First look at Isaac Florentine’s ‘Ninja’

As Isaac Florentine puts the finishing touches on his latest film NINJA, stills and teaser poster art from the modern-day martial arts actioner starring Scott Adkins (THE SHEPHERD) and Tsuyoshi Ihara (LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA) are gradually making their way onto the internet, some of which reveal their distinctive ninja costumes.

What clearly stands out are the ninja costumes, which according to the early poster art will be a selling point. Both suits appear to be partially armored which would make sense in a modern setting with guns. Chris Nolan’s Batman films have taken a similar approach.

Adkins’ suit appears to be channeling Sonny Chiba from his SHADOW WARRIORS TV series where he portrayed Hattori Hanzo. Ihara’s sci-fi-like suit looks more like something out of a tokusatsu series. That isn’t surprising given that Florentine has previously directed episodes of the POWER RANGERS and is well versed in Japanese culture.

Yes, the costumes look cheesy but I’m more interested in seeing how the action pans out. Adkins has already proven himself to be a top-notch screen fighter with mainstream potential while Florentine is easily the best action film director in the direct-to-video market today.

Unlike THE SHEPHERD, where Florentine was forced to leave the final editing of the film in less capable hands, word on the street is that Florentine is fully engaged in the editing of NINJA and is taking the time to get it right. As many fans of martial arts film know, proper editing is supremely important and can mean all the difference between a sloppy mess of a fight scene and a kinetic masterpiece.

Although I would have loved to have seen a well known Japanese action actor like Hiroyuki Sanada placed opposite Adkins, Tsuyoshi Ihara was a very smart casting choice. Ihara has strong acting chops as evidenced by his performance in Clint Eastwood’s masterful war drama LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. He is also a member of the famous Japan Action Club, Japan’s premiere stunt fighting organization formerly headed by Sonny Chiba so he should be able to hold his own on screen.

The burning question that will continue to fester until fans get to see this film is can NINJA compete with the Wachowskis’ NINJA ASSASSIN? Both films are coming in 2009 and both are aimed squarely at rebooting the ninja sub-genre. NINJA ASSASSIN has the bigger budget and the stunt team behind the eye-popping sword-and-sandal actioner 300. But I wouldn’t bet against Florentine’s film either. In addition to its previously mentioned assets, it also has Akihiro Noguchi for its fight coordinator. He is a member of the insane Alpha Stunts team and can count impressive screen credits that include Steve Wang’s DRIVE and the highly regarded Japanese karate drama BLACK BELT (2007).

For more NINJA pics and the latest news regarding Scott Adkins visit Scott Adkins Fanz. For even more pics, visit the official site for NINJA’s DP Ross Clarkson.