Ninja: Shadow of a Tear

Plot: Ninjitsu master Casey is back and out for revenge when his pregnant wife is murdered.

This is easily my favorite Scott Adkins film to date. This has the best story because it's straight forwarded and simple which is what I like about the action films from back in the day and this brings that back. I've always thought he had charisma whenever he was on screen, He is very likable, and you feel for him in this film which is what you should do for your main character.

The action in this film is some of the best I've seen in years, rivaling the John Wick films even. Director Isaac Florentine knows how to shoot action as demonstrated in his other films, if only Hollywood would actually give this guy a good budget and have some of his films in theaters unlike some directors who don't deserve it.

This is a really good throwback to old school action films that action fans should watch and give it a chance, you won't regret it.

A westerner young ninja named Casey Bowman (Scott Adkins) is trained since chidhood to be a deadly Ninja , studying Ninjutsu in Japan . The previous entry , ¨Ninja I¨ (2009) by Isaac Florentine , dealt with Casey is asked by the Master (Igawa) to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu , an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja and ultimately taking on old collegues with whom he trained . In this second outing ¨Ninja : Shadow of a Tear¨ 2013 master Casey Bowman goes back in action after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence . As an angry revenger called Casey is nowadays seeking a merciless vendetta for death his beloved couple . Vowing revenge , the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues : a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire . As Casey Bowman returns demanding vengeance against sinister killers . Then Nakabura (Kane Kosugi , son of the mythical Sho Kosugi) , a former student at the Dojo who now has his own Dojo in Bangkok asks Casey to a risked mission . Target: the sinister drug lord Goro , who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning : he truly can trust no one. At the end the terrible happenings leading to a lethal battle , our tough-fisted hero against other Ninja assassins .A silent warrior. A deadly past. A lethal mission. Revenge will rise . From the shadow of the night, a warrior is born not the weapon but the hand that wields it . Raised to become an assassin... until betrayal made him a target . Prepare to enter a secret world of heartless assassins . Fight everyone and trust no one.

Violent tale with full of noisy action and fights in a comic-book style . It's a westernized oriental action film with an interesting mingle of suspense , brutal martial arts , sword-play , ancient ritual with typical code of honour and bloody combats . The gory plot is simple and plain , a nasty Ninja confronts heinous murderers , and starring Casey/Scott Adkins being forced into action and steadily butchering his relentless enemies , while inching ever closer to the long-awaited bloody final . As he follows the code of survival practiced by martial-art , fighting to avenge as well as to survive , Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level , even using deep meditation to fake his own death . This a nail-biting thriller with ustoppable action , including impressive fighting with a lot of blood and gore . It's a mindless but enjoyable story for martial arts aficionados of the old style , but adding some new technical being made by means of wires , cables and digital computer generator . Abundant fights as swords struggles in which arms , body parts and beheading are slice off here and there and limbs are slit open everywhere or blasted apart . Of course , highlights of the film are the breathtaking and groundbreaking fights with lots of blood dropping here and there . Cruel, savage murders and blood splatter , make only recommended for those adults no squeamish and with strong stomach enough to take it . The motion picture was professionally directed by Isaac Florentine .

This film belongs to ¨Ninja sub-genre¨ that achieved splendor in the Eighties : The first movie was ¨Enter the Ninja¨ (81) by Menahem Golan with Franco Nero , Menahem Golan was director of the first film , and was to direct its sequel also , but shortly before production was to start he decided to turn over directing chores to Sam Firstenberg . It was followed by the martial arts features ¨Ninja II¨ or ¨Revenge of the Ninja¨ (1983) with Shô Kosugi , Keith Vitali , Kane Koshugi and ¨Ninja III , the domination¨ with Lucinda Dickey and again Sho Kosugi . These pictures were well produced by Cannon -Golan and Globus- and all rightly directed by Sam Firstenberg . Following others also directed by Sam Firstenberg for Golan-Globus' as ¨American Ninja¨ , ¨American Ninja II and III¨, ¨Forced vengeance (82)¨ and ¨Avening force (1986)¨ most of them starred by low-grade expert on karate genre and Ninja sub-genre Michael Dudikoff . Following in 2009 with ¨Ninja¨ by Isaac Florentine , along with this ¨Ninja II¨with Scott Adkins and Kane Koshugi . Furthermore , ¨Ninja Assassin¨ by James McTeigue with Rain , Naomi Harris .

I have long been a fan of Isaac Florentine, for many many years now.

His films always aim to grab that feel from the 80's classics of Hong Kong cinema, yet are often marred by weak story lines and silly acting.

That said, one thing that always stands out is the fight scenes - and none more so than this awesome sequel, Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear!

I liked the first Ninja movie and thought Scott Adkins, as always, proved his worth as a martial arts actor. There was just a small hint of 'meh' that surrounded the first causing it to be slightly forgettable.

It seems though, with Shadow Of A Tear, that hint of 'meh' has been thrown to the side!

Again, acting and story line plays second fiddle to what is possibly some of the best fight scenes ever put to film in a Western production!

Beautifully shot, crisp with amazing choreography, I felt that Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear stands punches and kicks above the over-rated hit, The Raid...

The first Ninja film didn't impress me much, but this follow up is definitely an improvement. Ninja: Shadow of a Tear follows American ninja master Casey Bowman, who loses his wife and unborn child after a home invasion. Vowing revenge Casey breaks plenty of limbs and faces tracking down the killer to a drug factory in Burma... before discovering a horrifying secret....

Derivative revenge plot aside, this film was actually pretty good. Scott Adkins was convincing in this role, and some of the fight scenes were genuinely awesome. I also didn't see the final twist coming, which is always a plus. Story wise we have seen all this before, but to be honest nobody watches a film like this for the plot. It has it where it counts - non-stop brutal beatdowns and great fights. You will know if this is to your taste or not...

The last time martial arts king Scott Adkins and action filmmaker extraordinaire Isaac Florentine worked together, their output was fantastic. UNDISPUTED III was one of the best fight flicks ever made and remains the high standard for other karate movies to strive for. In the three years since, Adkins has continued to make a name for himself both inside and out of movie theaters, while Florentine hit a bit of a low point with his Christian Slater vehicle, but fans have unanimously wondered what sort of film the two of them would deliver if paired together again. Would it top the previous UNDISPUTED? Well, now that ol' Scott and Isaac have finally produced their fifth collaboration, I can answer that question...somewhat sadly, in the negative. No, in my opinion, NINJA II is not the equal of "U3." It is, however, a vast improvement over its flawed prequel and is without a doubt the best pure martial arts movie of 2013.

The story: upon the murder of his beloved Namiko (Mika Hiji), the returning Casey (Adkins) attempts to track down her killer - a quest which leads him into the dangerous urban sprawl and deadly jungles of Myanmar.

I think this is the kind of movie Florentine was trying to make the first time around, when he made NINJA. Improvements on the production values and the general presentation of the ninja (no more ridiculously impossible physical feats) are superficial pluses to a generally more down-to-earth movie: the villains and rivalries feel more personal this time, and the shifting environmental settings make for a more interesting aesthetic presentation. With that said, the major flaws plaguing the movie are still production-related and creative ones. The automatic subtitles are slightly off, unnecessarily announcing "Myanmar (formerly Burma)" twice and in at least one situation unnecessarily announcing what a character is saying even though it's in English. Additionally, for a movie with the word "ninja" in its title, there is disappointingly little ninja-ing: Scott's the only real representative of the shadow warriors this time around, and doesn't suit up until the final 25 minutes. Subjectively, I also question the cultural sensitivity behind casting Indian actor Mukesh Bhatt: I love his performance, but laughing at him playing a goofy, subservient taxi driver in an American movie is kind of uncomfortable.

The fight content so ample that it's a genuine surprise whenever Adkins' character *doesn't* resolve a situation by fighting. It's also, for the most part, top-notch. While I don't think it's the blow-for-blow equal of "U3," a friend of mine might comment that the filmmakers definitely took notes while watching The Raid: Redemption. There's so much going on here that I like. Virtually every fight features satisfyingly long shots, filled with lengthier technical exchanges than in a Shaw Bros. movie. While the one-against-many brawls are unanimously one-sided, none of the one-on-one encounters - comprising about half of the total fight scenes - are squash matches. There's a cool variety of fighters, too: Guinness record-setting kicker Ron Smoorenburg, karate-parkour star Jawel el Berni, RAGING PHOENIX-veteran Patrick Tang, and that second generation ninja himself, Kane Kosugi. Choreographer and on screen fighter Tim Man exercises his craft fully by accurately portraying kickboxing, defensive karate, kobudo- and kali-style weapons fighting, some grappling, and a smattering of Adkins' signature tricking. Viewers who particularly love Scott's backflips and flying moves may be disappointed that they're a bit toned down here, but personally, I can't get enough of the grounded hand-to-hand stuff, particularly the ten-star final match. Florentine's record for this kind of action remains unblemished.

Dramatically, the movie is on the upper end of average for the DTV sphere. Adkins remains more than serviceable throughout, though his reaction to finding Mika Hiji's character dead was a bit weak. Kane Kosugi is solid, though he cycles between how strong his accent should be. The surprise standout performance comes from aging villain Shun Sugata, whose only fault is that he doesn't have more scenes to show off his theatrical talent (seriously, I think he only has about three). Writer David White, one of Florentine's regulars, doesn't deliver any particularly memorable dialog but deserves credit for a surprising twist at the end of the story. The movie ends on an uncharacteristically bitter note for Florentine, though I get the impression that this was done potentially so the protagonist may yet find closure in a potential third film.

Should an additional installment of the franchise be on its way, I'd line up now to see it. In setting the standard so ridiculously high, both the star and the filmmaker may struggle to live up to their previous masterwork, but it's reassuring that Adkins and Florentine give the impression that they're all for making a great effort towards it. I can't think of any reason not to recommend buying this movie, so go for it.