Ninja
Assassin (2009/Warner Blu-ray
w/DVD + DVD)
Picture:
B/C+ Sound: B/B- Extras: D Film: C-
When
James McTeigue helmed V For Vendetta,
I was very impressed by the film and continue to believe it is as underrated as
it was the target of political censorship.
Then he took over doing some directing on The Invasion, the failed 2007 third official remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers that has
some interesting moments despite its many troubles. Now comes Ninja Assassin (2009), an even more failed dud that has the hero
fighting a killer rival who is killing for the government, so the only way he
can win is to do much killing.
After a
highly unfunny, violent opening that is too self-amused for its own good
replete with much digital blood and several body parts on several people being
slices away, a singer named Raiza (played by Rain, who sings pop music
overseas) teams up with an agent from Europe (Naomie Harris) to battle this
evil clan. Unfortunately, it is every
cliché and even stereotype this subgenre of the martial arts genre that fades
in and out of popularity. This one is
empty, desperate and is an almost total mess.
It works very, very briefly in some of the non-digital fights, but it is
otherwise one to skip. McTeigue needs to
choose his next project very wisely, or he can hang it up.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is shot in Super 35mm format by Karl
Walter Lindenlaub, A.S.C., B.V.K., with the usual artificial darkening of every
scene (in part to make the digital not look as bad as it is) and though the
Blu-ray is good and consistent, it is not exactly demo quality in any
particular shot. The anamorphically
enhanced DVD is worse with poor Video Black the old format cannot handle and
that applies to the DVD includes with the Blu-ray and the stand-alone DVD
version.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix has some good surrounds, but the mix has an
inconsistent soundfield that disappoints and some recorded elements are not as
good as others. You can hear this in the
DVD’s weak Dolby Digital 5.1 mix as well.
Extras in
both formats include deleted scenes, but the Blu-ray adds BD Live interactive
features and a Digital Copy of the film for PC and PC portable devices, plus
three making of featurettes: The Myth
& Legends Of Ninjas, The Extreme
Sport Of A Ninja and Training Rain.
- Nicholas Sheffo
