When I watch a movie like James McTeigue’s Ninja Assassin I think about what could have been. Its not that the film is terribly bad, it is just not terribly good. But oh how I wish it was. Nothing would make me happier than to see a resurgence of the ninja movie genre driven by a big budget studio film with all the money, time and craft that could be brought to it.

Instead, we’re given a movie which intercuts the Ninja story with Europol agents and their search for the ninjas. Every time the action cuts away from the story of the ninjas and went to the agents, I was bored. On top of that, the main female researcher is played by Naomi Harris, one of the most annoying and weak actresses in recent memory.

One surprise for me in this film is how much I actually liked Rain in the title role. Sure, his acting for a non-native English speaker isn’t particularly good, but he has a certain screen presence that works here. Seeing him in this film its easy to understand why he has such a huge following in Asia.

Do I wish he was an actual martial artist and could more realistically accomplish the fights himself without the aid of stunt doubles or CGI, of course. Also, the fact that he’s actually Korean and not Japanese and is playing the lead in a very deeply felt Japanese genre film may cause some, as director McTeigue put it after the screening I saw, “push back.” Maybe so, but that’s not really the problem here.

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We’ve been pretty excited for Warner Bros.’ newest action film, Ninja Assassin around the office, and we just came across a few clips that got us even more excited. The film hits theaters a week from Wednesday, but we thought it would be okay if we gave you on a sneak peak now.

The film, co-written by comics’ “Who’s Who” J. Michael Straczynski, is about a cult of ninja killers who raise a boy to become a superior ninja. Later, he learns that the ways of his clan need to be stopped. Straczynski has been the man behind such other fan favorites as Spider-Man and Silver Surfer in comics, and Babylon 5, Jeremiah, and even The Real Ghostbusters on TV.

In both 3D and Digital theaters, the film is said to be visually stunning. With James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) behind the wheel, you can believe that the film won’t be boring. We’ll be sure to have plenty more coverage of the film, including a review next week.

In the meantime, check out these new clips (totaling nearly 7 minutes!) from Ninja Assassin, in theaters November 25th.

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