American Ninja 2: The Confrontation

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.

American Ninja 2: Ninjas in Paradise--I can't quite endorse it as much as the original. It's still a solid bit of fun though. The American Ninja films are notorious for movie mistakes, but this one takes the cake. Michael Dudikoff is onscreen aside Steve James as they meet the C.O. of the base, then cut to behind as they leave the room and it's a completely different dude. It's not Dudikoff at all!! It's the most blatantly obvious goof I've ever seen. But it also made me laugh out loud so they score points there. Other mistakes include rubber swords, dead guys that get up and continue fighting, and guys that are supposedly stabbed in the stomach but are really just holding the sword to their side. No matter how dumb the director may be, Michael Dudikoff and Steve James still kick ass and that's what the first two movies are all about. American Ninja 2, or Episode II as I like to call it, is about Joe Armstrong's encounter with genetically enhanced clones. Hum...sound familiar? Ninjas basically are Jedis, right? I could be wrong, but then again maybe George Lucas owes a bit of credibility to the genius behind American Ninja 2: The Confrontation. Dudikoff isn't in the third film so you can skip it; after all, he IS the American Ninja.

As great drama or even great action films the American Ninja series will never be up there with Rambo or Dirty Harry. Yet it's All American hero Michael Dudikoff was a popular favorite in the 80s and 90s and found a winning formula for quite a stretch. Just don't take this seriously folks.

The second of the American Ninja series has Dudikoff and Steve James sent as army rangers on a case to discover why some Marines are disappearing on a Caribbean tropic island country where these Marines are most informal. They don't even go around in uniform except on special occasions.

Who's behind all this villainy is the island's leading citizen Gary Conway best known in his salad days as Gene Barry's young lieutenant sidekick in Burke's Law. Conway who wrote the story and cast himself as villain is creating a new version of mutant Ninjas. Like Moose Malloy Conway is trying to burn the fear out of them. This in order to help with his drug smuggling enterprises, the source of his wealth. He looks like he's having a ball.

And raking in the money I'll bet.

Lots of martial arts for fans of same.

When I first saw American Ninja 2, I thought it was amazing and maybe even better than the first film. But today I watched them both since long time and was surprised that the sequel wasn't as great as I remembered.

The plot is even thinner, and the tone is lighter and has more comedic moments. But the amount of crazy ninja action is doubled. There are ninjas indoors, ninjas outdoors, ninjas on the beach, ninjas on the road, and ninjas on a battle arena. As a plain and simple "cheesy ninja movie" it is very entertaining.

If American Ninja was the Lethal Weapon of ninja movies, then The Confrontation is the Beverly Hills Cop of ninja movies. This is the second and last time to feature both Michael Dudikoff and Steve James at the same time. (They would return in more sequels but not together.) And also the only other American Ninja film directed by Sam Firstenberg. So you could say it's the most genuine sequel because it had all the right people involved. Check it out if you want...ninjas.

Steve James originally didn't want to appear in this first sequel, since it was to be shot in South Africa (which was still under apartheid). He later admitted that he had a lot of fun making the movie, which is evident onscreen. Like the first movie, James steals the show from Dudikoff, both in his martial arts skills and with a bouncy performance that makes him a treat to watch. The best that can be said about Dudikoff's performance is that he seems to be a lot more comfortable in front of the camera than he was the first time around. He's still very unemotional, has almost no dialogue, and it's still clear he knows little to nothing about martial arts, seeing how he does pretty simple moves (when not being doubled.)

Despite the movie being weighed down by Dudikoff's presence, it's still a fun movie, certainly better than the first movie. The locations are eye-catching, giving the movie a nice backdrop. The pace is quicker, giving us little chance to be bored between the action sequences. And there's certainly plenty of action, with dozens of ninjas popping up everywhere at any time. Yes, there is a cheesiness to the entire enterprise, from George Clinton's synthesizer score to the ludicrous scheme of the villain... but hey, it's a *fun* kind of cheese, one that makes you smile instead of grit your teeth. Sometimes a little silliness is what the doctor ordered, and it's also a nostalgic blast for those into '80s actioners.