"American Ninja 2" is subtitled "The Confrontation." They really should have been more specific, because there are a lot of confrontations in this movie. There's a confrontation on the beach, in a hotel room, in the street, in a ninja arena, in a lab, where genetically engineered ninjas are being bred to keep the franchise going. Michael Dudikoff did not take any acting lessons between the first movie and the second. It still takes him far longer than it seems like it should to muster up a simple reaction shot to something. But no worries, as with the first one, he's got Steve James at his back, who is this series' MVP. He looks at all times like he's just so over the ninja thing, but also like he can't wait to rip his sleeves off and go full on Rambo on someone. Best scene easily is when he musters up two of the most enormous knives ever seen on screen from thin air during a climactic....you guessed it.....confrontation.
This movie, like the first one, is hilarious in the best possible way. Like it's bad, but fabulously so, and you can laugh at it, but not feel guilty, because the actors in it are terrible yet weirdly awesome, and like they wouldn't mind if you were laughing at them. The most hilarious thing about this one is how homoerotic it is without anyone acknowledging how homoerotic it is. Like the white elephant in the ninja room is that every man in this movie is gay but doesn't know it.
And my other favorite thing is the costuming. There are repeated scenes set in a tough townie bar, and it's like the costume designer told everyone to just go into the costume storage room and put on something, regardless of time period or setting, and get back on set ASAP.
Grade: A-
This movie, like the first one, is hilarious in the best possible way. Like it's bad, but fabulously so, and you can laugh at it, but not feel guilty, because the actors in it are terrible yet weirdly awesome, and like they wouldn't mind if you were laughing at them. The most hilarious thing about this one is how homoerotic it is without anyone acknowledging how homoerotic it is. Like the white elephant in the ninja room is that every man in this movie is gay but doesn't know it.
And my other favorite thing is the costuming. There are repeated scenes set in a tough townie bar, and it's like the costume designer told everyone to just go into the costume storage room and put on something, regardless of time period or setting, and get back on set ASAP.
Grade: A-