(This review may contain spoilers).
This is another film I watched originally at the cinema… and wasn’t really expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. There was a lot of bloody gore and violence in this movie, but I found myself really empathising with the characters and although there were certain scenes that made me cringe, I was pulled into the plot almost from the start.
There’s something quite fascinating about ninjas… at least in my opinion. I like the air of mystery that comes from not being able to see all of someone’s face. And one of the things I liked about this film was that it had the good guy going against the bad guy kind of plot.
Although the flashbacks to Raizou’s past were particularly disturbing, I felt that they did really well at showing why he acted the way he did in the present. I liked how he connected to Mika and I was also particularly intrigued by the sense of calm he exuded, even while tied up.
The fight scenes in this film, while really gory, were very well-orchestrated, I felt. There were also some quite creepy moments in this film, with the ninjas whispering while they stuck to the shadows.
I did feel there were some nice elements of foreshadowing during this film. There wasn’t a lot of mystery, but I managed to connect emotionally to the characters and I cared about what happened to them. There was probably a lot that wasn’t very realistic about this film… but I personally felt it was really entertaining and a well-made film. I’d say I’d watch a sequel, but most of the time, sequels aren’t as good as the first film. But it would be nice to see where the characters go next.
Ink of Blood 