Guerriero americano

A new army recruit proves to have Ninja skills which he then uses to fight hi-jackers and ninjas. Nobody seems to be impressed that the soldier saved the equipment and saved the colonel's daughter, just upset he got people killed. However this is because high officials in the army are in on the scam. Also the black-star ninja looks to do in our hero. American Ninja is one of those movies they just don't make anymore. The action sequences are well staged (Although edited poorly) and there are enough cheesy moments to make American Ninja just lovable. For example the part where the black star ninja pushes over a palm tree which then falls near Dudikoff's love interest. Also the climax has so much goofy action and ponderous zen philosophy (I dare anyone not to smile when Dudikoff says "Then he must die!") that the movie is even more fun now than it was in 1985.

* * * out of 4-(Good)

Amercian Ninja is a gulity pleasure if anything. The film has some decent fight scenes and some good B movie acting. Mike Dudkoff and Steve James are some smooth pimps in the movie bringing it to the man as only they can. If you like 80's karate movies then check this out.

Yes this is unrealistic and far fetched and whatever word you wanna call it, but its fun. Dudikoff is a speechless loner in the army. In the first five minutes a convoy is hijacked and big Mike defends everyone all by himself, one of many good, if unbelievable, sequences in the movie. Several times Dudikoff is asked to dispatch small armies of ninjas and even though its too Superman-ish, they're nicely choreographed, so you just sit back and shake your head smiling. There's also good chemistry from Dudikoff and James, his buddy through the whole thing. And this probably sets a record for most crushed testicles in a movie, as there are several moments when theyre grinded with heels, knees, or palms. I still laugh 14 years later when James gives the "saw" to a bad dude (or was he saying "sir?"). According to Joe Bob Briggs, this set a record for most deaths in a movie with over a hundred. Even without counting that wouldnt surprise me, though some movie expert claims that Chuck Norris' "Invasion USA" holds the record for most dead, which came out the same year. What a double-bill that would be. This gets my vote for best martial arts film of the 80s.

For those who know Michael Dudikoff, he most-likely became a household name thanks to this movie. Who knows where he would be today had Chuck Norris not passed on the film. (Probably busy as a child psychologist since that's what he originally wanted to be). This is a film I virtually grew up with as a kid, thanks to it being on cable seemingly every other day. Anyway, Dudikoff finally got his shot at headlining a movie with this cheapo chop socky flick about an Army G.I. in the Philippines going up against a secret Ninja army and an international weapons dealer. Dudikoff is at his most wooden in the this part, but as someone who's a fan and has see nearly all his movies, I can see the progression of him as an actor over the years, and he has certainly improved since this movie. Steven James co-stars in the first of three collaborations with Dudikoff, and the two work well together, but they're basically the best part of the movie. There's the usual B-movie acting, ranging from stiff to lame over-the-top performances, but pretty co-star Judie Aronson fares well. Of interest only to chop socky fans.

Sam Firstenberg of "Revenge of the Ninja", Ninja III: The Domination", and "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo" fame returns to give us this classic Cannon action flick. It's all very fun and very '80s, Dudikoff is a bit wooden, but, both he and Steve James are still great here. Also, some great action pieces towards the end. I think all '80s Cannon flicks need to be put in the library of congress as a way to look back on a style of balls to the wall film making that no longer seems to exist.