Ninja Assassin
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: November 25, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
34
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
8
Negative:
9
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris Nashawaty
Let's be honest, killing is this film's business...and business is good. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterEthan Alter
Ninja isn't a great movie, but if you're in the right frame of mind, it is a bloody good time. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
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. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
How is an action movie that aims for kinetic thrills supposed to develop any forward momentum when it spends so much time looking back? Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
The finest effect in this visceral gouge of a picture is Korean pop star Rain. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
This saga, set in Berlin, is more committed to its bloodletting than to any of its characters. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
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. Read full review
40
VarietyRob Nelson
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. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Just not feeling the holiday spirit? Maybe a brainless, extra-bloody B-movie will provide the boost you're looking for. Read full review
40
Time OutKevin B. Lee
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. Read full review
40
EmpireWill Lawrence
Decent ingredients but, as a whole, this is lacking in choreographic flair and plot substance. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Numbingly gory when it isn’t just plain numbing. Read full review
38
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
This amateurish action flick is so lacking in personality or punch, it ought to be titled "V for Video Store Discount Bin." Read full review
38
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
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. Read full review
38
Washington PostDan Kois
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. Read full review
30
Village VoiceBrian Miller
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? Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
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. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
It's a gorefest, a borefest and a snorefest. Read full review
0
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It's so unreal it hurts. Read full review
0
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Soulless, hyperbolic actioner. Read full review
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