Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops

Every once in a while a movie comes out that is just made for you. You hear the title, or you see the trailer, and everything just clicks. Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops is one of those movies. I mean, how can anyone screw this recipe up?

Zombies that are ninjas.

Bad ass Black Ops dudes.

Both going at it for survival.

Yes, this is just about everything I could hope and dream for wrapped into one big movie. But can it live up to its (incredible) promise? Let's find out.

The film is directed by Rody Claude. This is his second feature, after making the film Deadtime. The story is a simple one. A Japanese security firm has been experimenting on dead soldiers at a research facility located in a non-descript tower in Australia. A party is going on and Dillon (Adam T Perkins) is called in for a late night interview to work security for the firm. But all hell breaks loose when a young scientist named Mali (Kira Lee Caine) wakes up the soldiers. A Black Ops team is called in to neutralize the situation but by the time they show up it's clear that there is more going on here than meets the eye.

From the very beginning you know this is going to be one intense movie. It goes right to the action, showing you just how ruthless and capable these "Zombie Ninjas" can be. Headed by the Zombie Ninja Boss (UFC heavyweight Soa Palelei), they show no mercy and are unlike any zombies you've seen before. From the wild performances to crazy stunts you'll be dropping your jaw at some of the stuff these zombies do. If you think about the sheer number of zombie films out there it's all the more impressive that they were able to pull off a unique take on a classic villain.

But what about the other side of the coin? Those brave Black Ops soldiers sent to kick ass and take names? Adam T. Perkins is an obvious highlight. He gives a very subtle, tough performance and manages to portray Dillon as a sullen hero despite what little time is given to his introduction. Jason Britza also stands out among the Black Ops soldiers for his snarling performance as "A.K." While we're on the subject of acting we need to discuss Soa Palelei. He does get top billing, and the other zombies to a great job, but Palelei is a nutcase throughout and his absolute physicality comes through in his fight scenes, which are some of the best of the movie.

And that is saying something in a movie as chock full of action as this one. The fight scenes go on and on. Bullets are flying left and right and all manner of beat downs commence. It's beautiful.

Is it perfect? While the movie has Die Hard dna written into it there could have been some more humor dotted throughout to fill some of the gaps between those epic fight scenes. That may have gotten in the way of some of the horror beats you have here, but it also would have been a welcome diversion. There are also some wooden performances that creep in as well.

However, those are relatively minor quibbles compared to what is going on here. If you you've been paying attention, it's been a good year for movies coming out of Australia. Between Wormwood and Mad Mad: Fury Road I thought I had my fill of crazy films from down under, but Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops fits right in there nicely. This is an action movie for the Call Of Duty generation, where people aren't scared to mix genres and ideas just to see what happens. In this case, what happens is an entertaining balls to walls slugfest from start to finish that manages to do something very rare in this day and age: do something fun AND original.

My quick rating 2,1/10. Bad acting, bad fight scenes, no zombies, no horror elements. No entertainment. The fights are terrible minus the one guy who apparently is in the UFC as the head "zombie" but you wouldn't know it aside from landing a few knee lifts. Don't bother, there was no plot, the other zombie ninjas just kicked around for no reason and the good guys were pathetic. I am all for a martial arts school of young adults pooling there money together to make a film which is what this mess had to be but at least give us some semblance of a plot. I get the flashbacks of "his happened, that happened" but when they don't explain anything?

What I envisioned, and what the filmaker probably envisioned from a title like Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops was way more awesome than this film had the budget to create. It was nothing at all like what's depicted on the cover.

They needed more dudes, more pyrotechniques, and a lot less dialogue.

On the other hand, it was clearly a labour of love made by a small group of people on very little money, and I did watch the whole thing.

Granted, with a title such as "Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops", I must admit that my expectations to the movie were slim to none. Needless to say that I hadn't even heard about this 2015 movie prior to now in 2021 when I sat down to watch it.

Right from the very start, this movie had cards stacked against it. I mean, that sound they opted for having the zombie ninjas making was just laughably bad. Even a lion would tremble if it heard that sound. So yeah, the movie was definitely not off to a great start.

And believe you me, it didn't get better as the movie trotted on. The storyline and script in the movie was just rubbish. But then again, I hadn't really put my hopes up for much from the movie. I had hoped though, on some level, that the movie would be so awkward and goofy that it would be fun to watch. But "Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops" wasn't one such movie; nay, it was just a downright bad movie.

Sure, the production level was fairly good for a movie of this type, and they definitely seemed to know what they were aiming for. But the movie concept just didn't work out for me, not even in the least bit.

I am sure that there is an audience out there for a movie such as the 2015 "Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops", I just wasn't in that particular audience.

My rating of "Zombie Ninjas vs Black Ops" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

Pure action film that is all!

Zombie purists will not like this film. Actually they"ll hate it as you see with the previous comments. If you like a movie with lots of gun shootouts and martial arts action through out than this movie is for you.

The action is done very well with tonnes of energy in them. The film definitely lives up to its title! The FX are really good and the zombie eyes are done well.

The biggest let down was the acting cause its not great at all but what do you expect with a movie called Zombie Ninjas vs Black ops. Overall a good fun action flick with an OK story and excellent action sequences. Worth a watch for the intense action.