The third G.I. Joe movie went the X-Men route and limited its focus to the series' most interesting character, Snake Eyes. The mysterious ninja does have an origin story worth telling on the big screen but unfortunately, Snake Eyes is less Logan than X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The filmmakers fumbled the ball big-time and it turned out not to be good enough to join the ranks of the few top-tier ninja films that've come along through the years. So, what better time to look back on some of those cinematic gems than now while we're still shaking off our disappointment from the tragedy of Snake Eyes being unleashed upon the world.
3. The Warrior's Way
The Warrior's Way boasts much more style than substance. But since that style is visual and damned near boundless, it's more than enough -- since this is a movie and not a novel.
Asian immigrants have a long and storied history in the American West and as a consequence, they have played a role in many a Western -- not all of them respectful. Warrior's plays around with the Western stereotype of Asians and turns it on its head.
The story centers on a legendary swordsman who makes his way across the Pacific Ocean out of necessity when he disobeys an order given by the head of his clan. He eventually settles in a town and into precisely the job anyone familiar with the genre would expect him to have -- the operator of the town laundromat. But this particular laundry operator only took the job in order to blend in and begin a new life. He doesn't even know what he's doing. His expertise lies not in cleaning clothes but in splattering blood on them. So when the local gunslingers come around looking for victims things gets messy. And when the ninjas sent by his clan make their way to town, all hell breaks loose.
2. Batman Begins
While Batman Begins is the least entertaining installment of the Dark Knight trilogy films, much like Star Wars, it provides a necessary and damned-near too-good-to-be-true foundation for what comes later. Intent on fighting crime following the murders of his parents and realizing that he's woefully unqualified for the task, Bruce Wayne travels to the Himalayas where he's recruited by the secretive League of Shadows -- an ancient ninja clan with dedicated to dispensing justice with lethal means. Bruce's ninjitsu training fills in the gaps between spoiled, rich kid and Gotham scourge.
The secret to Begins' success is really simple logic: The premise of comic books is inherently silly, so the tone of a film adaptation should be sincere and serious in order to counter the built-in ridiculousness. Batman Begins had no Jim Carrey, no sidekick in a girly costume, no mutants with pet penguins, no gangsters with novelty gadgets and no Alicia Silverstone. Just darkness, grit, and viable explanations.
For the very first time, Batman was realistic.
1. Ninja Assassin
Ninja Assassin is the best ninja movie of the 21st century. The title isn't merely perfunctory nor is it misleading. The film is packed so full of ninja lore that it makes you wonder if impressing the Rza and the other members of Wu-Tang was one of the filmmakers' goals.
Ninja Assassin takes the time to show how Raizo, the most promising student
of the Ozunu Clan, is forged into a killing machine through a grueling training
regimen. Unforgiving sparring sessions with real weapons and brutal punishments for lapses in discipline mold Raizo, his peers and a thousand years' worth of their predecessors into human terminators that achieved mythical status around the globe.
The best line:
"The breath I take after I kill you will be the first breath of my life."
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