Customer Reviews

Ninja

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

This review will be broken down into two sections: 1) The quality of the movie itself, and 2) The BD Disc quality.

First up, the film itself:

Plot (WARNING, MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!)

The time is present day, and somewhere in a rural region of Japan, a dojo carries on the tradition of the Koga Ninja by training students in the ninja arts. The head of the school, called the Soke, is nearing retirement age and must choose his successor. His top two students are fierce rivals and both are leading candidates to inherit the title of Soke. However, before the Soke can appoint his successor, one of the top two students disgraces himself in a training duel against his rival and is banished from the school. Predictably, the banished student becomes a freelance assassin, and we see him employ his ninja skills to deadly effect in a very cool assassination sequence.

We soon learn that the Soke is the keeper of some ancient Koga weapons which, legend has it, grants the wielder extraordinary abilities. The banished ninja comes calling to claim the weapons, but only after they've been shipped elsewhere for safekeeping. A vicious battle ensues between the bansihed ninja and the Soke, and at the conclusion of this battle, the chase is on for the Koga weapons, with the film culminating in a showdown between, you guessed it, the two rival ninja students. In this climactic battle, only one survives.

As an added bonus, the beautiful daughter of the Soke is thrown into the mix, but sadly, she serves as little more than window dressing. While she demonstrates some ninja skills, she is mostly helpless in a fight and is relegated to the role of damsel in distress more often than not, despite having trained all her life in the ninja arts. Though in her defense, she's fairly useful with a bow and arrow, and she's nice to look at.

The plot is better than most straight to video flicks, and in this case, serves as the thin thread tying the action scenes together, which are themselves well choreographed and well filmed.

The Action:

The action scenes feature the generous use of ninja weapons, including some impressive sword battles, as well as some decent hand to hand fight scenes. Aside from three fairly intense one-on-one fight scenes (all featuring liberal use of the katana), most of the battles feature one of the top ninjas in the film dispatching a multitude of lesser skilled opponents. The star of the film, Scott Adkins (caucasian actor and good guy ninja), demonstrates impressive martial arts and acrobatic ability, and it appears that he performed most of his own stunts. Keep your eyes open for a scene where he uses his acrobatic ability to evade an oncoming car. The ninja villain (asian actor and bad guy ninja, read into that what you will) also seemed to be well versed in martial arts and the use of ninja weapons, and I dare say that the fight scenes in this movie were more impressive than those in "Ninja Assassin" due in equal part to good choreography (far better than a Van Damme or Seagal flick, though don't expect anything as energetic or creative as what you'd see from Hong Kong legends like Yuen Woo Ping, Corey Yuen, Jet Li or Jackie Chan), the actors in this film being experienced martial artists, and an editing style that lingers just long enough on the action (as opposed to the hyper-quick cut aways used in Ninja Assassins, which is the norm for a film featuring actors who aren't very adept at performing the action featured in the film) so you can appreciate the skill of the actors pulling off the moves.

The Acting:

Nothing to write home about. The actors look and play their parts well enough as far as action films like this go, but none of them deliver performances that will leave a long lasting impression on you. That's a good thing though, because the acting isn't horrible either. It's just good enough to move the story along, as threadbare and full of plotholes as it is.

The special effects:

There is liberal use of blood splattering, sometimes into the camera, when a katana is used to lethal effect. The blood didn't look overly cartoony to me, but your tolerance/appreciation of these effects will vary depending on how much of a gorehound you are.

The pyrotechnics are good. Swords clashing generate sparks at the appropriate times, and I recall two separate vehicle explosions also being impressively done.

As for the BLU-RAY itself:

Picture quality on my 1080P Phillips is excellent, though not quite reference material. The image is generally sharp, colors are well delineated with little crush evident in day or night scenes, and there is very little to no film grain, leading me to believe the film was shot digitally, with some grain retained for a film-like appearance.

I can't provide a detailed review of the audio, as I utilize only the speakers on my tv itself, but from what I heard, I can say the audio came across clearly, with dialogue being easy to pick up and louder foley effects, such as swords clashing, gun fire, and explosions, coming in crisply as well.

There is nothing in the way of special features, unless you count previews of other movies.

All in all, if you're not too critical when it comes to martial arts themed movies, and you have an interest in seeing ninjas fighting ninjas and killing people in bloody fashion without an overuse of rapid cut editing, you may be pleasantly surprised. I recommend "Ninja" to viewers who are nostalgic for films like American Ninja (the first and best of the series) and Sho Kosugi films like Revenge of the Ninja.

Is Ninja worth a blind buy though? I'd say for the $15 price tag, it is if you're a fan of violent and bloody ninja films. If you're just a casual fan, a rental is the safest bet.

Either way, whether you rent or buy, there are far worse films in this genre out there, so happy viewing!

I am appalled by the negative reviews of this movie. Compared to Ninja Assassin, a big budget, over hyped movie, and over rated in amazon stars, this one, is better in many ways.
Ok so the story may be very typical. I used to play action figues as a child and would conjure up the same story, rival pupils, jealosy, and the love of his beautiful daughter..... anyways, this move on blu ray is sleek, fast paced (boy was ninja assassin sloooowww) , and down right badass. No excessive (unrealistic) blood like ninja assassin--although it was sweet, but they show you what it would really look like when someone gets chopped up by kitana. Oh and let me say the arsenal used is so sick!!

This movie had be out of my seat at least 4 times in excitement, all the while i am saying to myself how under the radar this movie was and how overly blown away i was by its production value. Sure there are no superstars, but the acting is far from terrible. Besides, its all about the action here.
I can confidently say this is the best action movie of 2010 so far and maybe even 2009 and beyond... definately worth $17 for the blu ray.

This movie is very good despite the poor reviews. I thought the acting was very believable as well as the story. The story was simple and seriously done, which to me was refreshing. I am so tired of martial arts movies with elaborate plots that end up leaving you more confused than when the movie started. To me martial arts movies tend to get too bogged down with heavy plot and cheapen the action. This was not the case with this film. Instead the director seem focus on the action and choreography and keep the story concise enough the keep the audience engaged. I thought this was the best movie about the Ninja I have ever seen, however, the new Ninja Assassin movie has not come out yet on Blu-ray. At least when it does I will have something to compare it to.

I am a huge Martial Arts fan so for me going into any "NINJA" film you have to expect that the plot will be the same, the acting will be the same and hope for good fight scenes. This film delivers! Awesome fight scenes and choreography were shot very well. I was very impressed with the action overall. Hey, it is a "NINJA" film so it does not have to be realistic which is what is great about these films. Kind of reminded me of The Perfect Weapon combined with Revenge of the Ninja. Definitely worth checking out and perhaps purchasing as it is very inexpensive.

I looked at this movie thinking that it would be just another kung fu movie but i felt i was indeed wrong. compared to ninja assassin this movie lives up to its title and the action is indeed greatly appreciated. it has a nice old kung fu movie theme with modern action and value. I feel anyone that like Ninja Assassin would love this movie.

Even though this is a B-rated movie, the action was very good. If you're into action and ninja movies, this is the one to have.

Excellent action movie! Enjoyed it to its fullest. Had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie. Rent it or buy and add to your library collection of excellent movies!

There has been a modest revival in Ninja films in the last year, with Ninja Assassin [DVD] [2009] triggering an inevitable wave of DTV low-budget entries into the somewhat anaemic Ninja action movie sub-genre. Ninja follows hot on the heels of the Casper "I was in Starship Troopers once" Van Dien vehicle, Mask of the Ninja- a movie that has almost nothing going for it. Mask of the Ninja stumbles and splutters between poorly executed fight scenes, as Van Dien and his co-stars embarrassedly mumble their way through atrocious dialogue; add to the mix awful Seven [DVD] -style editing and poor lighting, and you have a film that isn't worth two hours of your life.

Ninja is a much better film. While not quite harking back to the Ninja genre's giddy, exploitation heights ( for instance Revenge of the Ninja [DVD] [1983] or American Ninja [DVD] [1985]), the director Isaac Florentine wisely realizes the limitations of his budget, and avoids the temptation of Bourne shaky-cam, while firmly training his camera on star Scott Adkins, who is quite simply phenomenal. Adkins brings a physicality to the role that is reminiscent of Jason Statham in The Transporter/Transporter 2, with the added bonus of being able to do some crazy Tony Jaa-style acrobatics. While the plot, acting, lighting, and score are all barely perfunctory, the fight choreography elevates this movie to low budget, trashy, greatness.

A westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja, to prevent it from falling into the hands of a dangerous Yakuza. Scott Atkins delivers the goods big time as the hero ninja Casey further cementing him as a go to action guy. The moves this guy can do are out of this world. The story is pretty basic. An adopted American taken in and raised as a ninja. The fight scenes for the most part are beautifully done. Yes there are some cheesy lines, but that is part of the fun of these movies. I recommend you watch it.

I just saw this movie and totally recomend it to all you ninja and martial arts fans!!! Some great camara work, awesome choreography, very nice action scenes, a good rivalry and the story isn't half bad. For those of you who might want more story detail, don't expect any twists its a simple story of 2 men at odds, one of them has something the other wants and wont stop at nothing to attain. Sure it has its problems, mainly the cult that the bad ninja works for and police ethics... The acting isn't going to win any Academy Awards but the actors all do good work with the material they had, I'm interested in seeing what they do next.
Bottom line: Movie kicks major ass and does it well, action fans rejoice.