When we heard that the producers of The Matrix were re-teaming with the director of office favourite V for Vendetta to create a no holds barred action spectacular we could barely contain our excitement. And our anticipation reached fever pitch when we heard the title – Ninja Assassin.

Orphaned at a young age, Raizo (Rain) was taken in by the mysterious Ozunu Clan and raised to be the perfect warrior. But when his world is shattered by betrayal, he goes on the run with the Clan one step behind. Meanwhile, a Europol agent (Harris) is  close to discovering the secrets of an ancient line of Assassins for hire and when she becomes a target, only Raizo can keep her alive long enough to expose them to the world.

Ninja Assassins starts brilliantly, with cheesy titles and purposefully retro music before an unseen foe descends on a group of foolhardy Yakuza. Here, director McTeigue establishes the tone of the film, with every kill delighting in more and more intricate dismemberment and liberal does of ghoulish gore. It is an inspired take on classic ninja action scenes, with the ante upped through the use of seamless CG and practical effects, something which the genre has rarely, if ever, been able to afford.

The story is pretty standard origin fare – with flashbacks to Raizo’s early training interspersed with his increasingly desperate attempts to survive in the present. These strands intersect with that of Harris’ overcurious agent and the stage is set for an epic battle as Ninja is set against Ninja.

With a rather anemic story and little help from the leads (Rain lacks screen presence and Harris is given too little to do and lumped with a bland American accent), predictably Ninja Assassin is at its best during the action scenes. It is rare to see a movie from a major studio with this level of violence and the choreography and presentation is stunning, as is Rain’s incredible physical commitment to the role. These scenes could have been even more impressive if the filmmakers hadn’t been so literal – much is made of a Ninja’s ability to disappear in the shadows, the result being that every fight scene is drenched in deep and impenetrable blacks, often obscuring the action completely. Add in McTeigue’s often shaky camera and the ill-advised decision to represent the Ninja’s skills as almost supernatural and the action beats are simply not as effective as they could, and should, have been.

Ninja Assassin is a commendable attempt to introduce a neglected genre to a mass audience but the sense of fun which characterises that genre has been sadly lost in translation. What we are left with is stylized hyper-violence with a studio-sanctioned sheen which apes a simple Ninja story but doesn’t deliver on the action front. A strong narrative would have helped, or a relaxed, irreverent style but the film merely languishes in a straight-faced funk in between.