Alien vs Ninja (2011)

Tagline: Hundreds of years ago… They fought back!

Curiosity: It’s got Aliens versing Ninjas!

Plot: A group of Inga ninjas are returning from a successful round of ninja-ing when they see a fireball rip through the sky. When they go to investigate, they encounter aliens! Fighting occurs. The ninja’s leader, Yamata (Masanori Mimoto), is determined to take the creatures down, doubly so when they kidnap his best friend (Shûji Kashiwabara).

Also there’s a lady ninja named Ren (Mika Hijii) and she gives lots of fan service.

Thoughts: Overall, I’m pleased as punch about my purchase of Alien vs Ninja. But man, that first half hour was just torture. Writer/director Seiji Chiba intended the film as a sci-fi/horror/comedy mash-up, and the initial 30 minutes rely way too heavily on stupid slapstick. The comedic foil (Ben Hiura) is so grating the way he brays and mugs. It’s very Japanese, I’ll put it that way, so expect lady-boys, screaming, slapping, and fan service. Lots of fan service. There’s a lot of dialogue and set-up in the beginning as well, and for a while I thought Alien vs Ninja might not have the budget to pull off its hilariously great idea.

But then things take off. Chiba himself said he wanted to take Ridley Scott’s Alien and present a more Japanese interpretation, so he opted to include ninjas because ninjas are cool. He realized the concept was goofy, though, so the film quickly took a self-aware sense of humor. The actually comedic bits fail hard, but the lack of restraint results in some stupid/awesome fight scenes. AvN actually does a nice job balancing CGI, wire work, and fight choreography. It’s not the best looking sci-fi flick out there, but it hides its budget well enough. It also doesn’t shy way from violence or gore. Interestingly, this Alien homage comes off more like a Predator rip – elite fighters in the woods do battle with an extraterrestrial adversary. While it ultimately comes off like an anime, that plays to the movie’s strengths.

Reflection: The creatures look like Alien meets Evangelion meets dolphins.