Fantastic
Fest Review: Ninja Assassin cinematical
One can't ask too much of a film called Ninja Assassin -- that's a given -- but James McTeigue's proper directorial
follow-up to V for Vendetta does its damnedest to take that insta-pulp title and weave around it a worn-out tale of forbidden
love, family betrayal, and government conspiracy. Complete with some hard-to-see fight scenes and some harder-to-hear dialogue,
all delivered with a poker-straight face and capped off with some super-splattery kills, it's like a graphic novel adaptation
with comic book punctuation, a film so flagrant in its fakery that it almost forgets to have any fun.
Raizo (Korean
pop star Rain, of Speed Racer and "Colbert Report" fame) was once an orphan, raised by a secretive clan to, um, assassinate
as, well, a ninja would. One forbidden fling and one shamed father later, and our pariah protagonist is off to Berlin in order
to save Europol* agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) from the grisly fate that her criminal investigations have inevitably
drawn.
To its credit, Assassin doesn't skimp on its action sequences, but what's there is a flurry of fury at best,
cluttered with the exaggerated motions of swinging swords and throwing star after throwing star, and then cut up to undermine
the genuine physical efforts of its lead and countless stuntmen at every turn. Two night fights early on are near indecipherable
in execution, while a mid-point slo-mo slice-and-dice shot seems lifted wholesale from Warner Brothers' own 300. Worse yet,
each kill is then accompanied by a garish burst of computer-generated bloodshed, a novelty that wears out its welcome from
the prologue on and renders each subsequent death scene as unremarkable and unexciting as the last.
And each video
game has its share of cut-scenes, we're treated to the cheesiest dialogue uttered by a uniformly wooden ensemble in between
melees. As the eponymous soldier of stealth, Rain only fares best because he has less to say than this review does and is
often shirtless demonstrates a viable physicality that goes otherwise obscured during the chopped-up, blur-happy battles.
Harris plays panicked on cue, and McTeigue vet Ben Miles (Racer, Vendetta) plays her boss/boyfriend with a perfectly adequate
sense of skepticism. None, though, can manage to make the plodding plotting seem particularly urgent or critical in the greater
scheme of things, and none can justify the handy mysticism that creeps in enough to make literal shadows out of assailants
and heal any wound at any time.
All of the back story in the world can't make us care about what made a ninja assassin
just that, though, similar to how all of the whooshing sounds can't help us grasp just who is sparring with who when the chit-chat
does subside, and all of those flying fluids can't disguise the fact that Ninja Assassin is a thoroughly bloodless experience.
*That's right, it's not even Interpol. Hell, the film should just take place in Schmerlin. |
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Rain Says Al Pacino Is His Hero The Korea Times
Korean singer and actor Rain said he wants to work with his"hero" Al Pacino someday.
MTV presented a question
and answer session between the Korean pop star and his fans in time with the release of the first full clip from the action
flick "Ninja Assassin," in which Rain plays a starring role.
Asked whether there is any action star he would like
to team up with for a movie, Rain said, "When I was young, `Scarface' was my favorite film. Al Pacino is my hero. I want to
work with him."
Rain said he sustained lots of cuts on his body while acting for the new film, which hits theaters
Nov. 25.
"I have lots of cuts on my body. When I was doing a stunt, even though everyone took care of me, I still
got hurt a lot," he said.
Rain told his fans that diet was the hardest part of the training he went through for the
movie.
"I ate chicken breast for eight months with vegetables. That was terrible. No sugar. No salt. I don't want
to eat chicken breast anymore. I like junk food, French fries, hamburgers ― I love it," he said.
He indicated
that in the future he will make an English-language album for international fans.
"I don't have plans yet for an English
album, but I will. Please wait for me," he said.
The young Korean actor is already a pop-culture phenomenon in Korea.
Now, with his first starring role, he seems poised to earn some new fans in the States.
Filmed in Berlin, Germany,
the action adventure movie is produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers. |
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Proposed Released Date for Ninja Assassin

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Korean star Rain goes
on 'torturous' diet for new film channelnewasia
SEOUL : South Korean superstar Rain had to put himself on a strict diet for his latest role in action flick "Ninja
Assassin" in which he plays an orphan who becomes a ninja warrior.
The new, Joel Silver-produced movie, promises plenty
of stunts, sword fights and of course, the leading man himself, Rain.
Describing the food he took as "terrible", and
just thinking about it makes him shudder. Now that he no longer has to subject himself to a strict regimen, he is glad that
he is able to resume a normal diet, reported Korean media.
For the sake of the movie’s role which required him
to be in perfect and lean condition, the singer-actor said that he underwent intensive training two months before filming
commenced.
Admitting his preference for junk food, French fries and hamburgers, his diet during the eight months of
filming and training was replaced by mainly steamed fish and chicken breast with vegetables. During the process, the 27-year-old
managed to lose 22 pounds (10 kilograms).
When asked if he would undergo another round of intense dieting for another
role in a movie, Rain, whose name is Jung Ji Hoon, shook his head in disapproval.
"It feels scary just thinking about
that period. I don’t think it’s possible for me to go through the process again. It was painful especially for
someone like me who worships food."
Rain made his American movie debut with last year's "Speed Racer" and "Ninja Assassin"
marks his first Hollywood leading role. The movie is scheduled to open in theatres later this year.
Rain stars in Ninja Assassin
Crave Online
Rain may be the most famous person I've ever interviewed, and all I really know about him is
from The Colbert Report. The superstar of K-Pop had a dance-off with Colbert after he beat the satirical pundit on a list
of most influential people. Now he's becoming a movie star with a part in Speed Racer, and a starring vehicle in next year's
Ninja Assassin. Directed by the Wachowskis' protégé James McTeague, Rain will play an orphan who becomes a ninja warrior.
----------------------------------------------------------- Crave Online: So I first heard about you on The Colbert
Report. I loved your dance-off with Stephen.
Rain: It was so fun. Thanks.
Crave Online: The dance/off wasn't
live though, right? Did you have to tape it after the audience left?
Rain: Well, we didn't go live because Stephen
had to learn his moves too. Then the rehearsal time was a little longer than expected so they just went on tape.
Crave
Online: How into ninja mythology are you?
Rain: From when I was young, I wanted to be an action hero. I always dreamed
about being an action star. So finally I made it.
Crave Online: Did you watch Ninja movies or read books?
Rain:
Yes, maybe when I was seven years old, yeah. I saw ninja animation, ninja cartoons. I loved ninjas when I was younger.
Crave
Online: Ninjas are Japanese. Are there Korean ninjas?
Rain: Yes, we have Korean ninjas but they're very different.
It's different than the Japanese ninjas. It's sort of a traditional martial arts clan.
Crave Online: So in the movie,
are you a traditional Japanese ninja?
Rain: No. Actually, I play an orphan that was picked up in the streets, so I'm
not actually a Japanese ninja. More like an international Asian orphanage kid. So the role was not a typical Japanese ninja.
Crave Online: Was the physical training and action at all similar to dancing?
Rain: Yeah, I think everything
is almost the same, but martial arts is harder because I ate only chicken breast and vegetables. It almost killed me. It was
so horrible.
Crave Online: Did your dance background help you learn these moves?
Rain: Dancing did help me
learn the martial arts moves better, easier, so it did help me.
Crave Online: Exactly how famous are you?
Rain:
I debuted in Korea six years ago, so I've been working for quite some time. You'll know if you come to Korea how big I am,
just by coming there. I was big in Asia but now I want to do more here with Ninja Assassin, so wait for me.
Crave
Online: It's definitely happening. Did it take six years to build up to this fame?
Rain: Well, I was big as soon as
my first album came out, so ever since, luckily, I've had that fame in Asia. Now it even led me to a big Hollywood martial
arts movie.
Crave Online: What would you like to be able to do if you could have privacy again?
Rain: I want
to read a lot of comic books. I want to watch movies. I want to rest. I have a lot of work in Asia so it's not easy.
Crave
Online: What sort of new music are you working on?
Rain: Right now, I'm interested in electronic pop music but I love
all kinds of music. Hip hop, R&B, so whatever. So I'm working on my new album, my music is based on hip hop and R&B,
rap music, pretty sweet.
Crave Online: Where do you get your inspiration?
Rain: I don't get my inspiration
from a specific source. It's more like if you listen to a good tune, it gives me inspiration to write a better tune.
Crave
Online: Has that changed over the years?
Rain: Nothing has changed. It's just good music or a good movie always inspired
me to be better, learn more.
Crave Online: What inspires you in movies?
Rain: It's not that different. If
I watch a sad movie, I get inspired to write a sad tune but if I watch a cool movie, I get more upbeat. So it depends on the
movie.
Crave Online: Why were Speed Racer and Ninja Assassin the right movies for you?
Rain: I chose Speed
Racer most of all because of the Wachowski Brothers. Then also I was a big fan from when I was really young of the original
Speed Racer. So that's why I chose the first one. Second one, it's because James McTeague, I've worked with him before and
I had faith in him. Working with him was such an honor. So that's why I chose Ninja as my second movie.
Crave Online:
What were your favorite weapons in the movie?
Rain: My favorite is the sword. The sword is very funny. Then my second,
my second girlfriend is Ninja chain.
Crave Online: Do they have different uses for different bad guys?
Rain:
Yeah, it depends on the bad guy. The sword is better for, obviously, cutting and the chain is better to strangle them. So
it's different.
Crave Online: How different was playing a character from beginning to end than doing a short video?
Rain: I think they're very different. For a music video, you just play a role that people can watch you and just enjoy
the music with. But versus in a movie, it's actually a character living the whole life in that movie, so it's different.
Crave
Online: How about a small part in Speed Racer versus playing the main character?
Rain: Most of all, I take on a heavy
responsibility for the main character. I had to put more effort into it than the last one, definitely more.
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