The Ninja Showdown

Yet another formulaic badly dubbed Richard Harrison ninja movie. Seriously, look this dude up. He's been in like 20 movies that start with "ninja." He always plays Ninja Master Gordon, he wears the same lame outfit that looks like he bought it at a costume store. The headband even says "NINJA" on it. This movie's only unique points are: Ninja Bicycle Chase, ridiculous idiots in bright purple ninja outfits, parallel almost disjoined plots, and lots of things with sticks. I bought this out of pure masochism for $3. I want to start a fan club for this dude. "Ninja Hunt" is way better.

Normally I find much to enjoy in the cut and paste 'mastery' (ahem) of the ninja movies produced by Joseph Lai and Godfrey Ho.

True, the enjoyment is usually derived in a mostly derivative manner i.e. laughing at just how bad the films actually are, but it is enjoyment nonetheless.

Sadly the movie reviewed here whilst certainly as dreadful on every front as all the others, is strangely lacking the usual, curious, 'so bad it's good' redeeming charm.

The original film into which the ninja segments have been spliced is intrinsically a love story surrounded by violence. It is admittedly rather poignant in it's message that love transcends physical beauty as demonstrated in this instance, when the two lovers in the film both become disfigured in different ways. However, the story does tend to meander and certainly drags rather badly.

So what of the ninja segments which are usually so highly enjoyable? ....Usually, but not so here.

The fight choreography, whilst normally very energetic in these movies, is strangely lazy and unimaginative. The dialogue to, which is normally always a source of much mirth, again is flat and moronic (in a BAD way) In fact, even the horrific looking Hawaian shirt Richard Harrison's character wears in this (and many of the other ninja outings) failed to brighten up the proceedings any!

My advice.....skip this movie, trust me, you'll thank me for it.