Ninja Assassin | Strong Asian characters with mainstream sex appeal at VIFF! at Schema : more than ethnic

I'm all for undoing the martial arts Asian stereotype, but I have to admit that I left this film saying, "I think I want to be a ninja." For Halloween anyway (and maybe Powell Street Festival too). In the classic style of director James McTeigue (Speed Racer, V for Vendetta) and Producers Andy and Larry Wachowski (who brought us The Matrix), Ninja Assassin's opening sequence sets the tone for "you're going to love this" if you get turned on by a combination of sophisticated martial arts and a level of gore that should really only be seen in manga-animation. The enthusiastic applause that followed the intro was reminiscent of the audience's response to the opening sequence of The Matrix some ten years ago. For this reason I'm so happy I opted to skip the advance media screening and share this experience with a the general public.

There truly was a sense that the Wachowski brothers and James McTeigue were trying to take the martial arts genre up a notch. According to McTeigue,

"The Matrix changed the way people watched movies. Every now and again you get an epochal film that changes the way you view cinema and I've been lucky enough to be exposed to that ... we've basically worked with the same people for 10 years now and you're always trying to take it to the next level." (vancouver.24hrs.ca)

From the film, it's clear that the "next level" is being set by Asian cinema. Ninja Assassin is not that gory when compared to the Japanese film Blood: The Last Vampire, released in May 2009 (Japan) and possibly the most anticipated film of the summer in Asia. Keeping true to the manga-animated film of the same name, bodies are cut in half and blood spews in the same exaggerated convention of Japanese animation.

Although it was very cool when the demon-like ninjas moved through the shadows, taking on an almost supernatural nature, the special effects weren't really ground-breaking. Neither was the script. I have to agree with Blaine Kyllo's review on cinemaspy.com, the script was not as strong as it could have been.

What sets Ninja Assassin apart is the depiction of Asian men. Undeniably, there are some stereotypes—the gangsters and the martial arts—but the cool-factor of these characters is unmatched. The main character, Raizo, was played by Korean pop megastar Rain. Yes, there were some corny "Keannu Reeves moments," but this wasn't the monotone performance of Jet Li's attempts to cross-over into English-language movies. Rain's character was witty, charming and came with a lot of sex appeal in the form of abs, abs and more abs. Kind of Ryan Reynold's like.

The cast of Ninja Assassin also included some of my most favorite Asian American actors, Sung Kang (who plays gangster boss, Hollywood), Rick Yune (who plays Raizo's nemesis, Takeshi) and Sho Kosugi (Lord Ozunu), who was the original cinematic ninja of the 1980s (see Enter the Ninja and Revenge of the Ninja). And unexpectedly, the female lead is black. Mika Coretti, played by Naomie Harris. Her character lacked development, but depicted her as the average American girl who works as a forensic scientist.

And Vancouver was the perfect place for an early premier. McTeigue, in an interview in vancouver.24hrs.ca, commented, "I was keen to come up here because there is a large Asian population that would suit the film." Perhaps what he meant was that Vancouver has a strong Asian sensibility that goes beyond the large Asian population. Evident in the equally large number of non-Asian ninja cinema enthusiasts.

All that to say, I can't wait to watch it again. I can look past the script's shortfalls for all the other great stuff that makes this "a bloody, blockbuster martial arts extravaganza." If you can't wait until November 25 for the North American theatrical release, you can join the mass line-up of those trying to catch the VIFF's final screening of the film on:

Friday, October 16 at 1:30 p.m. at Empire Granville 7 Cinemas, 855 Granville Street.