Review of American Ninja

Introduction

Back in the 80s, video rental shops had a staple fare of low-budget action movies that spawned endless sequels, had ludicrous plots, suffered from bad acting and invariably featured martial arts of some description.

American Ninja fits the bill perfectly with a story featuring a young man, with little or no memory of his past, who was trained as a ninja by a martial arts master as a youngster, and after being discovered abandoned, finds his way into the US Army. Whilst on duty driving a convoy of trucks, ninjas attack, and he fights them off, rescuing the senior officer`s daughter. However, he is blamed by the army for the deaths of several of his colleagues, and when he goes after the hijackers, he finds himself threatened from both sides.

Video

The video is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of above average quality, providing a reasonably sharp image that is stable and colourful. The print is reasonably free of dirt and grain and overall it looks pretty good given the age and origin of the film.

The visuals consist of the army base and surrounding area, and are not particularly exciting, with a low budget direct-to-video look to the sets. The action is primarily based on close quarters fighting between the soldiers and the ninjas, and the fight scenes are very unconvincing and laughable at times.

For another laugh, check out the scene where they jump from a helicopter onto a roof - you can see the crash mat billowing in the wind...

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, which provides adequate but unexciting reproduction of the sound. When switched to Dolby Pro-Logic mode, little or no sound comes from the read channels.

Some of the sound effects used in the fight scenes are fairly unconvincing, and when combined with the poor choreography, makes the action sequences rather unintentionally comic at times.

Features

The only extra on offer is the trailer, which is probably just as well, as the film really isn`t good enough to warrant spending any time watching extra material!

Conclusion

I expected American Ninja to be drivel and I wasn`t disappointed – it`s an atrocious movie, classic 80s video shop cheap and cheesy action fare. The ridiculous plot is aided by dreadful acting, with Dudikoff appallingly wooden as the main lead, and the ninjas looking and behaving more like circus clowns than deadly killers. The supporting cast of soldiers and ropey fight sequences aren`t any more convincing either, which all combines to make this painful viewing.

This really is a bad example of an action film, which will surely struggle to find a market in an already overcrowded genre. I suggest that if you really want to see this film, look out for it on TV, or as a last resort rent it out. Buying it really would be very silly indeed!