When there are multiple copies of a DVD in my local exchange shop, as there were for Alien vs. Ninja, it usually suggests that the film is utter garbage, but in this case what it really meant was that your 'average Joe' clearly buys films with little idea of what they're actually getting, and has zero appreciation for comic-book-style martial arts craziness featuring amazingly trashy 'man-in-suit' aliens, tons of over-the-top gore, and a hot female ninja (played by Mika Hijii) in a tight rubber outfit.
Admittedly, the plot is a little derivative (it's essentially Predator, but with ninjas) and the pacing is a little off, with the film taking quite a while to get going, but those who hang on in there will be rewarded with some incredibly inventive visuals and lots of mindless bloody action—think 18-certificate Power Rangers (that's 'R' rated for those of you in the US)—all of which proves hugely enjoyable if viewed in the right frame of mind (ie., let go of all sense of logic and accept the sheer silliness of the whole thing).
In Alien vs. Ninja, the fashion conscious warriors wouldn't be seen dead in the traditional hooded ninja suits of the type found in many an 80s B-movie, instead opting for designer outfits equipped with nifty body armour and cool accessories; the aliens are dinosaur-like creatures—clearly men in rubber suits enhanced by CGI—equipped with deadly prehensile tails and small parasitic babies that crawl out of openings in their skulls. When the two species meet, the result is a whole deal of hyper-kinetic, well choreographed martial arts, with impressive sword-fights, lots of blood and guts (assorted severed limbs and decapitations), and plenty of gratuitous shots of sexy female ninja Rin bending over or doing the splits as she narrowly avoids being impaled on the creatures' tails or, later on, by the swords of the zombie-like ninja hosts of the alien young.
I had a huge amount of fun with this knowingly daft, intentionally humorous and action-packed gore-fest, more than enough to ensure that I won't be taking my copy back to the DVD exchange shop: it's staying on my shelf, right where it belongs.
Admittedly, the plot is a little derivative (it's essentially Predator, but with ninjas) and the pacing is a little off, with the film taking quite a while to get going, but those who hang on in there will be rewarded with some incredibly inventive visuals and lots of mindless bloody action—think 18-certificate Power Rangers (that's 'R' rated for those of you in the US)—all of which proves hugely enjoyable if viewed in the right frame of mind (ie., let go of all sense of logic and accept the sheer silliness of the whole thing).
In Alien vs. Ninja, the fashion conscious warriors wouldn't be seen dead in the traditional hooded ninja suits of the type found in many an 80s B-movie, instead opting for designer outfits equipped with nifty body armour and cool accessories; the aliens are dinosaur-like creatures—clearly men in rubber suits enhanced by CGI—equipped with deadly prehensile tails and small parasitic babies that crawl out of openings in their skulls. When the two species meet, the result is a whole deal of hyper-kinetic, well choreographed martial arts, with impressive sword-fights, lots of blood and guts (assorted severed limbs and decapitations), and plenty of gratuitous shots of sexy female ninja Rin bending over or doing the splits as she narrowly avoids being impaled on the creatures' tails or, later on, by the swords of the zombie-like ninja hosts of the alien young.
I had a huge amount of fun with this knowingly daft, intentionally humorous and action-packed gore-fest, more than enough to ensure that I won't be taking my copy back to the DVD exchange shop: it's staying on my shelf, right where it belongs.