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Ninja Assassin
Metascore
34 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 20 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 20
  3. Negative: 9 out of 20
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Chris Nashawaty
    75
    Let's be honest, killing is this film's business...and business is good.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ethan Alter
    70
    Ninja isn't a great movie, but if you're in the right frame of mind, it is a bloody good time.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    63
    Despite the pace, though -- pedal, have you met my friend metal? -- Ninja Assassin still has some of its best stuff left at the end, when the master returns to demonstrate his extra-special, super-most-deadliest technique.
  4. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Stephen Cole
    50
    A convincing, reasonably co-ordinated action movie. Nothing special, but lovers of the genre will enjoy the workouts, especially if they bring night-vision glasses.
  5. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    50
    The finest effect in this visceral gouge of a picture is Korean pop star Rain.
  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    50
    This saga, set in Berlin, is more committed to its bloodletting than to any of its characters.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    50
    How is an action movie that aims for kinetic thrills supposed to develop any forward momentum when it spends so much time looking back?
  8. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    40
    Just not feeling the holiday spirit? Maybe a brainless, extra-bloody B-movie will provide the boost you're looking for.
  9. Empire
    Reviewed by: Will Lawrence
    40
    Decent ingredients but, as a whole, this is lacking in choreographic flair and plot substance.
  10. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Kevin B. Lee
    40
    Director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) films most fights in impenetrable shadow, punctuated by death screams, blood splatters and CGI throwing stars glinting from some unseen light source.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Rob Nelson
    40
    Seemingly made to capitalize on a dubious CG innovation -- namely, the slicing of bodies in half by whizzing five-pointed stars -- Ninja Assassin has little else to recommend it, not even laughs.
  12. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    38
    Numbingly gory when it isn't just plain numbing.
  13. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Dan Kois
    38
    Ten minutes after you leave the movie, all the battles will have blended in your memory into a ceaseless muddle of sliced-off appendages, jets of blood splashing artfully on walls, gurgling screams and flashing swords.
  14. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    38
    It's like Bob Fosse night at the martial-arts studio. Most of the killing here is done with bladed throwing stars that, like the ninjas themselves, arrive from nowhere. They appear to have been used to edit the film as well.
  15. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    38
    This amateurish action flick is so lacking in personality or punch, it ought to be titled "V for Video Store Discount Bin."
  16. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Brian Miller
    30
    A triple-cross plot with Harris's superiors doesn't help the movie's clarity--neither does the clattering sound design. Shouldn't throwing stars be silent? If they're gonna sound like gunshots, why not just use guns?
  17. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    25
    You don't go into a movie called Ninja Assassin expecting a hell of a lot, but this shockingly disjointed and relentlessly dull picture can't even deliver the martial-arts kick its title so plainly promises.
  18. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    25
    It's a gorefest, a borefest and a snorefest.
  19. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    0
    It's so unreal it hurts.
  20. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    0
    Soulless, hyperbolic actioner.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 122 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 46
  3. Negative: 8 out of 46
  1. grandpajoe6191
    4
    "Ninja Assassin" is a straight up brutal hack-and-slash film that has fountains of blood oozing out of somebody's head within 5 seconds. The film needs serious trimming.… Full Review »
  2. GwenB
    10
    I am amazed at how unimformed and out of touch the critics in America are. This movie Starred an actor named Rain (Jung Jihoon) who is an actor/model/R&B singer who practices martial arts as a hobby (even though he rivals Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan). Ninja Assassin Tells exactly how deadly Ninjas truly are and lets us see inside the world that many of us are unfamiliar with and which takes us out of our America safety zone. Yet in the midst of it, it shares a love story unlike the lovers in The King and I. Mika, though interesting as a journalist, is played beautifully by Naomi Harris. The story leaves us suspenseful and wanting more. When the movie ended, I heard applause everywhere. I am beginning to see that if critics hate a movie, it mut be good!… Full Review »
  3. DiggidyDan
    9
    This movie is hilarious. Pure camp action. The Plot is supposed to suck because it is completely Tongue in Cheek and over the top. I would give it a 10, if they kept the pace consistent to the crescendo. . . but it's near perfect for what they were trying to do. . . Kick ass and have a fun romp at the same time!… Full Review »
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