Ninja Assassin a loving tribute to '80s action

"Is the world ready for a Korean Clark Kent?"

Fans may have expected James McTeigue's follow-up to 2005's V for Vendetta to be another sprawling tale of political intrigue. Instead, he went for Ninja Assassin, an admittedly frivolous genre piece.

The Australian-born director, recently in town for the flick's debut at the Vancouver International Film Festival, has always been drawn to graphic novels, animation, and bold design.

"It just so happened that I was lucky enough to start my career with a lot of really good things, and they were visually exciting projects," McTeigue told the Georgia Straight while gazing out a hotel window. "I do seem to have pronounced inclinations in that direction. I got in on the tail end of the Australian renaissance, assisting directors like Bruce Beresford and Samantha Lang, so by the time I got to Hollywood, my credentials were fairly strong."

The future filmmaker worked as a first assistant director on pop-culture projects like the Matrix movies and Attack of the Clones, and last year—long after directing Vendetta—did second-unit direction on Speed Racer. Except for a Star Wars side trip with George Lucas, much of his labour has been associated with Chicago brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski, also the key producers for Assassin, which opens here Wednesday (November 25).

"I love that filmmaking is such a collaborative effort. I get the auteur theory, sort of, but it's pretty hard to say that you're the single most important element on a set when there are so many people involved."

That may be one reason he was so happy when the Matrix makers agreed to produce the tale of a lone-wolf ninja, on the run since breaking away from an obscure Japanese order that trains indefatigable killers for hire in a remote mountain retreat.

"I do love comics, graphic novels, and games of all sorts," he said, "and Ninja gave me a chance to draw on that, if you'll forgive the pun, but also to have elements of film noir, with a heavy use of negative space, as well as some outright horror. But mainly we wanted to make a tribute to the cheesy ninja movies we enjoyed in the '80s."

The other central attraction was the chance to work with Rain, the project's leading man and a rising star throughout Asia and, now, the West.

"His screen presence and sense of himself is really extraordinary," the director asserted. "Also, it may be time for a changing of the guard, where all the Jackie Chans and Jet Lis are concerned."

Born Jeong Ji-Hoon in Seoul, South Korea, Rain grew up in poverty, with singing and dancing skills his tickets to survival and more—although he now describes the Korean talent mill as its own kind of nightmare. After emerging as a backup performer for established star Park Jin Young, Rain had hit CDs, got massive media coverage, and made his U.S. debut in 2006, selling out two shows at Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden.

At the same time, he was developing a parallel career as an actor, with Korean comedies and TV dramas leading to his English-language breakthrough as Emile Hirsch’s Korean teammate in Speed Racer, which is where the Wachowskis entered the picture.

"They said they had another movie for me," Rain himself said on the phone from Toronto, where he was doing press for Ninja's North American release.

"Of course," he added in good, if halting, English, "I didn't know how hard it would be. I trained for eight months, five hours a day, six days a week, and I had the same diet as Bruce Lee: chicken breasts and vegetables, no sugar or starch. That wasn't easy. I also learned martial arts, lots of stuff with swords and chains."

All this cinematic opportunity means that Rain is letting his music go for now, although he hopes to get back to singing and romantic comedies in the future.

"Asian fans have a different view of me. More people in the West have an interest in martial arts, and, lucky for me, dancing is a very good training for martial arts. But I'd like to do action, horror, comedy—everything."

So far, he's been pretty lucky, too, in his choice of Hollywood company.

"The Wachowskis have an amazing ability to make dreams come true. They are actually kind of similar to James McTeigue in the way they direct: they are very humble and kind, and that is helpful when you are kind of a beginner," he added with a laugh.

The big difference between his last two movies, aside from the size of the role, was largely technical.

"Speed Racer was almost 90 percent green screen," Rain explained, "with lots of computer work. There was almost none of that in Ninja—just safety wire and old-fashioned special effects, all on the set. No camera tricks, just another kind of dancing."

There are rumours that McTeigue is in the running for a chance to update the Superman franchise. Just one question: is the world ready for a Korean Clark Kent?

By Ken Eisner
Source: straight.com (Vancouver)
Credit: sixtofive1982.com