Ninja Assassin (2009)

Attempting to catalog the ocular and periorbital trauma in the ultra-violent Ninja Assassin would be as tedious as estimating the total blood loss in the movie. One particular injury, though, bears mentioning for its graphic depiction and very realistic post-traumatic appearance.

I don't think I'll be ruining anyone's movie-going experience by describing the plot, which involves the standard outline of an orphan, Raizo, being inducted into a grueling martial arts training regimen. The story gets told in a flashback style, reminding me a lot of David Carradine's TV show Kung Fu. Throw in the requisite rivalry with a fellow pupil, and the student-versus-master storylines, add several hundred gallons of stage blood, and you have a pretty good idea of what Ninja Assassin is all about.

OK, on to what you have all been waiting for: the eye injury. Sho Kosugi, the godfather of all ninja movies, plays Ozuno, the leader of the ruthless clan. He sustains a facial trauma and penetrating eye injury delivered by a Kusarigama, a traditional Japanese weapon with a sickle on a metal chain, with a weight on the end. Many years later, convincingly rendered evidence of Ozuno's injuries are seen, including eyelid and corneal scarring. Interestingly, Ozuno's magic regenerative ninja healing powers don't seem to work on his right eye. Also, it seems the vision loss in his right eye does not hamper his incredible ninja skills in the least.

Here is a resource for living well with vision in one eye.

And here's an eye fact from a 2005 article on eye injury from the Archives of Ophthalmology:

In the United States in 2001, an estimated 1,990,872 (6.98 per 1000 population) individuals experienced an eye injury requiring treatment in an emergency room, inpatient or outpatient facility, or private physician’s office.

I can't really objectively assess a movie like Ninja Assassin, since I spent a big part of my childhood watching ninjas in movies and on TV, reading about ninjas, and pretending to be a ninja. For me, this was a hugely enjoyable movie-going experience, full of stylized martial arts and weaponry. The final cinematic fight scene alone is worth the price of admission. For those concerned with nuances like coherent plot, continuity, or believable dialogue, Ninja Assassin will surely disappoint. For everyone else, this movie gets an A - .