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Review
by Kozo: |
It's finally here: Lethal Ninja, the low-budget
action flick from director Herman Yau. Once upon a
time, this film was talked about like it was actually
going to get released very soon. Cut to eighteen or
so month later, and Lethal Ninja finally got
a release, though the number of screens and showtimes
could probably be counted on one hand. And it's not
really a surprise; while featuring fan-friendly icons
like ninjas, Lethal Ninja is an obvious misfire,
possessing only flashes of action, a ridiculous narrative
and ninjas that would seem more appropriate for a
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie than a serious
Asian action feature. Lethal Ninja is so off
that it's laughable - but that may be its one winning
conceit. When all else fails, camp is king.
Lethal Ninja gets off to a rollicking start with some mysterious
business types making an unknown getaway by car. After
someone delivers the immortal line, "Tell them
to stop the ninjas," it becomes silly action
central. A bunch of ninjas appear, chasing the car
on foot, and using whatever nifty ninja tricks they
have to prevent the getaway. Things go bad, the ninjas
prevail and a Dr. Kikuchi gets beheaded. Kikuchi's
noggin gets taken to evil bastard Mr. Brian (Waise
Lee), who applies blatantly fantastic computer technology
to steal secrets from Kikuchi's brain. Brian strip-mines
Kikuchi's brain to find the key to opening a special
red box that contains the secret of "Jinrui,"
a MacGuffin said to cure any disease, including all
manner of STDs and even the common cold. Mr. Brian
wants to use the cure to make a fortune, and with
a bunch of ninjas at his side, success must be in
the offing.
But Brian can't open
the box. However, a clue exists in the form of Kikuchi's
dying message, written in blood. That message: "Kill
Copy." No, that isn't a plea against audience
piracy, it's a message to kill some guy named Copy,
played here by eternally snarky comic actor Dayo Wong.
Copy is a street musician who loves playing the same
tune on his flute, and Wong plays him in such a cynically
blithe manner that he seems to be acting in another
movie. Brian thinks Copy has the key to opening the
box, and sics his pet ninja Tora Daisuke (Masato)
after Copy. But Tora Daisuke is thwarted by ninjas
Hibiki (Hisako Shirata) and Xiao Ling (Eva Huang of
Kung Fu Hustle). Hibiki actually wants to fulfill
Kikuchi's wish to kill Copy, but Xiao Ling and her
teacher (Eddy Ko) want to preserve Copy's life because
they're the good guys, and good guys don't kill musicians
named Copy.
The good ninjas sequester
Copy and the injured Hibiki to hidden Kirakure Village,
where the movie slows to a glacial crawl and Copy
learns the amazing ways of modern ninja. Not only
do they look like Eva Huang and are insanely adorable,
but they manufacture their own ninja stars out of
recycled soda cans, and generally enjoy life while
simultaneously learning deadly ninja arts. Copy teaches
the local ninja kids how to play the flute, Hibiki
starts to realize that killing Copy may be a rash
idea, and Copy discovers that life as a modern ninja
can be quite pleasant, though sometimes mystifyingly
boring. The trio (that is, Copy, Hibiki and Xiao
Ling) spend time ruminating on their personal dreams,
while simultaneously preparing for the idyllic village
festival. Meanwhile, Brian schemes to get Copy back,
and the audience wonders if anything really interesting
will happen.
Taken as a whole, Lethal
Ninja is a bizarre cinematic concoction. On one
hand, the film is presented seriously, with interludes
for grave monologues, supposedly tragic romance (Hibiki
and Tora Daisuke are ill-fated lovers on opposing
sides), personal soul-searching (all the main characters
make overblown wishes during the village festival),
and some flirtation with actual bodily harm. On the
other hand, the film has such ironic conceits as fourth
wall jokes (at one point, a character talks to the
audience), wacky wirework or cheesy CGI, and above
all, Dayo Wong. It's safe to say that the parts don't
fit, as the drama never truly convinces, and all the
touchy-feely stuff that occurs at Kirakure Village
embarrasses more than if affects. The action, while
sometimes entertaining, is given to cheesy staging
that seems more reminiscent of a seventies TV show
than a 21st century motion picture. Plus the conflicts
are routine, and the characters little more than cardboard.
The lone exception is Dayo Wong, but again, he seems
to be acting in another film. Given his self-conscious
snarky performance, it almost seems like Wong knows
that he's acting in crap.
Then again, director
Herman Yau probably knows it too. Yau is a smart enough
director to know when he's making something that's
not up to standard, and Lethal Ninja is sometimes
presented so seriously that you have to wonder if
cheesy mediocrity was the entire point of the film.
Was Yau (who was also responsible for the story) always
aiming for B-level schlock, and was his casting of
Dayo Wong intended to be his self-amused ironic commentary?
It's likely that I'm looking too much into the film,
but Yau's B-grade genre efforts have usually been
a step above the forgettable. Stuff like The Untold
Story or even The Masked Prosecutor were
better than their genre trappings, and in retrospect,
Yau's Troublesome Night films can be considered
minor gems. Sadly, Lethal Ninja does not reach
the rarefied(?) air of Yau's previous efforts, and
exists mainly as a "so bad it's amusing"
curiosity. If that was the goal, then Lethal Ninja is an unqualified success as it does amuse in a "that's
one crazy bad movie" sort of way. And hey, it
does have ninjas. The whole film doesn't make
the grade, but thanks to the ninjas, extra credit
is given. (Kozo 2006) |
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