PopHorror Let's Get Scared
When I was in sixth grade, all the boys in my class (and possible the entire middle school) were obsessed with ninjas. We thought that they were amazing, could do anything, and were just cool in general.
Back then, whenever my best friend, Dusty, stayed overnight at our place, we would rent movies and stay up all night watching them. We would usually get two horror movies and some sort of ninja or martial arts movie. One night, we ended up getting the 1983 film, Revenge of the Ninja, and we both loved it. We watched it repeatedly over the years and it has never gotten old. Recently, I rewatched it with my wife who had never seen it, and I had hoped that it was as impressive as I remembered it being, especially since I told her how great it was beforehand. So, was this film still as wonderful as I thought it was, or did it end up being just a goofy movie that only nerdy, overweight middle school boys loved back in the day? Keep reading to find out…
Synopsis:
An evil ninja with a scary silver mask is terrorizing the city, and only Cho Osaki-who lost most of his family at the hands of a group of ninjas years earlier-has any chance of stopping him.
Brought to you by the good folks at Cannon Films and our pals at Golan-Globus Productions, I can say without the slightest bit of exaggeration that Revenge of the Ninja is still nothing short of absolutely awesome after all these years. It’s loads of fun, has a likable, a badass protagonist, a fantastic antagonist, some crazy cool death scenes, excellent action scenes, and the final battle between the ninjas during the climax delivers and doesn’t disappoint. It has everything that fans of ninjas movies could ever want and then some.
Written by James R. Silke (Sahara, The Barbarians) and directed by Sam Firstenberg (American Ninja, Cyborg Cop), Revenge of the Ninja is without a doubt the best ninja movie made in the 80s and quite possibly of all time. There is so much to like about it that anyone who is into these types of movies is guaranteed to love it.
The premise is pretty standard, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. We have a skilled ninja who moves to America with his mother and son to start over. He runs a successful business with his friend, but eventually things start to go downhill when another ninja shows up and starts doing all sorts of horrible things (including some pretty darn brutal murders) and our hero must face him and end his reign of terror before it’s too late.
One of the things that really works here is the cast. Led by Sho Kosugi (Pray for Death, Rage of Honor) who stars as Cho, the entire cast does a stellar job, and you find yourself digging the characters as a result, even the bad guy. Kosugi does a great job of bringing his character to life and comes off as a likable, caring guy that you can’t help but to root for, despite being dealt a bad hand in life. On top of that, the guy is a legit bad ass (the actor did his own stunts and choreographed the fight scenes for the film) that is just larger than life. Arthur Roberts (Up in Smoke, Not of this Earth) is also equally impressive as his friend, Braden, and he owns most of the scenes that he is in.
Of course, every 80s ninja/martial arts/action flick has to have a potential love interest for the main character, and that’s where Ashley Ferrare (Cyclone, The Master) comes in. She plays Cathy, who is easy on the eyes and can take care of herself in a fight. Ferrare is awesome in the role and plays an all-around likable character in general that has great chemistry with Kosugi, along with his real life son Kane, who does a wonderful job himself.
In my opinion, the best thing about this movie is the main villain ninja with the silver mask. He looks tough and scary at the same time, and he is totally and completely vicious. He doesn’t have a problem killing anyone that gets in his way (including elderly women and kids), and his fighting skills are right up there with Cho’s, and maybe just a tad bit better. I like the fact that we don’t know who he is as first (even though it is relatively easy to figure out) because it makes him more menacing and mysterious.
My only complaint about Revenge of the Ninja is that we find out who the bad guy is a little too early. I think that the filmmakers should have waited until the epic showdown to reveal who he is because it would have made things a little more shocking and emotional for Cho as he is in the process of fighting for his life. This is one ninja that doesn’t mess around when it comes to eliminating people standing in his way, and he isn’t someone that you would like to meet in a dark alley one night.
The p big fight at the end between Cho and the ninja with the silver mask is nothing short of epic. They pull out all the stops and beat the ever-loving Hell out of each other as they battle it out. They use their fists, their feet, swords, and other weapons including an extremely cool bit with a handheld flamethrower.
The fight choreography is top-notch, and I love the scenery as they fight to the death on top of a building. We get some awesome shots overlooking the city in the background. It’s just an awesome and fun fight scene that goes on for the right amount of time as it isn’t too short or too long. The ending is extremely satisfying.
If you are looking for a movie that has a fantastic final fight scene between the protagonist and antagonist, then this is the movie for you.
I’ve loved Revenge of the Ninja since that first time I saw it with Dusty back in the day, and I am so happy that it still holds up as well as I remember. Even though I have seen it countless times it has been a long time since my last viewing and I was worried that it wasn’t going to be as amazing as I remembered it, but thankfully I was wrong. The film holds up nicely and made me want to go back and watch all the other 80s ninja movies that I loved back in the day.
Speaking of that decade, this movie has a distinct 80s vibe to it and made me long for that time period. Check it out if you are a fan of ninja, martial arts, or action flicks from the 80s (or even if you aren’t) as it is something special. I think that you will dig it as much as I do.
