White Ninja: L'ennemi des ténèbres

As I mentioned in my review of Sakura Killers, this strange film appears to be a sequel of some sort to that earlier 80's martial arts film. I say strange because, in light of all of it's glaring shortcomings, cheapness, and overall lack of action - I really like it!

Or at least, I like the potential it has.

It seems that Sakura Killers was an Eastern/Western collaboration, with directors Wang Yu and Dusty Nelson taking turns in the captain's chair. White Phantom, it would appear, is just Nelson calling the shots, and it sort of shows in the actions areas of the film, but there's more going on here than meets the eye.

There are good and bad points to the film, but we'll start with the bad to get it out the way:

To start with, the film looks rough. It's as if someone deliberately sought out the worst locations on the planet for a ninja film, with grimy streets, claustrophobic bland interior shots, and scenes shot in dull, rainy weather. Believe me, if this is starting to sound cool, it's not. The budget was low so a lot of this is to be forgiven, although it's still noticeable. The opening and closing shots look really cool though, and there's some nice looking night time stuff. Apart from that, it's pretty meh.

As for the cast, it's all a bit par. Bo Svenson is hardly in the film (maybe Chuck Conners was unavailable) so it's hard to comment on his performance, but Jay Roberts Jr. is charmingly cheeky and he works well with Page Leong. The rest are really just faceless thugs, but in martial arts films people are hired for their look and action ability - not their acting skills. However, the fight scenes are a bit slow and sparse in the film, and THAT'S when you notice the lack of eastern co-operation in the production. It really lacks the dynamic, wide angle choreography of Hong Kong movies, or even the kind that was in Sakura Killers. Coupled with the fact that there's not many fights in the film anyway, and it's kind of like a porno with not much sex.

I think my biggest complaint is that having an American wise-ass as the White Ninja just doesn't do it for me. Where did he get the training, how did he meet the white clan? It's all just too full of unbelievable gaps. In my mind, Willy should have been a sidekick to the White Phantom and the film should have kept the two characters separate. Maybe he saved the Ninja's life and he now follows Willy around with a life debt? It's far more believable than a westerner being adopted into a clan of ninja that's mythical even to the Japanese.

The good points are that it has a lot of atmosphere, and there is a real mystique surrounding the ninjas and their history. There's a slight John Carpenter vibe going on, and I actually like the inclusion of the dance sequence, because choreography of any kind is good in my book. The best bits though, are undoubtedly when Hanzo is talking with his father - a masked figure whose face we never see, and who is voiced amazingly by (so the credits say!) veteran voice actor Greg Snegoff of Robotech fame. Interestingly, this was also the same voice of Sugiyama the ninja master in Sakura Killers. The film get's interesting when this mysterious man talks about a renegade clan of white ninja reaching far back in history, and you get niblets of maybe the Sakura family were not always evil. There's a lot of untapped history here, and it feels like there could have been a third entry in the Sakura series as the film does leave the door open for more to happen, but I guess it didn't.

A great feature of the film is that we get to see the use of traditional ninja weapons like the straight sword and climbing grips There's also a really nice, but again very brief, kendo demonstration.

One thing I also really, REALLY appreciate is the fact that when the non-white characters speak to each other they do so in their native language. That was very rare back then, but it adds so much to the authenticity of the setting, so Kudos to Nelson for making that choice.

The score is also really good, with some rockin' 80's synth happening and some very good oriental tinged mystical cues which really add to the vibe.

White Phantom is perfectly watchable, and that's more that can be said for most films. Watching it again it's better than I remembered it being, however, the grubby production design, drawn out 'acting scenes', and clumsy fight choreography will send most hardcore martial arts buffs, reaching for the stop button.

However, if you are into ninjas and love Sakura Killers, then White Phantom is worth a look for the rather good cultural displays. If it had better fight scenes (and more of them) then it could have been a VHS classic, but as is, it's an interesting oddity which is perhaps more clever that people give it credit for.

This & other gems of ninja wisdom are sprinkled over you in "White Phantom." It starts out with a ninja striptease. Then you meet "Ears", the gangster who is never seen without his headphones on (and that stylishly-knotted Hawaiian shirt!) Of course he gets trounced by the harmonica-playing flying/dancing White Ninja (who uses the startlingly effective Rocky Balboa punching puppet to K.O. him). The White Ninja is a strange creature...I mean, gee, what's that big white thing over there in the bushes? All he needs is a set of bunny ears! Add ninja rafts & mysterious multi-color modular future homes, & you've got one of the best bad ninja films ever (take that Godfrey Ho)!

This movie appears to be a sort of unofficial sequel to the vastly superior Sakura Killers.

Again, the story here revolves around the criminal exploits of the evil Sakura Foundation. This time they've managed to procure i.e steal, a consignment of weapons grade plutonium, enough to level an entire city in fact!

And so enters the eponymous hero of the title to save the day.

Sadly however, rather than donning full ninja gear and kicking some major gluteus maximus, most of the films running time is squandered with our hero in the disguise of a sort of streetwise....erm....well arsehole frankly who gets repeatedly drunk and 'parties' the nights away with the local prostitutes! The reason for this decidedly undisciplined behaviour is ostensibly so that he can get familiar with the girl friend of the main villain in the film.

My advice if you wish to watch this, is to fast forward to the final ten minutes or so to view the inevitable climatic showdown between the good guy and his nemesis.

This scene is really the only decent one in the entire movie.

Overall then, viewed as a sequel (of sorts) to the earlier mentioned Sakura Killers, this movie represents a sadly missed opportunity.

Interestingly, the climax of this film leaves open the possibility of another Sakura Foundation oriented flick, although this never actually materialised.

I believe that it would be entirely equitable to say, that in light of the overall quality of the movie reviewed here, the idea of yet another sequel is perhaps best left on hold.

A Slap-happy yokel in a beige overcoat, who is supposed to be the stories hero, spends most of his time tipping his Yankees hat to kids and strangers while strolling from brothel to basketball court to strip joint playing his harmonica as he enters every scene.

Immediately upon seeing the White Phantom the first time, I'm was laughing and hoping that he will shave at some point in the film. I'll leave that for you to find out for yourselves. I will say this, his nutsy patchy attempt of a beard didn't make the it to the box cover.

The film doesn't establish it's location very well. It begins with a noisy eating guy with California plates who gets his cargo ganked. It cuts to a steamy ninja dance and the real action begins. I can only assume from the street signs that the new location, which is for the remainder of the film, is in China or perhaps Hong Kong. The confusing part is every character that doesn't speak English speaks Mandarin. To confuse this further, the film is rife with ninjas, which ninjas are from Japanese culture. So Japanese Ninjas in China who speak Chinese? The White Phantom doesn't appear until midway through the film and when it comes to action, he's so ninja he uses his fists to fight off 50 camouflage ninjas with swords.

If this hasn't convinced you that you should rent or preferably BUY this film, then maybe the mention of multiple games of Rock, Paper, Scissors are played in Chinese. That's hot action! Also, there are some minor bare foot shots for those who might be interested.

If you like campy fun, you can laugh your way through this. 'White Phantom - Enemy of Darkness' has earned a special rank in my collection of bad films. The camera work is respectable, the story ridiculous, the characters silly. In summary, this film proved to me why White Ninjas are always unhappy - they can never get those pesky dirt, grass, and blood stains out!

SLAM DUNK!

My review was written in October 1987 after watching the movie on Vidmark video cassette.

"White Phantom" is an okay followup to the action film "Sakura Killers". Pic is well-lensed, boasts an evocative, varied musical score and better acting (with well-recorded English dialog) than the usual martial arts fare, but an almost nonexistent plotline keeps it routine (it debuted on video cassette with no U. S. theatrical exposure).

As with "Sakura Killers", Pic opens with a raid by ninjas of a U. S. scientific installation, with five megatons worth of plutonium stolen. Military colonel Bo Svenson's mission is to retrieve it. Action shifts to Taiwan where scruffy young hero (in a N. Y. Yankees cap) Jay Roberts Jr. Is eventually put on the case. Again it's the Sakura family of Japanese gangsters running a local protection racket who are the villains. Dance Pge Leong is an undercover agent who also is fighting the Sakura family.

Roberts, dressing in a white ninja outfit, displays good martial arts skills, but film's premise of retrieving the plutonium gets lost in the shuffle. Similarly, Leong, alluring in her dance routines, is pointlessly written out of the script before the finish. Pic's highlight is a very impressive strobe-light sequence integrating Leong's flashdance routine with an outburst of violence.