Ninja shenanigans nonsensically ensue notwithstanding uneven nettlesome annoyances negating funniness needlessly and it notoriously dishonours a nation’s innovative knowledge.

Ninja Badass, written & directed by Ryan Harrison, is a new horror/comedy about a man named Rex with a dream to become a real ninja who must save the girl from “a secret ninja cannibal death cult.” The filmmakers aren’t shy about sharing the amount of praise they’ve received but I tend to have unpopular options. I also try to be objective because all films take an enormous amount of effort to come to fruition. How did I shape my opinion?

As far as writing goes, some of the jokes fall flat while some made me laugh out loud. I feel like it’s more miss than hit because it’s trying too hard to be funny. When jokes feel forced it usually doesn’t work. There’s a difference between trying too hard and naturally including humour in films. Some gratuitously gross-out moments go too far in my opinion.

It’s directed playfully with fun slo-mo scenes, cutaways, the use of sound effects, unique camera angles, the use of miniatures, and quick zoom-ins and outs. The highlight is a delightful fight scene with a Chinese dragon but it’s obviously a costume from a parade or festival. The way it’s shot inventively uses puppetry to bring the beast to life and make it seem like a ferocious, formidable foe. The film redeems itself here. The use of practical effects is noteworthy but it’s not used enough and the CGI sticks out like a sore thumb. The gore is so extremely over the top it’s borderline cartoonish especially with it mostly being CGI blood. Granted, it’s an independent film but I’ve seen more polished work from other micro-budget movies.

The acting isn’t great all around. The roles are overacted so much that I couldn’t tell if it was being done on purpose ironically or not. Hopefully, it’s the former and not the latter. It’s clear they knew the movie they wanted to make going into it however whether or not it translated well is another story. Other jokes seem disrespectful, tastelessly crass, and racist to Asian culture and people in my opinion. It’s very distracting when running gags about egg rolls keeping showing up when it wasn’t even funny the first time.

Overall, I found Ninja Badass very hard to sit through. I know I tend to have unpopular options but I realize the best way to judge a movie is watch it with an open mind. When weighing the pros and cons it has more going against it than it does for it. Clearly they had a good time making the film and it’s certainly not mean-spirited for what it’s worth. It seems like they have a love of the culture and they aren’t making fun of it. This reminds me of Trey Parker’s early work but not as focused or funny. Ultimately I can’t recommend Ninja Badass because the flaws are far greater than those brief moments of redemption that are too sparse to save it. And remember, Ninja or not, sometimes it helps to meditate more on your ideas.

4 out of 10