Line #88 Film/NinjaAssassin


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6	An ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin 2009 action film starring [[Series/TheColbertReport Stephen Colbert]]'s ArchEnemy, [[Music/{{Rain\|Singer}} Jeong "Rain" Ji-hoon]] as Raizo, a {{ninja}} who goes rogue and declares one-man war on his clan. It was produced by Creator/TheWachowskis (''Film/{{Bound 1996}}'', ''Franchise/TheMatrix'', ''Film/SpeedRacer'') and directed by Creator/JamesMcTeigue (''Film/VForVendetta'') from a script by Creator/JMichaelStraczynski.
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8	As a small child, Raizo is taken in by Ozunu Clan. The head of the clan, Lord Ozuno, takes in orphan children and makes them go through brutal training in order to become lethal assassins. Many years later, Raizo has left his clan and is now being hunted down for his betrayal. He enlists the help of Europol researcher Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris), who has been investigating political assassinations caused by ninja, to put an end to the Ozunu clan once and for all.
9	----
10	!!This film provides examples of:
11	* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler: Raizo gains a TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening after Mika is stabbed by Lord Ozunu, and he gains the same type of FlashStep Lord Ozunu used prior]].
12	* AbsurdlySharpBlade: All of them, but especially the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoketsu-shoge kyoketsu-shoge,]] cutting clean through arms and legs like butter.
13	* {{Acrofatic}}[=/=]{{Kevlard}}: The fat guy that Raizo attempts to assassinate puts up quite a fight.
14	* ActionSurvivor: Mika. She works for Europol, but as a research librarian; and even if she ''was'' a trained field agent, that might not serve her very well against ninjas.
15	-->'''Raizo''': "A gun won't help you."\
16	'''Mika''', ''freaking out'': "Well, I don't have a lot of options, okay? I mean, I once took a taebo class, but that is the extent of my kung fu abilities, alright?"
17	* ActorAllusion: One scene has Raizo replicate the "Let's go!" head-cock gesture he once did as [[Film/SpeedRacer Taejo.]]
18	* ArmorIsUseless: The commandos from Europol learn the hard way that modern body-armor is not rated against katanas or shuriken.
19	* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: [[spoiler:Subverted. Raizo tries, but he's nearly killed by the clan.]]
20	* AmbiguousSyntax: The title of the film. Does it refer to a ninja who is an assassin or an assassin who kills ninjas? [[MathematiciansAnswer Yes]].
21	* AncientConspiracy: Ninjas have been around for centuries and will offer their services to anyone who can pay their fee (100 pounds of gold). They take in orphans off the streets and put them through strict [[TrainingFromHell training regimens]] to turn them into killing machines. They have been employed by the wealthy and powerful and have eyes and ears in every government agency in the world.
22	* BadassNormal: The Europol commandos, in the sense that they lack the very literal [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower Charles Atlas Superpowers]] that the Ninjas have, yet are still able to kick ass.
23	* BadassInDistress: Raizo. A few times, he has been captured and tied up, with Mika saving him JustInTime.
24	* BerserkButton: Murder or attempt to murder a female that Raizo has grown to care about. Just try it.
25	* BigBad: Lord Ozunu.
26	* BigDamnHeroes: The Europol forces to set up the final showdown.
27	** Earlier in the film, Mika via CarFu.
28	* BizarreHumanBiology: The movie featured multiple people with the medical condition [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situs_inversus Dextrocardia situs inversus]], which occurs in approximately 1 in 12,000 people. In an inversion of both normal human anatomy and this trope, their hearts were tilted towards the ''right'' side of the chest, which saves each of them when a ninja tries to stab them in the heart.
29	* CallingTheOldManOut: Raizo does this to Lord Ozunu in the middle of their FinalBattle.
30	-->'''Raizo:''' I am ''not'' your son, and you are ''not'' my father.
31	* BladeOnARope: Raizo's preferred weapon is the kyoketsu-shoge, a chain with a curved blade attached to it.
32	* CarFu: Mika fishtails a car into a ninja before he could finish Raizo off.
33	* CastingGag: Raizo is played by Rain, [[KoreanPopMusic Korean pop star]].
34	-->'''Agent:''' He doesn't ''look'' like a killing machine. Looks like he belongs in a boy band!"
35	* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: A rare literal example. The ninjas are all much stronger, both physically and mentally, than the average human, which likely plays along with the supernatural element behind their training and overall capabilities. To emphasize this point, they can also teleport when in shadows, heal their wounds quickly, and the main hero and the main villain even have SuperSpeed in the form of a FlashStep. [[spoiler:Exaggerated with Lord Ozunu, who can do the other ninjas' OffscreenTeleportation despite being surrounded by light from a massive fire]].
36	* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: The "accident of birth" that the old man in the first scene mentions ends up being what saves Mika in the end.]]
37	* ClusterFBomb: Deployed during the intro. A few delayed munitions go off over the remainder of the film.
38	* CollateralAngst: [[spoiler:The hero's love interest is killed off so he's got something to angst about]].
39	* ConservationOfNinjutsu: While none of the battles are easy, one-on-one fights tend to be just as difficult.
40	* ContractOnTheHitman: The Ozunu Clan made a grave mistake putting one of these on Raizo.
41	* CoolVsAwesome: At the end, we get ninjas versus commandos.
42	* DarknessEqualsDeath: The ninja are nearly invincible if it's dark enough, gaining apparent teleportation powers. And ''everyone'' is savvy about this; the first thing Mika does when she gets home after learning of the clans is turn on ''all'' of her lights, and the first thing [[spoiler:Europol does when they play BigDamnHeroes is shine spotlights all over the clan's headquarters and light it on fire]].
43	** This is one of the clues to Mika when she interviews a Russian agents' sister about her brother. She mentions that he got really paranoid in his last days and installed floodlights throughout the house. Too bad he didn't think to install a backup generator.
44	* DeadpanSnarker: Raizo at times.
45	* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: The idiots who get killed in the tattoo parlor at the beginning of the movie are not missed.
46	* DoubleWeapon: Takeshi's sword can become one of these at his pleasure.
47	* TheDragon: Takeshi to Lord Ozunu.
48	* DualWielding: Many of the ninjas do this in the movie. Raizo does it at the end.
49	* DynamicEntry: With a [[CarFu car.]]
50	* EvilGloating: Takeshi gives a ''very'' knowing sadistic smirk to Raizo before [[spoiler: executing Kiriko]]. Then taunts Raizo about it during their duel.
51	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The Ninja Assassin who assassinates ninjas.
52	* FinalBattle: A full battalion of Europol Commandos against a ninja clan.
53	* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Raizo has been captured and taken to the secret ninja temple, but secretly he has a GPS tracking device in his gut, alerting the good guys to the temple's location. The ninjas discover the device, and after that the temple is attacked.
54	* FlashStep: Used in the final battle.
55	* FoodChainOfEvil: Possibly a non-fantasy example, seeing as Raizo, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well...]]
56	* ForeignCussWord: During the clan's attack on the safe house one of the Interpol men, once they see the ninjas on the ceiling, has just enough time to say "Scheiße!" before the ninjas attack.
57	* {{Gorn}}: This movie has very bloody fight scenes.
58	* GoryDiscretionShot: Surprisingly. Once when [[spoiler:Kiriko is put to death.]] Also subverted towards the end, when they switch to heat vision as one guy dies.
59	* GunsAreWorthless: Mostly played straight, especially when ninjas have shadows handy. Many are shown to be able to dodge bullets. Averted at the end, however, [[spoiler: once Europol storms the ninja school and breaks out the heavy machine guns, body armor (which ninja weaponry can still get through), rockets, and floodlights.]]
60	** Played very straight when [[spoiler:Mika puts two pistol rounds into Ozuna's back, and the only thing it does is piss him off.]]
61	* HealingFactor: A power of Ozunu Clan ninjas. We're shown a demonstration of Lord Ozunu cutting his hand open and it healing in the space of a few seconds, and later [[spoiler:Raizo closes up deep, wide, and long lacerations all over his chest and stomach apparently through sheer force of will]].
62	%%* HeartInTheWrongPlace: Several characters are dramatically stabbed there
63	* HotLibrarian: Mika says that her job description, 'Forensic Researcher', is just a fancy way of calling her a librarian.
64	* HunterOfHisOwnKind: Raizo's response to the ContractOnTheHitman placed on him.
65	* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: Raizo's kyoketsu-shoge.
66	* ItWasAGift: Raizo has a gold watch from his first contract kill. Ozunu told him to keep it as a reminder that "every moment of your life is a gift I have given you"
67	* KryptoniteFactor: Highly bright lights prevent the ninjas from teleporting.
68	* LikeASonToMe: Lord Ozunu sees all of the orphans his clan brings in like this, but especially Raizo, who he was grooming to replace him.
69	* LostLoveMontage: Several featuring Kiriko and Raizo.
70	* MadeOfIron: The London Gangster who takes an absurd amount of grievous wounds and practically paints an entire room with his own blood before going down.
71	* MaskedVillainsUnmaskedHeroes: Raizo is TheHero of the movie and unlike the other evil ninjas does not wear a mask.
72	* MasterOfYourDomain: How Raizo survives the hideous injuries he keeps sustaining.
73	%%* MenOfSherwood: Europol.
74	* MoreDakka: [[spoiler: How Europol beats the ninjas.]]
75	* MrFanservice: Raizo is ''very'' well-built and gets lots of {{Shirtless Scene}}s to show it off.
76	* MsFanservice: Downplayed. Mika is [[ShowerScene briefly seen taking a shower]] though not much is shown.
77	* MugglesDoItBetter: This film show that the ninja's powers can achieve some impressive feats. Surviving bullets isn't one of them. Similarly, the Ozunu clan has a good reason for keeping themselves shrouded in myth as they carry out their assassinations. Their attack on the Europol holding facility is a one-sided slaughter, but as terrifying and deadly as their individual members may be, the Europol counter-attack is devastating once they know how to bring modern equipment to bear on a foe that relies on shadows, concealment, and close-quarters.
78	* NeutralFemale: Subverted, since Mika manages to save Raizo's ass [[CarFu several]] [[BigDamnHeroes times.]]
79	* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight: The ninjas kill everything that get in their way without the slightest bit of difficulty... right up until they lose the advantages of surprise and darkness and have to fight men with automatic weapons.
80	%%* {{Ninja}}
81	* NonActorVehicle: This movie was a vehicle for Korean pop star, Rain.
82	* OffscreenTeleportation: Played straight to the point of {{Deconstruction}}. The ninjas can teleport via shadows to the point of it almost being a literal superpower, but [[MenOfSherwood Europol]] ''realizes'' this, and use floodlights to deprive the ninjas of this advantage. Of course, the ninjas are aware of this weakness, so they usually cut the power (or break the light bulbs) before attacking anyone.
83	* OldMaster: Lord Ozunu.
84	* OneManArmy: Raizo.
85	* OnlyAFleshWound: Raizo repeatedly, even with a cut through his intestines and multiple lacerations and deep, bloody wounds on his legs, he can move... however, this may be justified with his TrainingFromHell.
86	* RankScalesWithAsskicking:
87	** Lord Ozunu is a much tougher opponent for Raizo than the other ninja.
88	** Mika's Europol superior twice survives a fight with the ninjas when most of his men don't.
89	%%* RasputinianDeath: - ZCE
90	* RedShirtArmy: Europol comes across as this for most of the movie, especially in their first fight against the ninjas where they're horribly outmatched.
91	* ResignationsNotAccepted: [[spoiler: Kiriko]] tries to desert the clan, only to be caught and executed as a example to everyone else.
92	* TheRival: Takeshi to Raizo when they were training together. In the present day, he is one of the [[MookLieutenant senior-ranked]] ninjas and mockingly calls him "little brother".
93	* RockBeatsLaser: Or in this case Ninja weapons beat modern solders (but to be fair the ninjas did have the darkness and surprise on their side.), then came round two where said soldiers brought out bigger guns and spotlights then we started seeing an even fight.
94	* RRatedOpening: The opening is a ClusterFBomb, and the rest of the movie has relatively little cursing. The opening is also quite easily the goriest part, being one of the only bits where the gore goes beyond simple limb removal.
95	%%%* RuleOfCool
96	%%* SadisticChoice: Lord Ozunu presents Raizo with one.
97	* SedgwickSpeech: Invoked in the RRatedOpening when the Yakuza hoodlums scoff at the old man's claims about ninjas.
98	* ShirtlessScene: Raizo gets several. [[MrFanservice It's only natural]] that he does.
99	* ShownTheirWork: The woman at the laundromat who turns out to be a ninja becomes a little less random when you consider that this is how the traditional ''kunoichi'' works, eschewing the black suit and mask for [[HiddenInPlainSight Hiding In Plain Sight]].
100	* SlowMotionDrop: The tattoo artist drops his needle when he sees the black sand.
101	* SoftWater: The body of water Raizo jumps into from the roof of a tall building to escape his newly hostile clan.
102	* SwordsAkimbo: Invoked by Raizo and several other ninjas.
103	%%* TakeOffYourClothes
104	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Done by Raizo in the final battle.
105	* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Kiriko was the only ninja-in-training who was kind and empathetic to Raizo. [[spoiler:Her death eventually led to Raizo [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters turning against the clan.]]]]
106	* TrainingFromHell: All ninjas are trained this way. Includes MasterOfYourDomain.
107	* TrainingMontage: The series of flashbacks showing Raizo learning to be a ninja, and in the present day practicing his skills in his exile.
108	* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: [[spoiler: Raizo gains his EleventhHourSuperpower this way, in order to defeat Lord Ozunu]].
109	* TykeBomb: All the orphaned ninja.
110	* UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny: Aside from the awesome ninja-on-ninja action, we get to see a face-off between ninjas versus soldiers. [[spoiler:The soldiers win in the end.]]
111	* UnresolvedSexualTension: Mika/Raizo. In spades.
112	* UnskilledButStrong: Raizo's first kill is a massive gangster who fights with about as much finesse as a typical street brawler. That said, he's MadeOfIron, and was able to give our trained assassin protagonist a hell of a fight.
113	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Raizo turns on his clan when asked to kill a girl we've never seen before. He refuses but doesn't get a chance to save her as he almost dies in the ensuing fight. Presumably she was executed later but she is not shown or mentioned again after the fight starts.
114	* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Raizo has a moment like this with Kiriko when he tells her he has no heart. She tells him he has one and it misses him.
115	* YouHaveFailedMe: How ninjas are punished during their training:
116	** When Raizo loses a sparring match against Takeshi, Ozunu teaches him "true pain" with a lethal PressurePoint strike and tests him to survive it.
117	** After Kiriko beats another student in a sparring match, Lord Ozunu orders her to scar him as a reminder of his failure. When she refuses, Ozunu cuts her face and locks her in a box as punishment.
118	* YourEyesCanDeceiveYou: "For an entire year, you will live without one of your senses, beginning with the sense you rely on the most". Raizo develops BlindfoldedVision and SuperHearing abnormally fast.
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Context Film / NinjaAssassin