Asian Cinema meets western Cinema. No seriously, that's what it is, and unlike the complete shit-fest "comedies" starring Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan (Shang High Noon and Shang High Knights) they manage to get some humour in there without making me want to slap a baby.
The film is about Yang, a ninja (naturally) who has all but eliminated the enemy clan single handedly, until he finds the last of them. A baby girl. This causes him to turn tail and decide he wants to stop killing people (and a stupidly over the top, yet disgustingly epic way). On the run from his own clan now, he heads west.. Far.. Far into the west, into the wild west in fact, where he winds up in a town of mis-fits and ex circus freaks. HE FITS RIGHT IN! the entire second half (or middle chunk as I affectionately call it) is literally its own film.
In it we're introduced to Lynne (Kate Bosworth) and told of her back-story, her anguish, and who her antagonist is (Two main bad guys?). Her story is resolved in time for Yang to resolve his, in a way that feels as if (First Time) Director Sngmoo Lee just cut a ninja film in half, stuck a short western between the two halves and called it a three piece set.
Needless to say it doesn't really work, but that doesn't stop us having fun along the way. With hints of influence from Wild Wild west, to 300, to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and even Kung Pow, as well as every Ninja Anime ever made. It's visually stunning with its entirely CG backdrop (creating a surreal and unique environment, visa ve 300 and Sin City) and gloriously gory with it's beautifully choreographed fight scenes that, frankly, we could have seen more of.
Overall, good (if not overused) concept of "man trying to escape his past but something always gets in the way" but it wasn't particularly inspired, it could have been made better if Korean actor Jang Dong-gun had a facial expression other than "soulful contemplation". A more apt title would have been Coboys vs. Ninjas. 4/10.
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