Japanese-American martial arts star Sho Kosugi makes his debut as leading man in this violent ninja actioner from legendary action B-moviemakers Cannon Films. It is the unrelated follow-up to their previous hit film ENTER THE NINJA, which featured Kosugi as the lead villain. Featured are several highly entertaining action and fight sequences built around a simplistic revenge plot with a lot of really bad acting. In spite of this, REVENGE OF THE NINJA packs enough iconic urban ninja combat, weaponry and stealth tactics, along with fine fighting form from Kosugi, to make up for its shortcomings.
REVENGE OF THE NINJA is the second entry in Cannon’s NINJA trilogy that began with ENTER THE NINJA (1981) and ended with NINJA III: THE DOMINATION (1984). None of the films are related in story or characters but Sho Kosugi stars in all three. In addition to this being the first heroic lead role for Kosugi, his martial arts-trained, nine-year-old son, Kane Kosugi, makes his screen debut as Sho’s onscreen son.
Kane went on to appear in three more of his father’s films before beginning his own career as an action star, more recently with roles in BLOOD HEAT, DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE and COWEB.
Another first for the film was Sam Firstenberg. This was the first of many action films he helmed for Cannon before moving on to Nu Image. This is the guy who directed some real B-movie gems in the ’80s including NINJA III, AMERICAN NINJA and what is quite possibly the movie with the greatest title of all time, BREAKIN’ 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO.
Ninja movies had been popular years before in Japan and they were already being reinterpreted for international audiences in Hong Kong and Taiwan by the time that REVENGE OF THE NINJA came out. For his take on the ninja theme, Firstenberg chose to consciously keep the action choreography and editing rooted firmly in traditional Hollywood conventions. This can definitely be seen in the various action scenes, which do feature authentic martial arts screen action, mostly courtesy of Kosugi, but the presentation would look comfortable in one of Clint Eastwood’s DIRTY HARRY movies. This odd mix of East and West action works better here than in other lesser attempts thanks again to Kosugi and to Firstenberg’s willingness to still showcase a lot of cool ninja tricks and gear.
The film’s plot is flimsy but meets the basic genre standard of providing characters with a credible excuse to fight. Sho Kosugi is Cho, a member of a family of ninjas attacked and slaughtered by rival ninjas in Japan. Surviving with his infant son and mother, Cho accepts an invitation by his friend Braden (Arthur Roberts) to relocate to America in order to escape the violence. Cho opens up a Japanese doll gallery for Braden but it turns out that his friend is using the dolls to smuggle heroin. When relations with a local mobster go bad, Braden dons a mask and ninja suit and unleashes his own ninjitsu skills on the mob. Cho gets caught up in the violence when the gallery is ransacked by the mob.
While Cho is hanging on to the back of a speeding van filled with stolen dolls, Braden decides to target his family. Little Kane is eventually taken prisoner. Cho teams up with a police officer (Keith Vitali) to track down his son and stop Braden.
Events come to a head as Braden assaults the corporate headquarters of the mob to assassinate their boss. Cho follows to take on Braden in a climatic rooftop duel of ninja versus ninja.
Stunt work (by Steven Lambert) and fighting action (choreographed by Kosugi) are well above average for Hollywood productions of the era. The framing is highly conventional and the pacing is slow by Hong Kong standards of the time but the sequences display a level of creativity and complexity nearly on par with what Hong Kong was producing at the time. Several action sequences even presage future Jackie Chan action set pieces. There is a terrific chase scene where Kosugi latches on to the exterior of a speeding van and after getting dragged around RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK style, manages to climb on top and leap through the front windshield. The sequence is reminiscent of the opening chase in POLICE STORY where Jackie Chan dangles from a speeding bus, or a similar sequence in POLICE STORY 3 where Michelle Yeoh dangles from a speeding truck. Later, Kosugi and Vitali take on four members of the Village People, or so they resemble, in a fight sequence on a park playground. In POLICE STORY 2, Chan has a more elaborate yet similar fight sequence in a park playground.
The film’s main highlight is the 25-minute ninja assault on the mob’s skyscraper headquarters. Here we see a dizzying array of equipment, weaponry and tactics. After both battling armed thugs through the interior of the building, Cho and Braden end up on the rooftop while employing all of their best tricks. Ninjas aside, the sequence is again reminiscent of a future Jackie Chan fight, this time the rooftop match between Chan and Ron Smoorenburg in WHO AM I? (998). Comparisons to Chan end with fighting tactics that include the use of swords, shuriken, weighted chains, dummies, kamas (small, one-handed scythe-like weapons), hidden blades, smoke bombs, and even a flame thrower tucked in a sleeve.
Kane gets to show off impressive screen fighting skills for a nine-year-old, first in a match against neighborhood bullies and eventually in a fight with blonde bombshell actress Ashley Ferrare. She plays a friend and would-be lover of Cho who gets hypnotized by Braden and ordered to kidnap the kid. Her real purpose is to provide eye candy for male viewers as she briefly goes topless and frequently runs around in skimpy outfits. Later, Kane takes on
Arthur Roberts was picked as the lead villain for his acting credentials, not his fighting abilities. Because his character wears a mask during all of his fights he was easily doubled by stunt actor Eddie Tse.
The only other martial arts actor of note in the film is Keith Vitali, a champion karate competitor who makes his debut in this film. He shows off some solid fighting moves in a couple throwaway action scenes but his stiff, emotionless acting is behind horrible.
Some of the film’s editing, continuity and/or scripting decisions are sloppily laid out. In the opening assault on Cho’s family, Braden disappears briefly during the fighting and returns with no explanation. Later, Braden goes to the effort of changing into ninja attire for a couple minutes to ambush and murder a mobster in a bathroom with no witnesses. What’s the point? Near the end, Cho is seen scaling the exterior of the mob headquarters with hand claws. Wires holding up the stuntman are briefly visible. As the camera changes and we see Cho climb onto the roof, another lower roof miraculously appears behind him.
As a youngster watching this movie for the first time back in the ’80s, I was most struck by the level of violence. The scene forever burned into my mind is Braden’s second kill when he lobs a shuriken into the skull of a one-eyed informant in front of the mobs’ headquarters. Another victim gets a poison dart to the back of the neck in a hot tub. A woman gets stabbed to death while hiding behind a canvas wall. Charles Kalani, Jr., a bulky professional wrestler better known as Professor Toru Tanaka, develops a pain in the neck when Braden introduces him to a wire choker. A hand gets chopped off, chests impaled by swords and several bloodied victims get intimate with a face full of caltraps. There is even one glorious arterial blood spray to cap off the carnage. It’s gruesome stuff by 1983 standards but looks like kid’s play next to the gory violence in James McTeigue’s NINJA ASSASSIN.
Speaking of NINJA ASSASSIN, something you won’t find in this movie are blurry and overly dark action sequences. It makes little sense but the ninjas in REVENGE OF THE NINJA only dress in black and go out during broad daylight to conduct their not-so-shadowy business. I’m still trying to understand the point of dressing in black in daylight. If they wanted to sneak around, why not use a disguise or wait till dark? While illogical, the benefit for the viewer is that it’s far easier to see what’s going on in this film than it is in NINJA ASSASSIN. The lack of stylized editing and camera work helps in this regard as well. Of course, the trade off are sequences with less visual impact.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Cannon Films • Kane Kosugi • ninja • Revenge of the Ninja (1983) • Sho Kosugi
- Egeaux
