This emotional core elevates Shadow Ninja above a simple revenge plot. Kaze isn't trying to kill the bad guy because he is evil; he is trying to get home for dinner. That vulnerability makes the violence matter. No great shadow exists without a light to cast it. The villain, "The Lantern" (Maya Sakamoto), is a former kunoichi (female ninja) who betrayed the clan. She wears a suit of fiber-optic-lit armor—literally becoming a blinding light in the dark.
Shadow Ninja respects the legacy of the genre (you will spot homages to Enter the Ninja , Ninja Scroll , and even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ), but it drags the ninja, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century.
But then you watch Shadow Ninja .
Watch it with headphones. The 3D audio mix of footsteps circling behind your head will make you paranoid in the best way possible. Have you seen Shadow Ninja yet? Who wins in a fight: Kaze from Shadow Ninja or John Wick? Let us know in the comments below.