MANILA, Philippines ? One thing you can say about the movie, ?Ninja Assassin?: It lives up to its title?and then some. Apart from its titular character, there?s an army of other masked, black-clad, stealthy shuriken-throwers in it. They are, in fact, almost literally crawling out of the woodwork, and though they may be as dark and silent as their own shadows, they?re far from inconspicuous?there?s nothing subtle about the film.

Directed by James McTeigue and produced by the Wachowski brothers of ?The Matrix? fame, ?Ninja Assassin? is unabashedly violent. It?s also occasionally amusing, and graphic as all get-out. With a title like that, what else would you expect?

Cruel leader

Starring Korean pop star, Rain, the movie is ostensibly about a ninja assassin, trained from childhood to be a hired killer, who turns against his own organization, exacting revenge upon the cruel leader who has had his ninja sweetheart executed. The flimsy plot merely exists to justify the array of action scenes, however?and they, at least, will not disappoint.

You probably know what?s coming?sharp instruments, severed limbs and copious amounts of the red stuff. The action scenes seem to have been shot with the dimmest possible lighting, which at first works to the film?s advantage. With everything cast in shadow and half-light, the ninjas? creepy stealthiness is emphasized as various sharp, shiny weapons whiz by, seemingly from out of nowhere, striking, slicing and dicing as they pass. It gets a bit old after a while, though.

Clocking in at just over one and a half hours, the production ends just when boredom is about to set in, and you?re about to get inured to all the piercing and slashing. Just as well, since it?s the fight scenes and other action sequences that really propel this movie forward.

Flashbacks

In ?Ninja Assassin,? baby-faced Rain plays Raizo, a former member of a group of secret ninja assassins who have all apparently been trained since birth to be perfect killing machines. We see glimpses of that rigorous training in a series of flashbacks, which also details the whys and wherefores behind Raizo?s decision to turn his back against his former mentor and his fellow ninjas. Joining him is Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris), who?s on the run from the same bad guys and is in need of rescuing.

As expected, Raizo, who looks more like he belongs in a boy band (as one of the movie?s characters aptly puts it), rescues the girl and triumphs in the end. To be fair to the Korean superstar, floppy shampoo-ad hair notwithstanding, he executes his moves with grace and finesse. Plus, no one will deny that he looks really good with his shirt off.