Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Korean pop star Rain stars as heroic, deadly Raizo. Trained from childhood in the way of the Ozunu Clan ninja, he is stalked by fellow warriors for breaking free of them and their iron-willed dojo patriarch and is on the run with a Europol agent who has proof the clan sells assassination services to governments. The action is start-to-finish - fast, fierce, filled with weaponry and awesome athleticism. Fear not the weapon, but the hand that wields it.

When I was a kid ninja movies were all the rage. I even remember a fair share staring Sho Kosugi, who is one of the main characters in this film. While I thought this one would bring a new twist to the genre, it plays out almost exactly like what we saw twenty years ago. Sure the special effects and production are a bit sleeker, but the story feels a bit stale. I was also amazed at the buckets and buckets of blood that they used in this one. This probably had more blood in it than the entire Saw franchise put together!! If you’re a martial arts fan there are some pretty cool fight sequences, but outside of that this doesn’t have a lot to offer.

Warner has been serving up some nice transfers lately with their day and date releases and this is no exception. Fine object detail is incredible in tight close ups and dimensionality is strong. I loved the inky blacks and strong contrast and even the vivid reds used for the gallons of blood on display. The DTS-HD Master Audio mix is quite inventive with LOTS of surround use and an aggressive low end. Who would have ever thought that ninja stars could sound like bullets!

Supplements are a bit light with this one. You get a look at the ninja legends and lore plus the training that went into the fight sequences of this film. Some extra scenes are also included along with a sneak peek advert for the new Clash of the Titans film. A second disc offers a digital copy and the standard DVD release.

While dazzling in picture and choreography, this one comes up short in just about everything else. If you’re a fan of B action with lots of blood and karate chop, give this one a look. Otherwise I’d stick with a rental at best.