New York Ninja

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.

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.

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.

This is a whole bunch of random nonsense. It's hard to known what was intended so how do you rate it? What we see is hilarious and worth it, but was it what was meant by the footage? Meh, who knows, it's still worth seeing for sure!

It's 'Death Wish' without the seriousness. It's 'The Exterminator' sans the heavy sleaze. It's 'New York Ninja'. From Vinegar Syndrome and Kurtis M. Spieler comes this put together "lost film" from its original director and star John Liu in his only American production. Notables names such as Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock and Michael Berryman do voice dubbing since the original audio material was lost.

John (Liu) learns his girlfriend Nita is pregnant and he's going to be a father. However she's killed after witnessing a young woman getting abducted on the streets of New York. Gangs control the city and an evil mastermind villain aptly named 'The Plutonium Killer' is behind most of the madness. Can John get revenge and turn the tide when he becomes the masked savior?

It's a 2021 production from a 1984 source well restored so it looks good picture-wise while it's very much feeling the 80's. Lots of poorly done fighting, bumbling cops, wacky clothed street hoods, one set of huge boobs and a villain who purposely gives himself radiation poisoning. As you know whenever a flick needed a crime ridden, seamy undertone NY was the go-to city.

Filmed without much of a budget you have to decide if the 80's charms and barrel of tropes - vigilantism, ninjas and poor acting - are enough to make this a good time. I appreciate the effort restoring and releasing 'NY Ninja' and there's some fun campy bits, but as a whole it's missing something.