American Ninja

Name: American Ninja
Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance
Released: August 30, 1985
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 20
Cast: Don Stewart, Guich Koock, John Fujioka, John LaMotta, Judie Aronson

1985

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 5 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Ratings

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6.6

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6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Ratings

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American Ninja

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Movie Details & Credits

Cannon Film Distributors | Release Date: August 30, 1985 | R

Starring: Don Stewart, Guich Koock, John Fujioka, John LaMotta, Judie Aronson, Michael Dudikoff, Phillip Brock, Steve James , Tadashi Yamashita, Tony Carreon

Summary: American soldier, obviously very skilled in martial arts, single-handedly takes on mercenaries in the Philippines.

Director: Sam Firstenberg

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 95 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Richard Harrington

The problem is that to introduce the idea (and therefore the probable further adventures of) an American ninja warrior, Cannon has had to fall back on two filmmaking traditions it's not all that comfortable with: plot and character development. As a result, it has come up with a lumbering, overloaded vehicle when what's needed is a sprint car of a movie. [03 Sep 1985, p.B11]

Staff (Not Credited)

Director Sam Firstenberg stages the numerous action scenes well, but engenders little interest in the non-story. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

Ridiculous scripting and frequently comical budget limitations make this film a mostly awful trip to Bruce Lee Land, though the fight scenes, choreographed by Mike Stone, a karate champion and former partner of Chuck Norris, are spectacular and not as silly as the usual Hong Kong product. For fans of the genre only. Read full review

Bill Cosford

Routine chop-sock of the non-Hong Kong school. [04 Sep 1985, p.D5]

Rick Kogan

A study in formula film making and a lousy movie. [03 Sep 1985, p.5C]

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User Reviews

PolyWogg

Feb 24, 2019

The Bottom Line
A basic action movie from the '80s but it doesn't hold up.
Plot An American soldier with special skills gets posted to an island base where someone keeps hijacking military convoys. When his convoy gets hit, he's cooperating right up until someone hits the Colonel'sThe Bottom Line
A basic action movie from the '80s but it doesn't hold up.

Plot
An American soldier with special skills gets posted to an island base where someone keeps hijacking military convoys. When his convoy gets hit, he's cooperating right up until someone hits the Colonel's daughter, and then he intervenes. His memory of his childhood is mostly gone from an explosion on an island, but he has obviously had training. When the hijackers send Ninjas after him, it becomes obvious though that his skills are way more than just simple techniques.

What I Liked
Some of the basic fight scenes are fine, particularly between Joe and the Black Star Ninja. And the opening sequence is really well done. There's a scene where they shoot arrows at him, and he uses the handle on a shovel to deflect their trajectory...highly iconic and when I first saw it as a kid, I was hooked.

What I Didn't Like
I rewatched it recently, and it just doesn't hold up. As I said, some of the basic fight scenes are good, but the fight scenes with guns seems more like a Stephen J. Cannell TV show where a million bullets are fired but nothing ever hits its target. In addition, some of the stunt work is either done at low speed, shows that it isn't the actor doing the stunt (particularly a motorcycle jump), or in one case, requires a helicopter to hover in place for about 5 seconds for the stunt man to get ready to jump on the front.… Expand

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Compi24

May 20, 2020

A pleasant surprise served with a heaping spoonful of guilt on my part, "American Ninja" is as kitschy and goofy as all get-out, but damn it if I wasn't entertained throughout every moment of its steely-eyed, testosterone-soaked running time. God bless Michael Dudikoff. The guy clearly can'tA pleasant surprise served with a heaping spoonful of guilt on my part, "American Ninja" is as kitschy and goofy as all get-out, but damn it if I wasn't entertained throughout every moment of its steely-eyed, testosterone-soaked running time. God bless Michael Dudikoff. The guy clearly can't deliver lines all that well, but he doesn't have to! Half of this movie is just him Ryan Gosling-ing at the camera and cast, and it works well enough, damn it! Why Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal are household names and guys like Michael Dudikoff aren't will forever haunt my dreams. The guy's not an Arnie, Sly or Van Damme-tier action star, but he's a Norris/Seagal-level presence at the very least. I'd be glad to accompany him on another rib-cracking, arrow-deflecting journey through the jungle. What's that, you say? There's four more of these movies? Why, thank you, reader. I'll keep that in mind.… Expand

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