Ninja : Shadow of a Tear is the follow-up to 2009's Ninja. Scott Adkins is back as Casey, after a trip to the dark side in Expendables 2. He picks up from where he left off in 2009, having married Namiko and leading an peaceful life as the sensei of the dojo he inherited from his father-in-law.
But bad things happen to good people and one night poor Namiko is brutally murdered. Inconsolable Casey is on the warpath. This will see him rampage through three different countries, bring down innumerable bad guys with his bare hands and lay waste to bars, jungles and dojos as he tracks down the villain who destroyed his life.
The screenplay does require one to leave one's thinking cap at home but it is all in good fun. For the most part, the movie plays like the average revenge flick but there is a cool climax that really spices up the story and is a bit of a pleasant surprise.
Regular readers of this blog (both of you) will know of my legendary distaste for wirework. Wirework creates unnatural situations that subvert law of gravity and take away from the beauty of the fight. The mark of a hero is to conform to the laws of physics and prevail against a zillion bad guys. A ninny flying around, kicking at the air can never convey the raw power of a real kick as the foot pounds flesh or properly display the crushing impact of falling over furniture or being hit by sundry objects and weapons. No sir, not cool.
So I am happy to announce, that Scott Adkins is a real hero - or he fights like one. Given the low budget, there are no trick shots or CGI, just plain, old fashioned action. He seems have to performed nearly all of the fight scenes and stunts and that includes plenty of flying kicks, 360 degree flip kicks, fistfights, knife fights, swordplay and bone jarring falls. There is a cool scene where he pummels 5-6 guys in the room, shot in a single take. He is not a guy you want to meet in a a dark alley as two unfortunate goons find out. He is not a guy you torture with hot irons and lock up in a prison cell - as the prison warden finds out. You don't give Scott Adkins a bunch of ninja paraphernalia and grenades and then expect a tea party. Even his friends are not spared a royal smacking when he gets angry.
The performances are tolerable. Scott Adkins doesn't really have much time to emote, which is a blessing because a thespian he is not. His emote-o-meter maxes out at the identical disconsolate, pained look he sported in Assassination Games - and lucked out again with his on-screen spouse. Shun Sugata puts in a sinister performance as the drug lord Goro and Kane Kosugi proves himself to be a formidable fighter in his own right.
In all, a good action movie, well worth a watch. One hopes that one doesn't have to wait for four more years for the next Ninja flick.
