I really wanted to like this. I really wanted to like it to the point where I was almost forcing myself to enjoy it, but damn it, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have or should have. Comedy is a tough thing to create and surely enough “The Ninja Always Rings Once” proves that rule with a short story that not only really made no sense, but never sparked a laugh from yours truly.
A man named Lance dreams of becoming a ninja so much that he drowns himself in ninja films and pictures, and even acts like one when working at his job as a delivery boy for Ninja Pizza. Curiously, Genovese also manages to squeeze in another central plot device where Lance manages to hit on every woman he meets in China Town whenever he delivers pizza. And he does it so much that he is beaten to a pulp by their boyfriends. He accidentally crashes into an actual ninja, and the two form a bond as the man known only as Takeshi trains him to become a ninja warrior. Cue the admirable but overall flat efforts to invoke laughter which I truly wanted to be entertained with, but sadly just didn’t. Vesa’s soundtrack is not only terrible, but makes the experience excruciating with songs that are just outright distracting.
All the while the joined efforts of Takeshi to train Lance are all but cheesy and boring montages, as well as odd sequences of Takeshi seducing a young girl of Lance’s romantic interest. While this dichotomy between the two has the ability to build some utter hysterics, here it’s just annoying, and I was wondering where it was all leading. For all intents and purposes, I love Genovese’s direction and handling of the film, and he directs his story with such a gritty and oddly aged appeal that it almost looks like something from the eighties. Genovese’s film is so 80’s chic in fact, I almost forgot it was made a little under a year ago. Genovese is clearly a talent behind the camera providing some crafty editing, great wide shots, and a knack for competent pacing.
That said, Gabriel Leon as Lance is both distracting and rather shrill often shouting to his master and acting as a truly obnoxious hero you just can’t stand to root for. While you have to appreciate the premise, Leon’s performance leaves much to be desired and he made the tale of the fanboy becoming a true ninja tedious. The overall climax again has potential to be a great dose of ambiguity, but instead I was just happy it’d ended. I just didn’t care much for “The Ninja Always Rings Once” and in spite of my best efforts to take the movie with a tongue in cheek attitude, we didn’t click. However, I look forward to seeing what Genovese can do with future films, because he’s no slouch as a director.