American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987) User Reviews

The cheesy ninja onslaught continues...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 30 December 2015]

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.

Just like the first one it's not Lucas or Kubrick it's b action movie take for what it is!

[DunnDeeDaGreat · 5/10 · 13 March 2003]

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.

The tough Rangers go into action to rescue Marines kidnapped at a Caribbean island

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 4 December 2008]

This violent art-martial film is the second entry about our heroes, the Rangers duo, Sergeant Armstrong(Michel Dudikoff)along with his proficient sidekick, Sergeant Jackson(Steve James) who are assigned a difficult mission at Caribbean Island( at the original film was Philipines). Five marines have disappeared and must investigate their location, being helped by marines captain(Jeff Weston). The prime suspect is a villain, drugs dealer named Lion(Gary Conway, also screenwriter), he has abducted a scientific who manufactures mass-produced an army of violent Ninjas by means of genetic engineering. The super-Nijas dressed in black, hooded, a blade on the back and using Shinkaisen, a metallized star they throw. Our protagonist go to Barbarroja island where take on the heinous nasty, the biggest heroin dealer of the planet. There they'll wipe out a passel of violent Ninjas.

This is plenty of action,adventures, fights,suspense in a comic book style. Dudikoff who is beefy as ever plays a two-fisted ranger utilizing efficiently his deadly skills. The movie is co-starred by Steve James(1952-1993), a corpulent fighter, he usually acted partner to tough stars, Michael Dudikoff(three times), Chuck Norris and David Carradine, but sadly he early deceased.Besides appear a flashbacks scenes with John Fujioka, the coach who trained Dudikoff on the art-martial world. Atmospheric musical score composed by synthesizer is made by George S Clinton. As always the film is produced in middling budget by Yoran Globus and Menahem Golan, Cannon Productions.The film is professionally directed by Sam Firstemberg, he's a low-grade expert about art-martial and Ninjas sub-genre and in Delta Force rip-offs. Followed by several sequels, starred by Dudikoff substituted by David Bradley and Steve James and mostly directed by Firstemberg and Cedric Sundstrom; such as ¨American Ninja 3 Blood Hunt¨, 'American Ninja: Annihilation¨ and American Ninja V.

Ninjas here, ninjas there, ninjas EVERYWHERE!

[YugoNinja · 8 November 2005]

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!

Rangers protecting Marines

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 16 January 2017]

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.

A significant step down from the first movie.

[thepolyblog · 4/10 · 25 February 2019]

Plot Michael Dudikoff and Steve James are back as Army Ranger buddies sent to an island where some Marines have disappeared. The reason? Witnesses saw guys in black outfits, hoods, and swords carrying them away.

What I Liked The movie jumps from fight scene to fight scene so the action rarely slows down. And there is a great scene with Steve James using fairly large knives in an epic battle. Overall, most of the secondary fight scenes are much better done than in the first movie.

What I Didn't Like The plot is almost non-existent (super soldiers, meh), almost all of the acting is hammy, and the ultimate battle is a let down compared to a big car chase scene doing a bit of a take-off of the first movie's opening scene (person being dragged behind a vehicle).

More of the same

[sveknu · 5/10 · 13 May 2005]

"American Ninja 2" continues exactly in the same way the first movie ended. It's the same thing all over again: Cheesy story, tons of ninjas, fighting scenes and standard mediocre b-action movie acting. I'll have to criticize the plot this time, because it was much worse than the plot in the first movie (and that wasn't a particularly good plot, either). They try to flirt with science-fiction elements in this one, and that is just so stupid. Steve James does a terrific job in this one. The bar-fight and the last scene are especially great, he shows that he is THE KING himself in this movie-series. Dudikoff also does what he's paid to do, and that means fight scenes who are OK at the best.

Less plot...but more ninjas!

[SkullScreamerReturns · 7/10 · 16 May 2020]

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.

* * OUT OF FIVE

[bronsonskull72 · 4/10 · 10 July 2003]

Michael Dudikoff and Steve James return as Joe Armstrong and Curtis Jackson two martial arts experts who hunt a drug lord who is geneticly altering soldiers in this slightly improved yet still ultimately mediocre sequel. Michael Dudikoff still remains the strong and silent type, but his sidekick Steve James is the one who really provides the fun here, some creative actionscenes, but that's about it.

Stay down!!

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 2 November 2022]

Joining Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff) is Curtis Jackson ( Steve James) who, like Joe, is promoted to the Army Rangers and sent on a mission to the Caribbean in search of missing Marines. Quicker than you can say déjà vu, Joe and Curtis are battling scientifically-engineered Super Ninjas in an attempt to bring down a dreaded drug lord known as The Lion (Gary Conway).

American Ninja 2 is a lively sequel to the excellent American Ninja that has wall to wall action - exciting fight scenes courtesy of Mike Stone's choreography and endless inventive and OTT sequences. The story as well as the plot is simple, yet it's quite eyegrabbing and fun. It's not meant to be taken seriously and viewers who haven't lost the child in them would appreciate it. Michael Dudikoff and Steve James shine with their chemistry, with one being quiet and contemplative and the other (Steve James) being loud and gagging for a fight.

The Confrontation

[Scarecrow-88 · 4/10 · 27 January 2007]

Second-rate wannabe ninjas(actually American stunt guys who could've really benefited from an Asian martial arts consultant)are genetically engineered by a scientist forced into it because Leo "The Lion" Burke(Gary Conway, blonde hair, white suit and all)threatens the life of his daughter. The lion's crew had been successful at kidnapping marines for further testing so two Army Rangers, Joe & Curtis(Michael Dudikoff & Steve James)are brought in to find their whereabouts. On an island called Blackbeard(I'm not joking), The Lion, along with his right hand man, one-eyed(one eye is scarred for proper menacing effect) "ninja-master" Tojo Ken(Mike Stone), will use a compound built on Blackbeard as his major drug empire along with his massive growing ninja army. Will Joe and Curtis be able to infiltrate this massive compound while also dodging The Lion's cohorts in the city across from Blackbeard? If you like corny 80's ninja actioners where bad guys wait to be punched and couldn't hurt Dudikoff if they wanted to, this is right up your alley. It's a programmer like many that came out in the 80's and early 90's which fed starving martial arts chop-socky fans with absurd plots and plenty of broken bones. This film, itself, merely serves as an excuse for Dudikoff to snap a lot of necks, limbs & bones..and he does so with a great endless supply of these ninjas who keep coming in droves to be slaughtered in a bevy of ways. It's fun to see James playing the muscular bad ass for it seems he's having a blast. The film provides those who like this sort of thing a small plot, with little acting, and a lot of people getting kicked and thrown in the air. A bar serves as a major source for the body throwing. A lot of the fight sequences are badly choreographed so that Dudikoff could come off unstoppable as ninjas seem to fall right into their demise.

One of the greatest films of all time

[Devo523 · 10/10 · 20 April 2006]

I first saw this movie when i was 13 on the wgn movie of the week. This was the showcase for numerous jean claude movies and Bronson Death wish flix. But this movie stands out on its own. When I first saw it I had never laughed at a movie so much in my life, and immediately I knew I needed to own it. SO i waited around and found out when it was on next and taped it off TV. Then the studying of greatness started.

There are numerous Flaws and items of interest that one should look for to help them through this classic. First and foremost is dudikoff ( the American ninja)'s delivery. Everything is said in the same monotone intense voice. For example, He would say the line "I want to kill you!" the same way he would say, "I love you" or "The president has been kidnapped." And also his giant package that my girlfriend noticed last viewing of the movie which is ridiculous and pertruding.

Now for individual scenes; When Dudikoff and James are meeting with Wild Bill for the first time, look at Dudikoff at the end of the scene and you will see that it isn't dudikoff at all but a stunt double. Next the scene on the beach with the first conflict with the ninjas. Not only are the ninjas super bumbling but at the end of the scene James and Dudikoff are shown jumping off a 100 foot cliff, but in the cut away they gingerly land on the back of a speed boat without injury.

There are other scenes and memorable items but I must mention one more. 'THE SUPER NINJA' - There is a ninja in the movie that really isn't a character in the movie but a random ninja that is somehow immortal compared to the rest of the ninjas that dudikoff kills with a punch. This ninja flips onto a truck, gets knocked off, pulls out a grappling hook, holds on while being dragged, causes a motorcycle accident, flips back onto the front of the truck, still alive crawls up the front right before the truck that he's on flies into what appears to be a gasoline plant of some sort and into a giant fireball. Kudos.

THank you golan globus. I love you.

Ninjas, ninjas, ninjas everywhere!

[rollernerd · 6/10 · 5 February 2021]

Welcome back to another edition of Adam's Reviews!! **queue in intro music**

Today's movie review is American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987), where there are ninjas literally everywhere!! Ninjas on the beach, ninjas at bars, ninjas, ninjas!! One thing this flick has taught me is that ninjas are just like you and me and should be respected. But seriously, lame but cool as fight scenes in this flick where Michael Dudikoff and Steve James return as Joe and Jackson to another exotic island location where they investigate the disappearance of American marine soldiers. Soon they find out that a millionaire and his science doctor bloke is trying to cook up some super soldiers in the science lab, with the intention of selling clone-ninjas to other villains. If you are an action junkie who like it over the top then this film is for you, ninja fights on a beach, ninja bar fights, ninja car chases, ninja explosions, and an awesome ninja sword fight towards the end of the film. This film is focused on better action sequences rather than pure stunt work. Jackson's does more action scenes here and who doesn't love 80's cheesey lines. Obviously the story structure is lacking but who cares, look into this film and the franchise if you want to laugh and pretend that you can be a ninja one day 6.2/10

Quite simply the worst movie I've ever seen.

[kradar · 2/10 · 13 January 2002]

Forget Leonard part 6, forget Air Bud 2. This is the worst. I must admit I did laugh out loud at some of the ridiculous fight stunts and scenes (which would be good if it was a comedy). They are so badly done. A 2 year old could have done just as well. I almost want people to see this just to witness such an awful movie.

improvement over the first

[MichaelM24 · 11 April 2002]

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.

late-night uncle creepy

[jessegehrig · 1/10 · 12 July 2013]

The kindest thing that can be said of this movie is that they did not intend for American Ninja 2 to be so homo-erotic. Not since Top Gun has as much man-chest and man-thigh been so wantonly on display in an action movie. Clearly the producers were hoping to make a much different sort of action film, and when you watch it you see two visions at war with each other, one force wanting to make a ninja movie and the other force wanting to make gay porn. Whatever children through-out history whom have seen this movie hoping for just a ninja related action movie must have been sorely mistaken, oh God the hilarity, I mean man those kids must have really thought 'hey yeah a ninja movie this can't go wrong' then they watch this oddity play out. Yeah good luck kids!

Genius Meets Absurdity: 'American Ninja 2' - A Martial Arts Odyssey

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 5/10 · 17 November 2023]

Story: 1.00/2 - Direction & Pace: 1.00 & 1.00/4 - Performances: 1.25/2 - Entertainment: 1.25/2

Total - 5.50/10

In the timeless annals of cinema, where the noble craftsmanship of storytelling meets the visceral thrill of martial arts, there exists a gem that teeters precariously between genius and absolute absurdity. Behold, dear cinephiles, the symphony of madness that is "American Ninja 2 - The Confrontation."

Picture this: genetically enhanced ninja clones sprouting like mushrooms in a villain's secret garden. Yes. You heard that right: The scriptwriter seems to have stumbled upon a whimsical idea during a vivid dream and decided, "Oh, what the heck, let's roll with it!" Kudos for bravado, but the plot is as coherent as a jigsaw puzzle missing half its pieces.

However, in a delightful paradox, amidst the ludicrous premise lies a surprising oasis of decent characters and setups. It's almost commendable how the cast manages to navigate this sea of preposterousness with a straight face. One can't help but admire their commitment to the cause, even if it appears to be acing "How to Perform in a Ridiculous Martial Arts Flick 101."

The direction and pacing are standard issues. The camera work is sadly lacking in creative ambition. Sure, the fight scenes muster some adrenaline, but they woefully lack the zest that typically comes from various camera tricks. No shaky-cam chaos, though, so hurray for small mercies!

Let's talk about satisfactory performances. They're there, like the seasoning on an otherwise bland dish - Not Oscar-worthy by any stretch, but hey, it's an '80s martial arts movie! You're not watching "American Ninja" for Shakespearean soliloquies.

Now, the martial arts: They're the delicious bread and butter in Kung-Fu Flicks. But alas, they hover somewhere between "meh" and "could've been better." Choreography and filming squandered an excellent opportunity to shine fiercely, forsaking us with a middle-of-the-road spectacle of feety-cuffs.

Verdict time: "American Ninja 2" represents a movie that demands you surrender your critical faculties at the entrance. The mad movie might tickle your fancy if you're a connoisseur of so-bad-it's-good B-movies or have a penchant for the absurd. Newbies to the martial arts genre? Look to the ever-reliable Jackie Chan for your initiation.

Its Worse Because Now There Are 2 American Ninja Films

[damianphelps · 3/10 · 28 January 2021]

What's worse the fact that there are 5 American Ninja movies OR that I have watched all 5???

The time flies by as you watch American Ninja 2 because it satisfies all your action needs!

[tarbosh22000 · 7/10 · 11 January 2012]

It's easy to see why people have such fond memories of the American Ninja series after watching this enjoyable movie.

Sgt. Joe Armstrong (The Dude) and Sgt. Curtis Jackson (James) return, this time sent to a Caribbean island to find some missing Marines. What they find defies all their expectations, as the super-evil villain known as "The Lion" (Conway) is breeding a new race of genetically-modified superninjas. Now Armstrong and Jackson must fight their way through them to save the day, and shut down the nefarious operation. Can they do it? Because it takes place in a sun-drenched location, the visuals are bright and appealing. When our two heroes fight the evil ninjas, they don't need a lot of fancy tools and tricks - just, in the case of Jackson, red shorts, and Armstrong, a Body Glove wetsuit. This REAL sequel (as opposed to the miserable American Ninja 5, 1993 thankfully Cannon didn't decide to go all "30% new footage" on us) delivers the goods, as it doesn't retread the first film, but still provides all the best elements that fans want to see: cool stunts, well-timed moves, barfights, chases, blow-ups, tasteful humor, and Dudikoff's cool hair. It certainly goes in the right direction, as the alley fight sequence about 48 minutes in proves.

It was the 80's, and the idea to set the movie in "paradise" (supposedly "The Lion" owns a place called "Blackbeard Island") was a natural one. You have to remember, this was at the height of party-animalism. People were cutting loose. Now add to that some out-and-out ninja fighting, and the chemistry between Dudikoff and James and you have a winner. The icing on the cake is the violence, which is brutal at times, but it's FUN brutality. The whole movie has a sense of fun to it, which is refreshing, and due in large part to the underrated Steve James. He looks like he's having a blast. James should be more well-known by the general public.

While the movie is highly entertaining, the worst thing you can say about it is that it hits a bit of a slump pre-climax. It's a fairly common problem, but the sawdust-covered arena where the final battle takes place is an ideal location for the inevitable "Confrontation" we were promised in the movie's subtitle.

The time flies by as you watch American Ninja 2 because it satisfies all your action needs. If you haven't already, pick it up today!

For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com

frequently banal and a crushing disappointment after the truly sensational original.

[Weirdling_Wolf · 3/10 · 27 March 2021]

A sequel to the sublime original was inevitable and while the return of Michael Dudikoff & Steve James was an entirely welcome one, sadly, much of what made the first one so uncommonly thrilling was conspicuously absent in the altogether lacklustre part 2. Unlike the unusually rigorous first instalment this looked and felt a little rushed, the thrilling element of mystery and delight of the original being replaced with repetitive, unexciting fight scenes and an inordinately silly plot.

With our stalwart Army Rangers Joe (Dudikoff) & Jackson (James) on an island detail to unearth the causes for the recent disappearances of military personnel, the Ninja element felt somewhat arbitrary and the palpable lack of an epic, stone-cold villain like the ominous Black Star Ninja becomes ever more noticeable as the profoundly muddled movie draws unexcitingly to its entirely bizarre, almost cod Sci-fi conclusion, appropriating a fairly risible plot contrivance that would have looked creaky in an episode of 'The Avengers' or 'Department S' some 20 plus years before.

While powerhouse actor Steve James still reliably displays his signature high energy performance, the once dudely Dudikoff seems somewhat muted, appearing disinterested, like the hasty production of most sequels, he is just going through the motions and many of the actors performances were quite poor, and, worse, many of the fight/action scenes were visually clumsy, altogether lacking flair, some sequences were badly blocked, frankly, this just simply wasn't a fun action movie, at best a flaccid A-team special, frequently banal and a crushing disappointment after the truly sensational original.

Celluloid lightning is very rarely captured and almost never twice in the same franchise. Time has not been kind to the 2nd instalment of the American Ninja series, merely exacerbating the movie's myriad flaws and the visible, frequent use of a double for Dudikoff was plentifully distracting. Such a shame as the estimable Steve James was quite clearly having a ball, sadly I didn't.

Best of the American Ninja Series

[ebiros2 · 6/10 · 20 October 2012]

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.

A significant step down from the first movie.

[mwilson1976 · 4/10 · 27 April 2020]

In this dumb sequel to Cannon's hit American Ninja, returning stars Michael Dudikoff and Steve James head to an unspecified Caribbean republic to investigate why U.S Marines are going missing from their posts at the embassy. Turns out evil old Gary Conway (from Land of the Giants, who helped write the story), playing supervillain and drugs baron extraordinaire Leo 'The Lion' Burke is abducting them from The Blind Beggar Bar and having a kidnapped scientist genetically engineer them into joining his army of ninja assassins. There's lots of action and everyone looks like they are having fun especially Steve James, and Dudikoff's martial arts skills are better this time round, thanks to the efforts of returning choreographer Mike Stone who gets a role in the movie as the head Ninja Tojo Ken. The original American Ninja was a huge international hit for Menahem Golan and Yoran Globus, so they decided to hot foot it to South Africa with director Sam Firstenberg in tow to make this movie. It wasn't as financially successful but that didn't stop the sequels from coming.

The Citizen Kane, or crappy 80's ninja movies.

[cannibalelvis · 10/10 · 21 July 2005]

Crapped out of the minds of the people who brought us: NINJA III: THE DOMINATION, CYBORG COP II, SPIDERS II: BREEDING GROUND, and +sigh+ the amazing BREAKIN' II: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO comes American NINJA III...I mean II. Whatever...

Joe Armstrong and Joe Jackson go to some island paradise, which of course in infested with ninjas. Good guys meet bad guys. Bad guys go dead. All is well in the land.

But THANK YOU GOLAN/GLOBUS for bringing us this trash...it might surpass DEATH WISH III as the funniest film of all time. It is perhaps one of those rare instances where every single person involved in any way with this film, was doing the most mediocre job possible. Truly some events like this only come along once in a lifetime. The fight choreography in this film is beyond comparison to anything in the modern world. It took three people to write this script, they probably thought it was clever that the first name of the bad guy "THE LION", is actually "LEO". HMMMMMM FORESHADOWING. Remember this word class....FORE SHA DOW ING.

One day I will buy the rights to this movie and re-dub it to my taste.

If you play with GI JOES and eat PASTE, this is probably you're favorite movie. If you're a 10 year old boy, you are forgiven. The rest of you FOR SHAME.

Steal this movie if you have to...it's worth it. American NINJA II **** stars.comedy.1987

Kinda Love These Movies

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 18 July 2022]

"American Ninja 2" is subtitled "The Confrontation." They really should have been more specific, because there are a lot of confrontations in this movie. There's a confrontation on the beach, in a hotel room, in the street, in a ninja arena, in a lab, where genetically engineered ninjas are being bred to keep the franchise going. Michael Dudikoff did not take any acting lessons between the first movie and the second. It still takes him far longer than it seems like it should to muster up a simple reaction shot to something. But no worries, as with the first one, he's got Steve James at his back, who is this series' MVP. He looks at all times like he's just so over the ninja thing, but also like he can't wait to rip his sleeves off and go full on Rambo on someone. Best scene easily is when he musters up two of the most enormous knives ever seen on screen from thin air during a climactic....you guessed it.....confrontation.

This movie, like the first one, is hilarious in the best possible way. Like it's bad, but fabulously so, and you can laugh at it, but not feel guilty, because the actors in it are terrible yet weirdly awesome, and like they wouldn't mind if you were laughing at them. The most hilarious thing about this one is how homoerotic it is without anyone acknowledging how homoerotic it is. Like the white elephant in the ninja room is that every man in this movie is gay but doesn't know it.

And my other favorite thing is the costuming. There are repeated scenes set in a tough townie bar, and it's like the costume designer told everyone to just go into the costume storage room and put on something, regardless of time period or setting, and get back on set ASAP.

Grade: A-

A bad "bad" 80s movie

[Skater1331 · 3/10 · 31 March 2023]

Ninjas in long black outfits were a perfect choice as secret assasins on a hot island. They blended seamlessly into the background of blue water, sandy beaches, and palm trees. If you aren't looking closely, you could easily miss them.

Apparently, the screenwriter got drunk and ran off with an island girl, but thankfully the 12-year-old boy in the movie stepped up to write the dialogue. The Academy truly snubbed the cast, who gave us multiple Oscar-worthy performances with such lines as "Get him!"

Let's also not forget the riveting action sequences where 15 bad guys with a numerical advantage decide not to attack at once, but instead choose to bravely attack one-at-a-time while carefully telegraphing their next move. If you freeze the frame, you may see them winking at Michael Dudikoff before they strike in slow motion. Despite being trained in ranged weapons like stars, blowguns, and bows and arrows, they wisely chose to sacrifice this advantage for melee attacks. Thankfully, most of the bad guys have the same weakness where a single punch will knock them out cold. Bullets also seem to work well against them, making one question why a drug lord brought an army with knives to a gun fight.

In a truly amazing coincidence, the characters of this film are identical to the first one. There's the evil white guy boss, the ninja boss, and the cannon fodder ninja. They even had the "grumpy sergeant" character back, although the original actor made so much money from the first movie that he passed on the role. And of course, what would a Caribbean island be without Australian hoodlums who like to beat up Americans?

The evil headquarters also reminded me of something: my 90s college dorm. I guess the boss fell behind in payments on the ninja temple training camp, so the rented out Smith Hall during spring break.

I can't wait to see the third masterpiece in this series.