Sometimes, movies that can’t reasonably be called halfway great (or even good, for that matter) can endure as perennial favorites in spite of bad reviews for one or two reasons in particular. In the case of 2009’s Ninja Assassin, the martial arts flop has lived on as an unabashed cult favorite because it’s absolutely out of its f*cking mind.
Yes, the film takes itself roughly ten times too seriously for something that inherently comes drenched in a thick layer of silliness, and the action sequences are regularly edited to within an inch of their life, so much so that it borders on the incomprehensible at points. And yet, Rain’s lead character Raizo slices off arms, legs, faces, and other assorted body parts with such recklessly straight-faced abandon that it’s hard not to get caught up in the moment.
Netflix subscribers appear to be in full agreement anyway, looking at how V for Vendetta director James McTeigue’s ode to martial arts madness has sliced and diced its way onto the platform’s global most-watched chart, per FlixPatrol. Look, Ninja Assassin is a million miles away from being a classic, and if you don’t like your actioners drenched in excessive levels of blood and gore, then maybe it’s not for you.
However, if you can get on the precise wavelength required to extract the most enjoyment from the 99-minute exercise in demented batsh*t insanity, then we can’t recommend it highly enough. If you want a balls-to-the-wall display of carnage that lives up to the title and then some, though, then it’s hard to go wrong with Ninja Assassin.
Published: Oct 7, 2022 11:51 am