Film Review: American Ninja (1985)

In 1980s ninjas became part of global popular culture due to immensely successful novels, comic books and, of course, action films. The key contribution for the latter was provided by The Cannon Group, studio specialised for cheap exploitation cinema. One of their most iconic products was American Ninja, 1985 film directed by Sam Firstenberg.

The plot begins in US Army base in Philippines and the protagonist, played by Michael Dudikoff, is Private Joe Armstrong, one of the soldiers stationed there. His past is mysterious and colourful – he was accidentally found somewhere in Pacific as amnesiac child and spent most of subsequent years getting into trouble, with latest incident leaving him to chose between prison and military service. Armstrong is, however, loner who seems to be keeping himself out of trouble, but everything changes when trouble finds him. During routine mission, his supply convoy gets ambushed by local rebels who easily overpower every soldier except Joe, who displays martial art skills in such manner that the attackers must get reinforcement in the form of deadly hordes led by Black Star Ninja (played by Tadashi Yamashita). Joe manages to escape and even saves the life of Patricia Hickok (played by Judie Aronson), base commander’s daughter. Upon return to base he is, however, snubbed by his comrades who blame his impulsive actions for needless deaths. Corporal Curtis Jackson (played by Steve James), base’s unofficial martial arts champion, wants to teach Joe a lesson but, after losing a fight, learns to respect Joe and even becomes his friend. In the meantime, it is revealed that the ambush was orchestrated by Victor Ortega (played by Don Stewart), rich arms dealer who wants to sell stolen high-tech weaponry to certain sinister characters in Colombia. Even some of the base personnel are involved in the scheme and Joe serves as a perfect scapegoat that would cover their tracks. Thankfully, Joe is visited by Shinyuki (played by John Fujioka), former Japanese WW2 holdout and ninjutsu master who had actually raised Joe as a child and who helps him remember old skills that would help him in final showdown.

This film is most likely to appeal to two kinds of audience – those who feel a lot of nostalgia towards 1980s and those who don’t like action films to be too serious. There are some plot holes and implausibilities that could have been dealt in slightly more ambitious and much longer film. Director Firstenberg is, however, interested solely in stuffing as much action in hour and half of running time. Those scenes, despite being obviously made with low budget, mostly work and allow great deal of variety, which ranges from typical martial arts action to military spectacle involving armoured vehicles and exploding helicopter in the end. The greatest asset and, arguably, the best thing about American Ninja is lead actor. Dudikoff was cast exclusively on the account of his good looks and resemblance with James Dean, while not having any martial arts experience at all. He, however, worked very hard on the set and actually earned black belt. The results of such effort are quite visible in the film; Dudikoff not only performs well in action scenes, but also plays archetypal quiet hero very well. Steve James, great character actor specialised for supporting roles in this sort of films, also delivers another great role, having great chemistry with Dudikoff. This achievement is even more impressive considering that James and Dudikoff, just like their fictional characters, initially didn’t like each other on the set only to end up as good friends. The rest of cast is usually only adequate or forgettable. Film could have been much better if not for truly annoying soundtrack by Michael Linn which, at times, truly tests audience’s patience.

While script leaves much to be desired, it also featured one detail quite unusual for its era. Film was made during presidency of Ronald Reagan whose pictures feature prominently in many scenes and, as such, it was to be expected that it would endorse his politics and have Communists and main villains. American Ninja, however, takes unusual route and have villains that are actually radical right-wing anti-Communists with some US military personnel accepting their nefarious activities as necessary evil. Made only a year before Iran-Contra scandal, this film looks incredibly prophetic. Most of the audience, however, didn’t care about those details, wanting nothing but simple but effective action entertainment. American Ninja delivered those goods and made enough money to spawn three sequels.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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