* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Ninja Assassin
ニンジャ・アサシン
A 2009 Hollywood ninja action film directed by James McTeigue and starring Korean singer and actor Rain (Pi). It depicts the escape and revenge of the assassin Raizo, who rebelled against the code of the ninja clan led by Ozunu (En no Ozunu).
Description
Overview
Ninja Assassin (original title: Ninja Assassin) is an action film released in the United States in November 2009. Directed by James McTeigue, with the Wachowskis and Joel Silver credited as producers, its screenplay was written by J. Michael Straczynski, known for Babylon 5, among others. The lead role is played by Rain (Pi), a South Korean singer and actor, and the film was released in Japan in March 2010.
Plot
The protagonist, Raizo, comes from the Ozunu clan, a modern-day ninja organization that gathers orphans and trains them as assassins. After witnessing the execution of Kiriko, the woman he loves, he turns against the clan leader, Ozunu, and sets out to destroy the organization. Teaming up with Mika Coretti, an investigator from the European Criminal Police Organization (Europol), through a back-and-forth of pursuit and assassination attempts, Raizo finally faces Ozunu in a final showdown. Ozunu is both his foster father and his arch-enemy.
Ninja Gear and Weapons
The weapon Raizo uses most often throughout the film is a ninja tool resembling a kusarigama, a chain with a sickle-shaped blade attached to its end. It is memorably depicted in their first encounter, when he slashes Ozunu's face. Close combat with shuriken and blades reminiscent of Japanese swords also appears throughout the film, and the film's art design is built around ninja costumes and gear made for fighting in darkness, a visual theme that runs through the entire film.
Reception and Cultural Impact
Critical reception was generally harsh, and the film had only a 26% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. At the box office, however, it grossed $61.6 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million. Rain won the MTV Movie Award for "Biggest Badass Star" for the film. Although it places more emphasis on stylish assassin action than on historical accuracy, it is an example of Hollywood's reinterpretation of Japanese ninja culture, a Japanese martial arts tradition, and it had a certain influence on shaping the image of the ninja abroad.
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This page is intended to introduce Japanese sword culture and is not affiliated with any of the works mentioned.