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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Raised to become an assassin... until betrayal made him a target.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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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

The Wachowski sisters were so impressed by Rain's performance in Speed Racer (2008) that they were inspired to create this project for him.

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Goofs

Raizo is making tea. The teapot whistles. But when Raizo takes the teapot from the stove, there is no whistle on the teapot's spout.

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Quotes

[Mika shoots Ozunu, and he shadowblends away]
Raizo: Mika, run!
Mika Coretti: Where is he? WHERE IS HE?

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Crazy Credits

The Warner Bros, Legendary Pictures, Dark Castle and Silver Pictures logos appear from and disappear into darkness, similar to a ninja's shadow-blending ability. They are also completely metallic, with a few streaks of blood.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Fights in Bathrooms (2014)

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Soundtracks

Frohe Schritte
Performed by BKL-Brockdorff Klang Labor

User Reviews

Ninja KickAssassin!

I had no expectations going into this movie except for a crap load of blood and guts and pure cheese. It delivered that and more. I think I expected a bit of a throwback to the classic 80s ninja movies but it really took it beyond that realm and made into something new and awesome.

Director James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) took a simple script and created a serious take on a laughable genre, providing great action scenes that made me actually clap out loud with the rest of the audience - an amazing feat if you consider the lack of any recognizable actors.