Cast

Scott Adkins as Casey

Seriously... I don't find it "cool" to have a muscular-ben-stellar-alike guy to star the role of a ninja. I would prefer a well-built, but not over-built person for this role. Ninja were supposed to be mysterious, swift and skillful. In the whole movie, I don't see the "ninja" in him. To me he's just like a hitman, who can fight more skillfully than one, but definitely not a ninja. Ninja was supposed to be one who can give an instant killing blow but it disappoints me to watch him take so long to take down a couple of fat bouncers.

Mika Hijii (肘井美佳) as Namiko

She's the heroine in the movie. I was scratching my head when she first appeared in the movie, trying to figure who she is as she looks very familiar. It suddenly struck my head - Kaoru from the series "GARO".  Anyway I still think that she looks lovely - her image in this movie as the same as in GARO.

Not a very strong character in this movie. She's the typical dad-got-killed-and-she-got-caught-waiting-for-hero-for-the-rescue type of character. In the beginning she can fight pretty well with a bo staff but later in the movie she just got pawned easily - doesn't really resemble a daughter of the Soke (宗家, master) of a Ninja dojo. I expected more from her.

It was funny to see how she comes up with a very nice fighting stance when going against Masazuka in the police station, only to get knock down by him after delivering just 1 kick. I couldn't stop laughing after seeing that.

I did felt a pain in my heart when I saw her getting beaten up in the train scene. I know it's movie but still i felt pity that such good looking girl had to get beaten up so badly.

Tsuyoshi Ihara (伊原剛志) as Masazuka

Probably more suited to be a ninja in the movie. I like to see him fight with his katana (probably just a stuntman since he's wearing the ninja suit). He's probably like Snake (from the game "Metal Gear Solid") with some ninja skill in him. Fights with both modern and traditional weapons - Gun + Katana... sounds like Dante (from the game "Devil May Cry") to me. Also I like how he uses night goggles to his advantage - smart move, that should be the way of the Ninja, to kill you silently in the dark. I prefer to watch him over Scott Adkins.

Plot

The story was pretty straight forward:

The Soke of the ninja school, Master Takeda, father of Namiko has the role to preserve and protect the legendary weapons passed down by the Koga (甲賀) clan ninja, stored in the Yorui Bitsu. There were 2 candidates in which he needs to choose from to pass down the role of the Soke - Casey and Masazuka.

Casey was an american, who was abandoned by his parents in Japan since he was a kid. Master Takeda took care of him and trained him the skill of "ninja". Masazuka on the other hand, trained under Master Masazuka since young and his aim was always to be the Soke.

So the whole plot was Masazuka got jealous of Casey and tried to him during a practise. Masazuka was expelled from the school by Master Takeda. Several years later Masazuka became an assasin/mercenary and tried to obtain the Yorui Bitsu. Master Takeda sensed the danger and had ordered Casey and Namiko to transport the Torui Bitsu all the way, from Japan to New York, to be kept in the vault of an university.

So in pursuit of the Yorui Bitsu, Masazuka killed Master Takeda and the other apprentices in the dojo, traced down the location of Casey and Namiko, created chaos in NYC, caught Namiko, treatened Casey to hand out the Yorui Bitsu and ended up killed by Casey by a stab to the stomach. Story ends....phew....that was pretty easy...

My Opinion

There are a few things which bothers me:

1. Why are they called ninja if they couldn't even do any "jutsu" (術). Too much Naruto for me maybe... But I expect at least some fire breathing technicque in the movie.

2. Why can't Namiko, the daughter of the Soke, trained since young under her father fight decently?

3. If the weapons in the Yorui Bitsu were really so important, how come in the end of the movie they were scattered all around the floor and no one bothered picking them up?

Overall I find the story very "predictable". I can already tell my friend the ending and he was surprised and thought that I had read the sypnosis of the movie.

The character I like best is still Masazuka as his acting skill, his expression was the best and he portrait the image of "ninja" the best. Casey, looked more like Subzero/Scorpion (from the game "Mortal Combat") and his over-built muscle really put me off - Bruce Lee-alike actor would have been better. How can such muscular person try to hide himself behind a tree or jumps over a wall easily like an ninja? ok there wasn't such scene but this is what I expect from a ninja.

The part I enjoyed the most was the fighting by Masazuka, not by anyone else. Skill, precise and it really does look like ninja/samurai. Not like Casey, fighting with fists and kicks like ordinary human.

Ok I admit that I'm being very bias towards Masazuka but this is just personal opinion. In a nutsehll, I would watch this movie again, but just for the fighting scene.

Now I'm struggling whether or not to watch "Ninja Assasin".