A sojourning master of Ninjitsu, visits an old war buddy in Manilla whose having problems with a ruthless businessman who wants his land and will not take no for an answer. Franco Nero, his voice dubbed, is Cole, a Vietnam vet who has mastered the art of Ninjitsu through the intense training of a school, wearing a white outfit, quite deadly with his vast array of weapons at his disposal. His nemesis in the school, Hasegawa(Shô Kosugi), longs for the ways of old, when the code of the Samurai was in full effect. Christopher George is Charles Venarius, a very callous, extremely wealthy businessman who doesn't appreciate when others resist his power, attempting to rebel against him. Charles is interested in land(..with oil underneath it's surface worth a fortune)owned by Cole's alcoholic pal, Frank Landers(Alex Courtney), who runs chicken fights for the nearby village who work for him and his lady, Mary Ann(Susan George). Cole will walk right in the middle of this feud and assist Frank against Charles and his endless army of goons who will do whatever is necessary to get that land. After several attempts to harm Frank, scaring off the men who worked tirelessly for him, Charles finds that his hands are indeed full as long as Cole is around, using his martial arts skills to fight off the constant attacks. But, fighting fire with fire, Charles will enlist the aide of a ninja, Hasegawa, who knows Cole quite well. In an showdown to the end, Cole will have to eliminate Charles' manpower and square off one on one with Hasegawa.
If you like cheesy 80's ninja movies or those corny Asian movies dubbed to English, then Enter the Ninja will be right up your alley. I do, however, credit the director Menahem Golan, choreographer Shô Kosugi, editors Michael J Duthie & Mark Goodblatt, and Mike Stone who subbed for Nero during the fight sequences for putting together some exciting battles, even if the overall film is a bit hokey and repetitive. Fun, eclectic cast and hilarious sound effects as Nero cracks bones with lots of slow motion used to depict people on the verge(..and during)great feats or getting killed by those throwing stars which stab into many a chest. I just loved the over-the-top reactions of Charles' thugs and employees once they are attacked and killed by Cole. Nero, as always, is suave in his tailored suits, carrying his usual cool, intense when need be..but his dubbed voice-over provides unintentional laughs. I consider this film much better than the American Ninja series which featured an accomplished white man(..and other buddies)beating the holy hell out of wimpy ninjas in black(..among other colors) outfits.
If you like cheesy 80's ninja movies or those corny Asian movies dubbed to English, then Enter the Ninja will be right up your alley. I do, however, credit the director Menahem Golan, choreographer Shô Kosugi, editors Michael J Duthie & Mark Goodblatt, and Mike Stone who subbed for Nero during the fight sequences for putting together some exciting battles, even if the overall film is a bit hokey and repetitive. Fun, eclectic cast and hilarious sound effects as Nero cracks bones with lots of slow motion used to depict people on the verge(..and during)great feats or getting killed by those throwing stars which stab into many a chest. I just loved the over-the-top reactions of Charles' thugs and employees once they are attacked and killed by Cole. Nero, as always, is suave in his tailored suits, carrying his usual cool, intense when need be..but his dubbed voice-over provides unintentional laughs. I consider this film much better than the American Ninja series which featured an accomplished white man(..and other buddies)beating the holy hell out of wimpy ninjas in black(..among other colors) outfits.