New York Ninja

As of this writing there are not many reviews on here. And from the majority of the ones I read, they don't seem to understand what's going on. This wasn't filed to "look" like it took place in the 80s. It WAS filmed in the 80s. The film was eventually scrapped and lost to time until it was picked up by a studio that specializes in underground/exploitation flicks. That actually should have been fairly obvious.

Unfortunately, the audio for the movie was nowhere to be found, and it had to be completely redone. I'm not super clear on how faithful they were to the original script, or even if they ever managed to get ahold of it. But honestly, I don't care.

For someone who is really into the over the top action flicks of the 80s and how ridiculously fun they can be, this movie checked off most every box. Basically, if you know, you know. Drink a few beers and give it a shot.

Well, if you grew up as a kid in the 1980s then you are well-familiar with the wave of ninja movies that swept over the home video front. Cheesy? You got it. Funny? You betcha. Enjoyable? Well...

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the 2021 released "New York Ninja" and I was intrigued by the movie's cover/poster, because it definitely had that particular 1980s vibe to it. And as the movie progressed, I must admit that I was taken aback with the sheer 1980s feel that the entire movie had, from the costumes, to the fight scenes, the scenery and the entire movie actually. Then I read up on the movie and found out that the movie was actually shot in 1984, but the movie was only released now, as the studio stumbled upon it, but had lost the audio tapes, so they had to record a new sound for "New York Ninja". And truth be told, that added audio just added to the enjoyment of the movie, as it felt like a bad dubbing track.

If you enjoyed the ninja movies back in the 1980s, when the ninja movies were at their highest, then you will certainly enjoy the 2021 "New York Ninja". It has all the cheese and loveable things from that era.

The storyline told in "New York Ninja" was as to be expected from a ninja movie filmed in 1984. I enjoyed it, no doubt about it, and it was a trip back to the childhood and watching the ninja movies all over again.

The acting performances in the movie were as to be expected as well. For a movie of this type, then you know what you are getting yourself into.

And as for the action and martial arts scenes, well they were cheesy. So very, very cheesy. But again, it was a 1984 movie, so of course it was. And I do love the way that the bad guys and thugs always just come one at a time against the ninja. Very considerate henchmen actually if you think about it.

The gang members in the movie were hilarious to look at. Now, I grew up in the 1980s, and I don't ever recall seeing anyone wearing outfits like they were. They were colorful and hilarious to look at, to say the least, and added a comedy and goofy value to the movie.

I was looking through the cast list after the movie, and I have to say that I was really surprised with seeing the names of Don Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock and Michael Berryman on the list. But I found out that it was voices only, so it made perfect sense, as I hadn't seen any of them in the movie.

You should sit down and watch "New York Ninja" is you enjoy the cheesy ninja movies. It certainly was a blast.

My rating of directors John Liu and Kurtis Spieler's "New York Ninja" lands on a six out of ten stars.

If you're into films such as The Room or works by Neil Breen this will be right up your alley. It has some seriously bad action by the main character and his voice certainly doesn't fit his body how bad the leads voice dub is if that makes any sense. It would be like a big fat black woman was voiced by a little old korean woman with a very thick accent. This film has a similar fate to Miami Connection which was shot in the mid 80s and then finally came out 30+ years later.

The action in this movie is stiffer than Ron Jeremy who was probably shooting his own films a few blocks away. We take for granted good fight choreography and.flexible actors who can kick higher than someones chest when they do martial arts as for the most part it just comes off like drunk fathers wrestling after a few cold ones.

The musical score fits the era, especially of the movies budget where it's probably on the cheapest musical keyboard, where it almost sounds like 8 bit Nintendo music of that era. Then of course you get the odd bit of rock music but for the most part it's Nintendo music.

Some films this reminded me of besides the ones mentioned are the Death Wish series with Charles Bronson, then we've got bits and pieces of stuff like Spiderman or any of the other trillion super hero movies as well as stuff you'd expect from a Tromaville film. Perhaps Toxic Avenger which Toxie kind of sounds like main character John as well as the questionable costumes from Nuke'em High.

I love the over the top bad guys. It's so over the top you just laugh at them. It can't be intentional. The chauffer who they called "Rat tail" is almost memorable. Did anyone on set have any bleach? Our ninja looks like he's using his urine soaked sheets for the costume. Everything is whiter than his outfit. I don't care what anyone says, you see even a bit of someones face though you'll know who they are. Some other stupid scenes was when he nursed him and this random boy back to health. The 10-ish year old boy asks if he'll be his friend than 7 movie weeks later they are fishing and the only thing more stuffed than John's speedo is egg rolls at a local Asian restaurant.

I can't wait to show this gem to my friends. I enjoyed this more than a lot of garbage from Tom Cruise, Matt Daemon and so forth lately.

Let's keep it brief.

Needed a montage. Needed more Rattail. Needed a bit more blood.

Other than that, an excellent ninja movie from the 80s,lovingly restored. Voice work was top shelf, great soundtrack. Great video quality. Funny, which is the most important part. Is it Miami Connection? No. But it does stand alone and the laughs are present.

If you're a fan of bad action movies and cheese, I do recommend. A lot of visual gags and obvious plot holes / hardcore overacting. Kudos to Vinegar Syndrome for bringing a worthy relic back to life.

Thanks to the TCM channel for airing this. Film fanatics are lucky to be able to view this rare and almost forgotten film. Seeing pre 9/11 NYC is always special, especially here since this movie could have easily been lost. The New York location here isn't just a backdrop but a character itself. NY Ninja is definitely a "B movie", but an enjoyable one you can watch on a rainy day. I don't know if it was because of a limited reconstruction budget or what but I do wish they would have hired at least a couple voice actors that had NY accents, that's my only complaint.

Anyway, how about those ending credits?

I am indeed hoping that the Ninja will return.