Furthermore, he was expected to internalize a number of mind-control mantras, such as “Pain breeds weakness.” and “To survive, you must learn to feel nothing at all.” However, because of his blossoming romantic relationship with Kiriko (Kylie Goldstein), another captive at the orphanage, he never quite lost his sense of humanity entirely.

Tragedy ensues after the beautiful girl allows herself to be slashed across the face by the cruel Ozunu rather than attack the boy she has a big crush on. For, she is subsequently slain for her stubborn refusal to capitulate to the demanding sensei’s will. Only then does Raizo belatedly wise up in reaction, and run away to Europe where he manages to keep a low profile

Fast-forward a few years and we find him still in hiding in Berlin, a city suddenly plagued by a series of mysterious political assassinations. The hits are being pulled off surreptitiously, leaving the clueless authorities totally confounded. Truth be told, the murders are being performed by a crack team of ninjas dispatched to Germany from the Far East by none other than Lord Ozunu and led by his evil henchman, Takeshi (Rick Yune). And despite the CIA and Interpol agents’ superior firepower, they nonetheless prove no match for these very elusive, shadowy targets.

Luckily, renegade Raizo recognizes the trademarks of his ex-comrades’ work, and he’s still smarting over squandering his last opportunity to save a damsel in distress. Therefore, he’s pumped to spring into action when he realizes forensic researcher Mika (Naomie Harris) has been marked for death for attempting to crack the case.

This is the premise of Ninja Assassin, an old-fashioned, martial arts saga directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta). The high body-count adventure might be best thought of as an East meets West splatterfest unfolding like a lethal cross of Crouching Tiger and Sam Peckinpah. The film features both ballet-like fight sequences found in the former and the sort of gratuitous gore one would associate with the latter.

One day, the movie might be best remembered as marking the arrival of Rain as a bona fide Hollywood matinee idol. The handsome, Korean singing sensation cuts a very charismatic screen presence here in the title role, making females swoon when not taking on wave after wave of malevolent bad guys. Yes, he is frequently the beneficiary of state-of-the-art, special f/x and carefully-choreographed stunts, still, don’t be surprised if he soon emerges as the heir apparent to Bruce Lee as a karate star with immense crossover appeal.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for profanity and graphic violence.
Running time: 99 minutes
Studio: Warner Brothers

~Kam Williams
~Photocredit: Warner Bros.

Rain is a South Korean singer, dancer, actor and CEO of his company J-Tune Entertainment. He began dancing as early as Junior High but his passion for the arts seemed to interfere with his academics so in 2000, his parents (mom now deceased) enrolled him in a school for the Arts to finetune his passion.

This was the begining of a promising career in music. That same 2000, Rain was recruited as a trainee for JYP Entertainment, a company managed by popular recording artist and producer Park Jin-Young. In 2002, the very driven artist debuted his first album “Bad Guy.” “Bad Guy” as a single was an instant success but Rain had other non-music related palns. He put a hold on music to try acting and like his singing career, acting also took off. With success in acting, Rain returned to music with his comeback album, “How to Avoid The Sun.” His title song “Ways to avoid the sun or escaping the sun,” was again an instant hit.

Rain after “How to Avoid the Sun” became even busier juggling his music, acting and modeling careers, which he also picked up along the way. Rain has won numerous awards across Asia but his life hasn’t been picture perfect. Besides losing his mom in 2000, as Diddy, Faith Hill, Mase and Notorious BIG sang, “its like the mo’ money we come across, the mo’ problems we see, “ at least that held true for Rain. Rain was hit with a fiery Intellectual property infringement lawsuit by U.S. Rain Coporation for his use of the name “Rain.”

Rain Corporation claimed they managed a band with the same name. While Rain Corporation did not prevail on the suit, Rain the artist was again sued for breach of contract for his 2007 USA concerts that never materialized. Rain ultimately resolved that issue, called it quits with his label and formed his own record label, J.Tune Entertainment. He continues to play music, dance, model and of course make his fans very happy.  In 2008, Rain made it on Forbe’s Magazine July 1ssue  feature called  ”10 Celebs and their Cells.”

According to Forbes, “Rain is the star who’s responsible for the sales records of Samsung cellular phones in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.” Forbes called him the “Justin Timberlake of Asia” and also wrote “Rain is also the spokesmodel for Samsung Electronics at the Beijing Olympics, and the face for laptop computers by LG Electronics.”

Visit Rain’s official English website for more on him.

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