Producers: Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski, Grant Hill
Director:James McTeigue
Story: Matthew Sand.
Stars:Sung Kang, Randall Duk Kim, Jonathan Chan Pensley, Yuki Iwamoto, Ill-Young Kim, Ben Miles, Naomie Harris, Rain

CREATIVE QUOTIENT
The opening sequence of Ninja Assassin is so full of gore that you wonder whether the genre is ultra-violence rather than action. The scene, has a yakuza gang demolished by a lone ninja. Ninja Assassin follows Raizo, one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing for revenge.

In Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti has stumbled upon a money trail linking several political murders to an underground network of untraceable assassins from the Far East. Defying the orders of her superior, Ryan Maslow, Mika digs into top secret agency files to learn the truth behind the murders. Her investigation makes her a target and the Ozunu Clan sends a team of killers, led by the lethal Takeshi, to silence her forever. Raizo saves Mika from her attackers, but he knows that the Clan will not rest until they are both eliminated.

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
Ninja Assassin can never hope to be seminal of its genre. For one it is a genre muddle, also the lack of a plausible storyline and the justification of the killer gangs leaves the film a wobbly leg to stand on. It manages to create a few interesting scenes — pitting SWAT teams versus ninjas, a first, but it becomes jaded soon. Yes, there’s a unusual action sequence in which a ninja fights lit only by flashlight and even that gets repeated later in the film. However nifty the action sequences are all in the dark.

The performances do little. Korean pop star Rain as Raizo lacks appeal. Naomi Harris is equally flat and Ben Miles is given little to do. Sho Kosugi, a ninja film vet, makes for a competent villain, but can’t be expected to carry the entire movie by himself.

James McTeigue’s direction lacks the discipline he showed in V For Vendetta. If the goal is to pay homage to the fairly bloody ninja films of yore, as in the climax of Kill Bill: Vol. 1, that mark, too, is missed. Instead, we get what maybe fairly intricate fight choreography obscured by digital blood.

Uncertain of what it wants to be, Ninja Assassin will likely disappoint action fans.