Revenge of the Ninja

Good old Sam Firstenberg..The man who embraced graphic violence into martial arts films 80's deserves accolades for his entry of total cheese into the b-grade annals of this periods hokum.

Before Michael Dudikoff picked up a sword,Sho Kosugi was the real deal. Never afraid to defend his honour,even before he knew what he was fighting for and not afraid to take a beating for his earnings,Takes up the role here as a sacred ninja forced to flee to America for a new life after the slaying of his family in Osaka.(The Grandmother should have been the FIRST one slayed for her acting ability)

Ninja's are like alcoholics as far as i am concerned.They always conced that their past is forged without reason to continue other than violence and dismay.More slaughter is abound due to a poor drug running effort on part of Kosugi's friend Braden who settles Sho's life in the US unbeknowenst he's being used as the front for such materials.When Kosugi's family is caught up in the slaughter that arises from the rival gang falling out, you have to think to yourslef. A:Why is the Blonde woman even part of the story and why does she not wear underwear during practice! B: Why does Kane remain defeated by afformentioned Hypnotised Blonde and not by huge Japanese Captive C: Were most of Kane's onscreen backflips poorly choreographed. and D: Why Keith Vitali's fearless cop role was rubbed short in a matter of seconds by the evil ninja man when he spent the whole film defeating guys with hatchets and guns.

The Answer is : WHO CARES when in fact this film should be appreciated for the fact that nothing else today with Jet Li or Seagal can emulate it..This is classic 80's garb at it's best.Appreciate it for what it is and dont pick it to bits.After all,The Cannon Group were in a league of their own,and as far as the league they set out to be goes,They were the experts.This is 80's predecessing martial arts mayhem and gore (and ham also) at it's best :)

This movie is terrible. The acting is just awful and the plot could have (or perhaps was?) written by a drunk autistic child. Nonetheless, you will love it. Watch it! It and Enter the Ninja are easily the two best ninja movies of the 80's.

Sho Kosugi stars as a ninja who had his whole family wiped out by a rival clan (We even witness his son take an arrow to the back) and when his entire family is killed, except for his mother and youngest son he decides to hang his jammies up and live out his life as a businessman however when his partner runs drugs and Kosugi's son witnesses it, Kosugi must protect his son and take on his equally proficient pal in the art of ninjitsu. Revenge Of The Ninja is quite possibly the best ninja movie ever made. (Ironically the best and worst ninja movies have Sho Kosugi. Worst one being 9 Deaths of The Ninja) In it we witness everything that makes a ninja movie so appealing, lots of cheesy zen philosophy, tons of fight sequences, lots of carnage and just tons of cheese in general. Revenge Of The Ninja also remains probably the best movie to date from Sho Kosugi and indeed it is just unfortunate he had his son also partake in what could have been even better without the kid. Still Revenge Of The Ninja is a very enjoyable movie and that is not even including the granny ninja.

* * * out of 4-(Good)

This classic Ninja about practitioners of an ancient Oriental art of killing named Ninjitsu , wearing in black , using martial arts and diverse weapons , as Katana , deadly star (Ninkaisen), explosive balls...The exciting movie deals about Cho (Shô Kosugi , he personally crafted many of the weapons in the film) , when his family is murdered , he goes to America along with his son (Kane Kosugi) . There he puts a dolls-store , but his friend (Arthur Roberts) deceits him by means of drugs smuggling into the dolls . Then , a Ninja dedicates to human chase disguised in silvered mask . The Japanese Ninja , helped by a cop (Frye) , confronts enemies , mob , hoodlums (Professor Tanaka) and metes out his own justice when his son is abducted . The Ninjitsu fighter is possessed by the spirit of vengeance-seeking Ninja and only Sho Kosugi wipes out a passel of heinous villains and brings his bloody rampage to a moving final .

This a violent and gripping story with plenty of noisy action and struggles in a comic-book style . It's a mindless but enjoyable for martial arts aficionados of the old style because the new technical are made by means of wires , cables and computer generator . The violence was dramatically cut for its original theatrical release which still garnered '18' certificates around the world . The unrated version of the film features an infamous blood splatter , one of the major reasons this version of the film is more popular . Shô Kosugi was adamant that Keith Vitali's character be killed to heighten the drama , director Sam Firstenberg agreed but nixed the idea that the character's hand be cut off during his dying scene . The film highlights are the fighting between the little boy named Kane against a group of children and a gorgeous woman ; the combat between the grandmother and a killer and Sho Kosugi fighting and wielding a fan , among them . The fights , thrills and lots of action and even some moments of unintentional humor make this movie worth seeing .

The previous movie was ¨Enter the Ninja¨ (81) by Menahem Golan with Franco Nero , Menahem Golan was director of the first film , and was to direct this one also , but shortly before production was to start he decided to turn over directing chores to Sam Firstenberg . Golan did remain as producer , however and he came up with the films' opening prologue that adds more depth to the story . It was followed by ¨Ninja III , the domination¨ with Lucinda Dickey and again Sho Kosugi . The picture was well produced by Cannon -Golan and Globus- and rightly directed by Sam Firstenberg , being first "Ninja" film directed by Sam Firstenberg for Golan-Globus' . Sam's a low-grade expert on karate genre and Ninja sub-genre , such as he proved in ¨American Ninja¨ and sequels , and ¨Forced vengeance (82)¨ and ¨Avening force (1986)¨ with his usual actor Michael Dudikoff . Martial-art and Ninja films aficionados should enjoy it , because this Ninja entry is good of its type .

Martial Arts movies have always sacrificed acting and dialogue in favor of keeping the action constant and entertaining. Revenge of the Ninja is no exception. The fight scenes are amusing and the dialogue is absolutely hilarious, and yet this movie has enough charm to be a cult classic.

Sho Kusagi plays Cho, a doll collector(!) living in Japan. For centuries he and his family have followed the way of the ninja. However, one day a group of ninjas massacres his family. Only his grandmother and infant son survive. Following the advise of his friend, he moves to America to sell his doll collection. Little does he know that he is a pawn in a Japanese drug-smuggling ring...

The plot aside, Revenge of the Ninja acts out like a parody of ninja clichés. You got the evil ninja that manages to change into his ninja suit in the blink of an eye, a grandmother that can do backflips, and over-the-top villains that look like they just came back from a Halloween party. The film's final fight scene occurs on a Los Angeles rooftop, where the evil ninja pulls out decoys, sticks, and shrunikens; none of which he had at the start of the scene.

There are a lot of bad martial-arts out there. Some are pure trash. Others, like this one, are good for a few laughs.