Ninja Assassin (2009)

A young ninja turns his back on the orphanage that raised him, leading to a confrontation with a fellow ninja from the clan.

Director:

James McTeigue

Writers:

Matthew Sand (screenplay), J. Michael Straczynski (screenplay)

Stars:

Rain, Rick Yune, Naomie Harris

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rain	...	Raizo
Joon Lee	...	Teenage Raizo
Jonathan Chan-Pensley	...	Yakuza Henchman
Ill-Young Kim	...	Yakuza Mohawk
Yuki Iwamoto	...	Yakuza Couch
Ben Miles	...	Maslow
Naomie Harris	...	Mika
Sung Kang	...	Hollywood
Linh Dan Pham	...	Pretty Ninja (as Linh-Dan Pham)
Fang Yu	...	Laundromat Manager (as Yu Fang)
Adriana Altaras	...	Landlady
Shô Kosugi	...	Ozunu (as Sho Kosugi)
Kylie Goldstein	...	Young Kiriko (as Kylie Liya Goldstein)
Sungwoong Yoon	...	Young Raizo
Eleonore Weisgerber	...	Mrs. Sabatin

Storyline

Trained since childhood to be a lethal killer, Raizo has since turned his back on the Ozunu clan that raised him and now seeks revenge for their heartless murders. Teaming up with Europol investigator Mika, Raizo steadily butchers his enemies while inching ever closer to the long-awaited bloody reunion with his former master.

---

Plot Keywords:

ninja | kung fu | martial artist | martial arts | clan | 

---

Taglines:

Prepare to enter a secret world of assassins.

---

Genres:

Action | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody stylized violence throughout, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ninja Assassin

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,316,158, 29 November 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,105,077, 7 February 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Legendary Entertainment, Dark Castle Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

2 actors from this movie have been featured in the "Fast & Furious" franchise, Rick Yune & Sung Kang.

---

Goofs

Since Mika gave Raizo the homing capsule, his former ninja colleagues shouldn't have been able to leave the country with him. However, the authorities would have had to let the clan take Raizo back to their home dojo in order to locate it.

---

Quotes

[Ozunu's face is slashed by Raizo]
Ozunu: Kill him!

---

Crazy Credits

Part of the closing credits take place in a montage of spinning ninja weaponry, blood splashes and blurred ninja arenas.

---

Connections

Referenced in Movie Friends - Eine Videothek stellt sich vor (2013)

---

Soundtracks

Heroes
Written and Performed by David Bowie

User Reviews

Gore and Cartoonish Action Movie

In Berlin, the Europol researcher Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) shows evidences of the existence of a network of assassin ninjas in the murder of politicians to her chief Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles). She is hunted down by the ninjas and protected by the mysterious ninja Raizo (Rain).

Mika learns that Raizo is an orphan raised by the Ozunu Clan in Japan and brutally trained since childhood to be a heartless killer by his master Ozunu (Sho Kosugi). Raizo has been attracted by the kind Kiriko (Anna Sawai) since when he was a boy. When Kiriko decides to runaway from the Ozunu Clan, she is captured and executed by Raizo's ninja brother Takeshi (Rick Yune). Soon Raizo turns against Ozunu and cuts his face. Now he is also hunted down by his ninja brothers. Mika convinces Raizo to meet Maslow, but they are betrayed. Will they survive the attack of the Ozunu Clan?

"Ninja Assassin" is a gore and cartoonish action movie that follows the violence of Takashi Miike. The plot is flawed, the characters are poorly developed but the action makes this movie worthwhile watching with violent fights like in a video-game, great choreography and lots of gore. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Ninja Assassino" ("Assassin Ninja")