-By Ethan Alter

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Chances are if you're willingly walking into a movie entitled Ninja Assassin, you're expecting to see three basic things:
1) Ninjas.
2) Lots of them.
3) Fighting each other with all sorts of cool weapons your parents would never let you own.

It's a pleasure to report then that this contemporary chopsocky feature, produced by the Wachowski Brothers and directed by their surrogate James McTeigue (who previously helmed V for Vendetta), delivers on those essential elements. Ninja Assassin is indeed filled with ninjas—lots of them—that are constantly at each other's throats with all manner of sharp implements not sanctioned by any parents' group. If you're seeking a more intellectually or emotionally stimulating cinematic experience, make a beeline for whatever Oscar contender happens to be playing at your multiplex.

On the other hand, moviegoers in the market for an unapologetically superficial and even silly action flick could do far worse than Ninja Assassin. (Indeed, they already have, judging by the astronomical grosses of such lugubrious blockbusters as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.) Since the Wachowski imprint doesn't carry the same box-office potency it used to, the film is likely to only enjoy a modest run in theatres, but its chances at a successful home-entertainment afterlife seem strong. In fact, it's easy to imagine Ninja Assassin becoming a late-night staple on cable TV and at impromptu B-movie nights for years to come.

It's worth pointing out that most B-movies wished they looked this good. Made for the relatively modest price tag of $50 million, Ninja Assassin often appears as if it cost twice that, with its lush visuals (lensed by Karl Walter Lindenlaub) and terrific special effects, pulled off with a combination of practical and digital tricks. In terms of its narrative, though, Ninja Assassin is a B-picture all the way.

The somewhat jumbled storyline revolves around Raizo (South Korean pop singer Rain), a skilled warrior raised from an early age to be a foot soldier in a secret army of...well, ninja assassins. But after his brutal master kills the girl that he loves, Raizo goes rogue and wages war on his former employers with the help of an Interpol agent (Naomie Harris) investigating this shadowy world of sword-wielding hitmen.

A plot this thin requires charismatic actors to really give the proceedings any dramatic weight, and unfortunately that's the primary area where Ninja Assassin falls short. While Rain may be a superstar in concert, he's not very interesting onscreen; granted, the serviceable screenplay by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski only gives him one emotion to play—glum angst—but his perpetual blank stare doesn't suggest much range. It's also a shame to see Harris, who had such a steely, bad-ass presence in her breakthrough role in 28 Days Later, stuck playing the out-of-her-depth sidekick.

Where the movie excels are the action sequences, largely because McTeigue takes full advantage of his R rating to indulge in lots of blood-soaked slicing-and-dicing, while also displaying a sense of humor that the rest of the film lacks. In typical Wachowski fashion, these set-pieces embrace both comic-book and video-game aesthetics; the frames are carefully composed and packed with rich colors, but the camera is rarely locked down, toggling around the space as if McTeigue were controlling it with a joystick. This approach may upset old-school kung-fu movie fans, but it results in some of the most entertaining and over-the-top martial-arts action this side of Kill Bill. Ninja Assassin isn't a great movie, but if you're in the right frame of mind, it is a bloody good time.