger due to the fact that they are both in love with the protagonist and both are vying for the title of grandmaster. In true martial arts philosophy, such a problem could have been solved if the teacher had not kicked the villain out of school so quickly, and if the protagonist had simply forgiven him (even if it was out of selfishness, in order to keep his enemies closer to himself). It's almost ridiculous when the villain eventually returns to steal a family heirloom that will convince everyone that he successfully completed his studies in school, although he is already a very good killer. Criticizing the teacher in front of everyone, before making an attempt on his life, also raises the question: what was he taught with such talkativeness? The rest of the film is almost all action and involves the theft of a ninja heirloom, which is sent on a ship to New York for safekeeping.
Carefully! Spoiler ahead!
The heirloom is a chest containing an old ninja suit and weapons, but it doesn't compare to the villain's high-tech suit, which reminds me of Batman's armor, with the ability to glide in the air and the bonus of night vision! If that doesn't seem stupid enough, the villain later attacks the ninja school, which the students defended, using bladed weapons. I think this is just an excuse to demonstrate cool and tough group combat. Another thing that upset me is that the hero gets away with murder. I certainly didn't expect high morals, but it reminds me of Luke Skywalker, who was influenced by the dark side of the Force (the villain actually mentions something like this effect in the finale) and became the key to victory because he allowed anger to control him.
Let's be honest, there are some positive aspects to the film, such as well-choreographed fight scenes and real martial artists (even though they clearly don't practice Bujinkan ninjutsu). The high-tech ninja suit isn't quite up to par with Batman's armor, but considering the film's budget, it's pretty good. The filming is also good, all the battle sequences are distinguishable, there is a sense of action and there is no feeling that something is missing, as was the case in “Transformers”. And, of course, the main character and heroine are both pleasing to the eye, add to this the beautiful Japanese landscapes. In conclusion, I will say that I like good endings, and this one, in particular, given how the heroic couple managed to deal with all this New York mess.
If we take the film as a whole, it feels like it was directed by Uwe Boll, known for purchasing the rights to film adaptations of video games (“BloodRayne”, “Dungeon Siege”, “Far Cry”, etc.). At least Ball has a good excuse - compliance with the content of the game, but this does not justify the “holeiness” of “Ninja” (fortunately, not complete). An attempt to combine action and plot ended in the fact that there was neither full-fledged action nor a full-fledged plot. If you are going to make an action movie, cut out all the rubbish and do something like “Rambaud 4” (2008), but if you want a plot, present something sophisticated, like “The Shooter” (2007), to reveal the characters - “Batman Begins” . But be that as it may, I don't think Ninja is a waste of money. The film entertained me well, because I forgot the “thinking cap” at home. If only they would let me sit in the director's chair!
Author: Sharman Chin
Translation: EvilDollaR
not a bad review. We are waiting for the “film masterpiece” itself))
Harshly said, but quite fair. Agree.
A strange review, to put it mildly, in general I am always amazed by lines like this:
Author: Sharman Chin
"I should say up front that I'm a film buff, Asian, and a martial arts practitioner, so my review may be a little critical."
In relation to films with martial arts, the review should be like this right away. You need to smash everything to smithereens, “co-operation” is not welcome here.
I still can’t understand paragraphs like this at all:
Author: Sharman Chin
“I’ll be honest, there are some positive aspects in the film, such as well-choreographed fight scenes and real martial artists.”
How old is this reviewer?
Where are the names of the masters? The entire review should only be about the battle scenes, their discussions, analysis of techniques, biographies of the masters (where are the mentions of Chojun Miyagusuku and Fumio Demura?). Why do I need chatter about landscapes, backgrounds, and even managed to write about Transformers 0_0 Has he eaten too much henbane? To write about Trances in a review of Ninja. About the director of the fight scenes, the reviewer did not mention his experience or knowledge at all, because the scenes with martial arts depend only on this person. And he is all about James McTeigue. “I’ll be honest, there are some positive ones in the film moments, such as well-choreographed action scenes" What kind of scenes? This should, in my opinion, be described in detail in the review. But it is written as if this is an insignificant part of the film and we are talking about a drama or horror film in general.
Author: Sharman Chin
"If you're going to make an action movie, cut out all the junk and do something like Rambo 4 (2008)."
Forbid from such examples and ideas. Why did we give up cheap meat trash? Dear Sharman Chin, do you want something like fights with zombies like in “The Living Dead”? Although the scene there would give a head start to many of today’s fights. We don’t want it.
Author: Sharman Chin
“The film entertained me well, because I forgot the “thinking cap” at home.
The proposal is useless and 100% unnecessary. In such films there will never be a mega plot on the level of well-known plot films. It’s the drive and action that people initially go for in such films, but they should never forget the thought at home =)
The fight in the subway car, in my opinion, was filmed very sluggishly, only a pistol torn out, and the second one thrown away with a foot + a blow to the leg - all this is from the right angle, it looks like a dynamic combo distribution that adds dynamism to the whole scene. Let's leave the tricks on the handrails and crossbars to "Nemova" .With an Actor like Scott Adkins, if you wish, you can create mega scenes, you just need to choose a good cameraman and storyboard artist, as well as, of course, a specialist instructor in the martial art about which the movie is being made. I’m very afraid that the final scene of the fight with the clones the villains in the kangaroos will be greatly obscured, and most likely it will be so.
Returning to the scene in the subway, when the girl defends herself with a “crutch”? The editing is very choppy as such, we don’t see everything happening very quickly and it’s not particularly bright for a movie scene. And why exactly the crutch? Why not a cane? With a crutch you can’t do anything worthwhile, so a couple of grips to the extreme (street kobudo is a huge layer for the imagination). I agree that the daughter of a mega ninjutsu master should not be such a “defenseless whipping doll.” AND the main antagonist himself well, it takes a painfully long time to deal with the punks, well, it takes a very long time to run after the girl for half a scene. Where is the drive of Flashpoint with Donnie Yen, where is the dynamism of the scene (showdown on the carpet with karatekas) from Ip Man with the same Yen? Where is the sophistication of ninjutsu grips, which Masaaki Hatsumi shows on in his seminars, where is all this? But Adkins showed very good technique in the TV series Mile High, excellent sequence of actions and camera work, real Wing Chun (however, this is a topic for a separate article). He should have dealt with robbers like that in Ninja, and not waited for results ,checking his girlfriend's abs =)
There is a severe personnel crisis in the field of such films.
Thanks for your review. We'll watch the film, but I don't expect anything from it at all.
I wasn't impressed by the previews, but I need to watch the whole movie. I love ninjas...