Ninja Assassin (2009) is 15 years old this year...

[Karlos]

This has me feeling kinda old and a little nostalgic.

What did you guys think?

Love it?  Hate it?  Mediocre?

Did it simply come out at the wrong time?

Any of you cats yet to see it?

[BigDruDogg]

damn time flies... I took my brother to see it in the theater and I left feeling pretty disappointed.. I think we both put it on too high of a pedestal and it just didn't live up to our hype...

I remember we got home and watched the Scott Atkins movie Ninja that evening and it was way better and exactly what we were hoping for...

I've never revisited Ninja Assassin since that viewing so I still have the negative feelings towards it

[Drunken Monk]

Ninja Assassin was ahead of its time. People shit all over it back in the day. I watched it recently and it's an excellent bit of ninja cheese. Action filled, ultra-violent... What more can we ask for? Its only issue is that it has some wonky CGI. Otherwise, it's loads of fun.

[laagi]

I don't care what people say I F*CKING LOVE IT! Still remember the bathroom fight to this day

Wouldn't mind to see a sequel at this point. I think people are ready for some real Ninja violence on the big screen...

[Yihetuan]

Hollywood really mishandled Rain. He could've been a big crossover star if handled correctly. He was learning English, had the looks, physique, charisma & a legion of adoring international fans from his KDrama & Pan Asian music days.

[Karlos]

Yes, I do wonder what Rain could've gone on to do in the West had this been better received.

I saw him in the fairly awful Bruce Willis flick The Prince and that was that, I think.

I still have a real soft spot for the film, flaws and all.

[ShaOW!linDude]

I love Ninja Assassin. Got to see in on the big screen when it came out. I think the action could've been less stylized but it has a great aesthetic. Sho Kosugi as the villain was awesome. My only qualm is that he and Rain don't really have a proper throwdown. Dadgum. Now I want to watch it.

[J.J. Hayden]

Even with JC Team members, including Park Hyeon-jin doubling for Rain, the action never really did that much for me and the CGI really didn't leave me with a great experience. So much talent involved, it could've been great, but to me it wasn't even good.  

[KUNG FU BOB]

I LOVE IT!

It's like watching an awesome anime come to life.

Brutal, stylish, and shows a great mix of realistic and near-mystic ninja skills. Just having @Karlos bring it up makes me want to watch it again too. @ShaOW!linDude maybe we'll wind up watching it at the exact same time.

[laagi]

12 minutes ago, KUNG FU BOB said:

I LOVE IT!

It's like watching an awesome anime come to life.

Brutal, stylish, and shows a great mix of realistic and near-mystic ninja skills. Just having @Karlos bring it up makes me want to watch it again too. @ShaOW!linDude maybe we'll wind up watching it at the exact same time.

Sounds like a KFF member watch party? Who's a tech nerd and knows how to set this shit up

[KUNG FU BOB]

12 minutes ago, laagi said:

Sounds like a KFF member watch party? Who's a tech nerd and knows how to set this shit up

I know you were probably joking, but I roll solo or in-person only with movie watching. Plus, unfortunately, I'm not in a position to watch it right now. Soon I hope. But to whoever does watch it, know this- I'm there with you in spirit.

[laagi]

Chad Stahelski and 87 Eleven do I need to say more

Rain trained 6 months, 5 days a week, 6 hours a day! Now that's what I call dedication.

 

Edited February 14 by laagi

[Karlos]

A KFF watch party sounds like a great idea!! 

[starschwar]

I saw it in theaters.  I enjoyed it.  I own the Blu-Ray.  And yet I have almost no memory of the movie whatsoever.  Something or other about an abnormal human heart and... uh... that's it, really.  I really do need to re-watch it.  The talent behind it certainly speaks to quality.

 

Hypothesis:  The movie came out about four months after the shutdown of my beloved Matrix Online.  Maybe my brain has the two Wachowski-related works connected and I subconsciously associate it with the initial sad withdrawal phase. 

 

 

[Karlos]

I wish I could find the interview with The Wachowskis from the time Ninja Assassin was made.

In it they "admitted" that they directed all the action scenes in NA (as well as V for Vendetta) with full director credit going to James McTeague.

[laagi]

So good I can't get enough of it 😍 When will they finally add a "Best Stunt" category to the Oscars, Jesus!

 

Edited February 14 by laagi

[laagi]

14 hours ago, Karlos said:

A KFF watch party sounds like a great idea!! 

[PandaPawPaw]

Does it Rain wherever he goes?

[laagi]

7 hours ago, PandaPawPaw said:

Does it Rain wherever he goes?

[D1 Ma]

I remember liking it A LOT back then.

Last year I was re-organizing my collection and decided to re-watch it. To my surprise I wasn't that crazy about it all these years later. Not bad at all, but not great. Still, I think Rain did one hell of a job there and could've had bright future in MA action genre.

Too bad it never happened...

[laagi]

22 minutes ago, D1 Ma said:

Too bad it never happened...

Too lazy to run off to Google I gotta ask...

 

[PandaPawPaw]

1 minute ago, laagi said:

Too lazy to run off to Google I gotta ask...

 

Maybe because he left a puddle everywhere he went? Too much hassle cleaning that all the time.

[laagi]

1 minute ago, PandaPawPaw said:

Maybe because he left a puddle everywhere he went? Too much hassle cleaning that all the time.

Well apparently "It's..."

[Karlos]

If Ninja Assassin came out today, would it do better, I wonder?

[laagi]

1 hour ago, Karlos said:

If Ninja Assassin came out today, would it do better, I wonder?

With JW attached to everything nowadays, I'm sure it would