American Ninja 2: The Confrontation

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation is more of the same as in the first film. The smooth pimps Armstrong and Jackson to do more ass whuppin in this ok sequel. This time around the fight scenes are better and so is the plot. All in all a decent film.

This 1987 sequel to the 1985 "American Ninja" movie is essentially the same as the first movie, just with a different villain and location. But the rest of the story and movie was pretty much the same.

So is that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, that depends on if you liked the first movie or not. If you did like it, then you will like part two as well. And if you didn't like part one, then you will not like part two either.

Again, you got all the campy ingredients; cheesy storyline, generic characters, stereotypical villain, worthless henchmen, wonderful dialogue (you see the irony here, right?), action, martial arts, explosions and, of course, ninjas! Lots and lots of ninjas.

The acting was every bit as strained and wooden as in part one, but isn't that just part of the charm of these movies? One of my favorite things in "American Ninja 2: The Confrontation" was this particular piece of dialogue delivered by the commanding officer who requested the help of the US rangers: "I don't know who you are, what you are, or why you are here". Wait, what? Didn't he himself request the help?

Story-wise, well with little deviation from part one, it is about American ninja Joe Armstrong who is on a Caribbean island to solve the mysterious disappearances of US marine personnel, when he is confronted by a ninja syndicate.

While not a masterpiece, "American Ninja 2: The Confrontation" is as enjoyable as the previous movie. Equally campy, cheesy and requires little brain activity from the audience.

This to me is the best out of American Ninja series movies. The story flows much better than the first movie, and everything is better integrated in this movie than the first installment.

Another great thing about this movie is that the scenery is beautiful. This really added to its atmosphere.

Michael Dudikoff and Steven Jones looked great in the Marine's uniform, and the cast of girls they collected (even as extras) were notches above the other movies from this series.

If there's one American Ninja series movie to watch, this one is highly recommended.

It's cheesy as all hell, but I actually prefer AMERICAN NINJA 2 to the original. The story moves quicker and there's more action. Dudikoff and Steve James return as karate-kicking Army soldiers, this time investigating a mysterious Caribbean island where soldiers have been disappearing. The bad guy there is creating genetically-enhanced super Ninjas or something like that, using the work of a kidnapped doctor, who's daughter informs Dudikoff about his abduction and imprisonment on the island. There's a wild truck chase and a fun bar fight, and an all-out action-packed climax on the island between an army of Ninja and the Army. Another typical "chop socky" flick, but a slight improvement over first, and my favorite of the series.

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation is the best movie in the whole series and one of the best action movies I have ever seen. It has everything and what's more important: it has NINJAS! Tons of ninjas. In fact, there are so many ninjas in this movie that people got used to them. Ninjas wander around freely, shopping in supermarkets, hiding on roofs, driving cars, taking the sun on secluded beaches. This movie taught me one important lesson: ninjas are one of us and we should respect them. After seeing this great movie I say hello to ninjas on the street and I'm not afraid anymore to look under my bed in case a ninja is hiding there. We shouldn't be afraid of ninjas, ninjas are our friends! But back to the movie. It has three elements that make it so great: it has Michael Dudikoff, an exotic location, and a truck load of ninjas. The plot is simple, Dudikoff (himself being an invincible ninja) kicks some ninja ass then kicks some more and finally destroys the villain's master plan (sell clone-ninjas to other villains). But what makes this movie great is the unbelievable amount of action: ninja fights on a beach, bar fights, car chases, explosions, more explosions, sword fights. And if you think that ninjas perform only two basic functions: spying and killing, you're wrong. Because ninjas in American ninja 2 evolved, now they are also: bodyguards, sentinels, inept killers, car drivers, butlers, guards, human statues, decorations, extras, stunts, martial artists, masters of disguise and masters in ridiculing themselves. But why would a villain hire them instead of a conventional army? Because ninjas look cool and have three main characteristics that common soldiers don't have: they are FAST (the quickness with which their ass gets kicked is just amazing), they are SILENT (maybe they're silent, but that doesn't help them when they wander around in their black suits in broad daylight!) and they are DEADLY (I don't think they managed to kill anyone in the movie let alone even scratching Dudikoff). And the potential buyers are all a brilliant assortment of stereotyped villains: from the street pimp and the drug lord to the south-American dictator and the Arabian prince. And the main base of the villain is even more stereotyped, it has everything a villain dreams of: a representative logo (a lion with a shuriken in his head), a lab (with scientists and all), an arena (where ninjas can perform) and an office (from where the villain can dominate the world). And the most amazing thing is that if you are dressed like a ninja you can easily enter this heavily guarded complex and wander around freely. Ninjas walk the halls, buy coffees, take the elevators, go on cigarette breaks. They are just like us, but dressed like ninjas! Black ones, blue ones, red ones, it doesn't matter. The more the merrier. I learned the lesson and I'm sure you'll all learn it too after seeing this movie: ninjas are one of us. And remember, ninjas are EVERYWHERE!