Thursday October 29, 2009
Mean business
Scott Adkins delivers all the kicks and punches in Ninja.
AFTER an absence from martial arts-driven films, the ever-mysterious martial arts of ninja is making a comeback on the big screen.
Late next month, there’s Ninja Assassins which stars Seoul-born artiste Rain, and while in cinemas today is Ninja, headlined by Scott Adkins, last seen in Wolverine.
Ninjas are said to be covert agents or mercenaries in feudal Japan whose speciality is in the unorthodox arts of war.
Defender of sacred weapons: Casey (Scott Adkins) is fighting for his life in Ninja.
Ninja starts at a less volatile time when these dark agents have agreed to put down their arms to lead a peaceful life. All their weapons are stored in a chest known as Yoroi Bitsu.
Coming into the present-day picture, are Casey (Adkins) who is a Caucasian martial arts expert, and Masazuka, a ninja with a temper. The two come to terrible blows, resulting in Masazuka leaving but not before vowing to return and claim Yoroi Bitsu for himself.
Masazuka keeps to his word and returns with an army of assassins all hell-bent on getting the sacred weapons. It is up to Casey, to stop this from happening.
In an e-mail interview provided by RAM Entertainment (the film’s distributor), Adkins said that he wanted to participate in this film because he has always been a fan of this ancient art.
“I remember my father bought me a ninja suit when I was 12 and I never took it off. My brother commented, when he found out I was doing the movie, that he couldn’t believe I was still running around in ninja suits: ‘But now you’re getting paid for it!’
“Honestly, I’d always wanted to do a ninja movie and I had some of my own ideas that I was working on for a film, which ultimately ended up in the script. It was a perfect opportunity for me.”
Adkins, who has had training in kickboxing and taekwondo since he was 10, found it challenging to switch to this Japanese form of art.
So Adkins paid special attention to the Japanese-styled strikes and kicks, and learned to use the katana (Japanese sword) properly.
“We also use other weapons like throwing stars, kusarigama (sickle on a metal chain) and the nunchuka (two sticks connected by a short chain). I’m actually quite good at using the nunchuka but when you try and do it with a ninja suit on and a sword attached to your back, it creates a whole new set of problems.
“It was just a case of adapting my own style to that of Casey’s.”
Naturally, when it came to filming, Adkins wanted to do all the martial arts fights himself, leaving only stunts like getting hit by a car or jumping off a 10-storey building to the professionals.
“One of the best stunts I did for this movie was a somersault over a moving car. I’m pretty sure that the producer was getting very nervous, but I basically told him I was doing it and there was nothing on Earth that was going to stop me.”
At the same time, he found it funny that even though he did most of the stunts, the audience wouldn’t be able to tell if it’s really him executing all the nifty moves because of the ninja suit which covers up everything.
“But it’s important to me that the audience know that it’s Scott Adkins that they’re watching and not a group of stunt men.”
Like how he knew he wanted Adkins as the hero of Ninja, director Isaac Florentine knew the villain of the movie had to be played by Japanese actor Tsuyoshi Ihara (Letters From Iwo Jima).
For one, Ihara has learned martial arts as well, enabling him to hold his own when scenes required him to fight with Adkins.
The 33-year-old English actor remembered the first time he sparred with Ihara for a scene on the rooftop of a police station, and how Ihara was pushing the routine to the limit. However, not being new to working with foreigners, he just worked harder.
Adkins’ break into show business came when he participated in a Hong Kong film titled Extreme Challenge. Making his way there, he ended up working with some of Hong Kong’s bigwigs including Yuen Woo Ping, Corey Yuen, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan.
“I love to work with actors from Asia compared to those of Hollywood. The Japanese and Chinese actors will never complain like they do in my country. They are so professional and so hard working and they understand that it is a collaborative effort and it’s not just all about them.
“Also, there is much more of an understanding of how to deliver action on screen and you need that for a movie like this.
“Asia has a great list of action stars who do their own stunts and are fantastic physical performers. I can only hope that Asian audiences will find it refreshing to see someone like myself who can give artistes like Tony Jaa and Donnie Yen a run for their money.
“I am a huge fan of Asian cinema and was lucky enough to work with people like Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo Ping. I learnt many things from these people but I was always the bad guy. It’s good to know that I can now appear in Asia as the hero.” – Compiled by Mumtaj Begum
Ninja opens nationwide today.
