The Heart of a Ninja

I have always had a fascination with the ninja/trained warrior culture. I remember that when I was younger, I enjoyed the show Dark Angel a lot because it centered around the story of a young girl trained to be a fighter. I never knew, however, how deep and dark the roots of ninja culture is. And how heartless.

Such is the story of Raizo, a trained deadly Ninja Assassin. Orphaned at a young age, he was taken in my the Master of the Ozunu Clan, a mercenary group of  assassins who's very existence was thought to be a myth. As a child, he was trained to be heartless and merciless, to follow the rules no matter what, and to be void of emotions that make man week. But after being devastated by the brutal murder of a friend who was deemed a traitor by the clan, Raizo defied all rules and escaped the life he knew and vowed to avenge his friends death.The story takes an exciting turn as Mika Coretti, a Europol agent bent on proving that ninjas did exist after stumbling upon a money trail linking unsolved political murders to the secret network of untraceable assassins, stirred up enough feathers to become the next target of the clan. In the end, Raizo shows there is more to the ninja than just the fighter. 

The film was a breathtaking journey from the hidden training village of child assassins to Europe and back...literally!  I had my hands wrapped around my head for majority of the movie, peeking through my fingers for the most part! To be fair, I enjoyed the film a lot, despite all the blood, gore and guts. Admittedly action flicks are not my preferred genre, but I think if you're into it, you'd have a good time. Part of me wishes I had taken my brother, JJ, to see it with me because he LOVES films like this. 
Many thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures for the invitation to the premiere of Ninja Assassin last Friday, Nov. 20, at the Gateway Cinemas. Extra special thanks for the exclusive prize I won during the screening! My raffle malas is officially over!

Ninja Assassin Notebook autographed by Rain!