Happy Thanksgiving all!  In honor of Warner Bros. new release Ninja Assassin, we should cut the turkey tomorrow with a katana. Coming out at an unexpected time among the family holiday movies, Ninja Assassin is a blood soaked marriage of martial arts action and computer generated imagery that is sure to please fans of the genre. 
Ninja Assassin Begins with an investigation into a number of world-wide political assassinations supposedly performed by an unknown group of ninjas.  Leading said investigation is Mika, played by the very attractive Naomie Harris. With the assistance of Maslow (Ben Miles) she finds enough information to make her a target of the Ozunu Clan. Upon gathering news of this new assassination target, Raizo (Rain), prepares to use the opportunity to take his revenge on the clan after they murdered the woman he loved. 
With the introduction of Raizo, the story jumps between his present day and his life growing up within the Ozuno clan. This character growth really helps define Raizo’s anger toward the clan and his need for revenge. It’s where the script really shines, but sadly this theme is left behind about half way through the movie. What follows is a hint at a relationship forming between Mika and Reizo but is clumsily performed through awkward conversation between the two.  After hearing the line “Your heart is special” repeated several times I began to groan each time they opened their mouths. 
The martial arts action in Ninja Assassin is the reason to see a movie of this type and this film does not disappoint.  Raizo’s main choice of weapon is the Kusari Gama, which is a fresh departure from the standard ninja sword setup I’ve seen many times before.  At times it becomes too easy to discern Rain’s actual talent from computer generated enhancement, but no matter, it still looks cool to watch him send the giblets flying all over the screen. The scene lit by red lights is extremely brutal and easily rivals the crazy 88 scene in Kill Bill Vol. 1 with buckets of blood, flying limbs, and severed torsos thrown about. 
With a script penned by the great J. Michael Straczynski I would have expected more substance from Ninja Assassin. What starts out as a strong tale of betrayal and revenge becomes jumbled and messy with the introduction of a love theme that distracts the audience from the action and never really takes off. In its 99 minute run time the poor plot only serves as a weak setup to introduce the amazing over the top fight scenes, and let’s face it, we really only came for the fight scenes. 
They copious amounts of disembodied limbs and gore that Ninja Assassin offers may turn the squeamish away, but fans of the genre will love the blend of stylized action and ultra violence.  Others looking for an action flick to break up the monotony of the many holiday releases will also enjoy the non-stop action that Ninja Assassin offers.    
ComicsOnline gives Ninja Assassin 3.5 out of 5 *ninja* stars.