Revenge of the Ninja (1983) User Reviews

Avenging forces...

[fmarkland32 · 7/10 · 7 August 2006]

Sho Kosugi stars as a ninja who had his whole family wiped out by a rival clan (We even witness his son take an arrow to the back) and when his entire family is killed, except for his mother and youngest son he decides to hang his jammies up and live out his life as a businessman however when his partner runs drugs and Kosugi's son witnesses it, Kosugi must protect his son and take on his equally proficient pal in the art of ninjitsu. Revenge Of The Ninja is quite possibly the best ninja movie ever made. (Ironically the best and worst ninja movies have Sho Kosugi. Worst one being 9 Deaths of The Ninja) In it we witness everything that makes a ninja movie so appealing, lots of cheesy zen philosophy, tons of fight sequences, lots of carnage and just tons of cheese in general. Revenge Of The Ninja also remains probably the best movie to date from Sho Kosugi and indeed it is just unfortunate he had his son also partake in what could have been even better without the kid. Still Revenge Of The Ninja is a very enjoyable movie and that is not even including the granny ninja.

* * * out of 4-(Good)

Great Memories

[Innoculo · 7/10 · 12 November 2008]

I can't say I remember too much about the film except it has all the normal ninja stereotypes in it with lots of blood. If that is what you want that is what you'll get. Don't get me wrong, when I watch a ninja movie I'm not looking for Shakespeare. I'm looking for sword slashing, shrunken throwing and bear claws to the face fun. And maybe a few heads getting lopped off. It is what it is.

The cool thing is how movies can bring back memories and I remember going to the movies with my mom and older brother and somehow convincing her that this particular movie was the one we were going to see. I'm not sure why she agreed to it and I'm sure she regretted it afterward as she is a conservative Christian woman. I was only 10 at the time and whining like crazy for us to see it. LOL I guess she thought, "It's about ninjas, how bad could it be!?" WRONG! This was the first rated R movie I saw in fact. All I have to say this movie is part of my life narrative now. Thanks Mom. I still remember the ending, but I won't spoil it for you.

I'm probably one of the few people who actually saw this in a theater.

Japanese Chop-Socky expert Kosugi is forced into action when his son is kidnapped

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 9 February 2009]

This classic Ninja about practitioners of an ancient Oriental art of killing named Ninjitsu , wearing in black , using martial arts and diverse weapons , as Katana , deadly star (Ninkaisen), explosive balls...The exciting movie deals about Cho (Shô Kosugi , he personally crafted many of the weapons in the film) , when his family is murdered , he goes to America along with his son (Kane Kosugi) . There he puts a dolls-store , but his friend (Arthur Roberts) deceits him by means of drugs smuggling into the dolls . Then , a Ninja dedicates to human chase disguised in silvered mask . The Japanese Ninja , helped by a cop (Frye) , confronts enemies , mob , hoodlums (Professor Tanaka) and metes out his own justice when his son is abducted . The Ninjitsu fighter is possessed by the spirit of vengeance-seeking Ninja and only Sho Kosugi wipes out a passel of heinous villains and brings his bloody rampage to a moving final .

This a violent and gripping story with plenty of noisy action and struggles in a comic-book style . It's a mindless but enjoyable for martial arts aficionados of the old style because the new technical are made by means of wires , cables and computer generator . The violence was dramatically cut for its original theatrical release which still garnered '18' certificates around the world . The unrated version of the film features an infamous blood splatter , one of the major reasons this version of the film is more popular . Shô Kosugi was adamant that Keith Vitali's character be killed to heighten the drama , director Sam Firstenberg agreed but nixed the idea that the character's hand be cut off during his dying scene . The film highlights are the fighting between the little boy named Kane against a group of children and a gorgeous woman ; the combat between the grandmother and a killer and Sho Kosugi fighting and wielding a fan , among them . The fights , thrills and lots of action and even some moments of unintentional humor make this movie worth seeing .

The previous movie was ¨Enter the Ninja¨ (81) by Menahem Golan with Franco Nero , Menahem Golan was director of the first film , and was to direct this one also , but shortly before production was to start he decided to turn over directing chores to Sam Firstenberg . Golan did remain as producer , however and he came up with the films' opening prologue that adds more depth to the story . It was followed by ¨Ninja III , the domination¨ with Lucinda Dickey and again Sho Kosugi . The picture was well produced by Cannon -Golan and Globus- and rightly directed by Sam Firstenberg , being first "Ninja" film directed by Sam Firstenberg for Golan-Globus' . Sam's a low-grade expert on karate genre and Ninja sub-genre , such as he proved in ¨American Ninja¨ and sequels , and ¨Forced vengeance (82)¨ and ¨Avening force (1986)¨ with his usual actor Michael Dudikoff . Martial-art and Ninja films aficionados should enjoy it , because this Ninja entry is good of its type .

My favorite "American Made" Martial Arts Movie.

[NickSavage · 11 October 2003]

After seeing "Enter The Ninja" in the movie theater that I worked at in the early 80's, I cringed of the thought of having to watch another American made martial arts movie when my boss notified me that "Revenge..." would be our next attraction. When the movie opened in 1983 and I watched the opening scene, I was drawn in and hooked!

Everything about this movie seemed perfect (except the acting). The locations were great. The colors and lighting in the film were great. And the fight scenes were fantastic.

I just purchased the DVD to see how well this has held up through the years, and I must say it has held up quite well. I didn't even remember this movie being so bloody and violent (I had to quickly usher the "under 10" crowd away from the TV). Even by today's standards, this movie holds on tight to its "R" rating for violence. There is very little profanity and very little sex in this film.

It's funny that a movie with such good production values would have such bad acting. I mean some of the lines in this movie are delivered so badly I had to laugh out loud. And the "thugs" in the park look like the Village People!

Honestly though, this is, in my opinion, a great action movie. And the characters, in spite of bad acting, are quite likeable (or hateful, whichever appropriate for the character).

I also thought the music track was excellent, and doesn't really sound dated now like a lot of early 80's movies.

I recommend this movie with eight out of ten stars.

Bad Acting + Hilarious Dialogue + Good Fight Scenes = Revenge of the Ninja

[tocotoco2001 · 6/10 · 26 February 2005]

Martial Arts movies have always sacrificed acting and dialogue in favor of keeping the action constant and entertaining. Revenge of the Ninja is no exception. The fight scenes are amusing and the dialogue is absolutely hilarious, and yet this movie has enough charm to be a cult classic.

Sho Kusagi plays Cho, a doll collector(!) living in Japan. For centuries he and his family have followed the way of the ninja. However, one day a group of ninjas massacres his family. Only his grandmother and infant son survive. Following the advise of his friend, he moves to America to sell his doll collection. Little does he know that he is a pawn in a Japanese drug-smuggling ring...

The plot aside, Revenge of the Ninja acts out like a parody of ninja clichés. You got the evil ninja that manages to change into his ninja suit in the blink of an eye, a grandmother that can do backflips, and over-the-top villains that look like they just came back from a Halloween party. The film's final fight scene occurs on a Los Angeles rooftop, where the evil ninja pulls out decoys, sticks, and shrunikens; none of which he had at the start of the scene.

There are a lot of bad martial-arts out there. Some are pure trash. Others, like this one, are good for a few laughs.

Hysterically silly "Ninja Porn"

[lemon_magic · 3/10 · 30 July 2005]

"Revenge Of the Ninja" asks the viewer to believe that a professional assassin and stealth killer can do his best work while wearing a silver skull mask with two dime sized eye-holes that completely obscures his peripheral vision.

It stages a fight scene between a 60+ year old Japanese grandmother and the professional killer, and hopes that we won't notice that the stunt double back-flipping away from the killer is several inches taller and many pounds slimmer.

It stages a fight scene between a blonde bimbo in a red negligee/GI and a hammy little 9 year old and hopes that the viewer won't laugh so hard at the size mismatch, the obvious stiffness and clumsiness of the blond and the obvious inability of the little kid to actually hurt someone, that the viewer gives himself a hernia.

It asks the viewer to politely ignore a completely depraved attitude towards women . The poor actress who plays the blond bimbo must have been absolutely desperate to accept a part like this, as her character alternates between being duped, manipulated, mesmerized, beaten up by a little kid, tortured, and sexually molested.

It asks the viewer to endure a completely contrived fight scene where Kosugi and his karate champ buddy (Keith Vitale?) interrogate a group of toughs assembled from Central Casting, fight them all in rapidly alternating jump cuts between Vitali and Kosugi, beat the crap out of all of them, and then leave without asking any of the questions they came to ask.

It asks also asks the viewer to politely ignore the fact no one in this film can act, although a couple of the cast members can project an attitude - Sho Kosugi does 'stoic dignity' well, and the actor who plays Braden embodies every melodramatic villain since John Philip Law played 'Diabolik'. The little kid, while obviously fit and supple and unafraid of the camera, is a classically annoying child actor. The blond is at the mercy of a script that hates her and all women who aren't submissive grandmothers.

But you know something? It's still enjoyable if you turn your brain off and just drink it in. Do NOT seek "Revenge of the Ninja" out under any circumstance, but if someone wants to play for you at their house, or it appears on cable, grab yourself a liter of warm sake and enjoy!

Silly and violent fun for genre fans.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 11 June 2015]

Martial arts icon Sho Kosugi plays Cho Osaki, a Japanese man whose family is brutally obliterated by a troupe of evil ninjas. Realizing that a fresh start may be good for him, he accepts the offer from associate Braden (Arthur Roberts) to come and live in America and be Bradens' business partner. Braden, however, turns out to be a drug smuggling, evil son of a bitch who is also schooled in the ways of the ninja. Refusing to cooperate with local police (for whatever reason), Cho must soon come to the rescue of his son Kane (played by Kosugis' real-life son Kane) when the child is witness to a killing.

Director Sam Firstenberg began his career in action films with this agreeable bit of action packed nonsense. He may have been a newcomer to the action genre at the time, but was wise to surround himself with people who knew what they were doing; in addition to star and fight choreographer Kosugi, notable crew include stunt coordinator Steve Lambert (who shows up on screen as the cowboy goon). Competently executed (if not particularly well written), "Revenge of the Ninja" benefits from a very tongue in cheek approach. There are some pretty dopey moments throughout, especially when Chos' friend Cathy (sexy blonde Ashley Ferrare) actually goes to battle with young Kane! There are some delightfully gory (and hilarious) gags here and there when various morons fall victim to ninja weapons. Firstenberg, Kosugi, Lambert and company get down to business very quickly, with their first major set piece taking place just minutes into the movie.

The acting, for the most part, could charitably be described as not so hot, but that doesn't mean that the characters aren't engaging or entertaining in their own way. Kosugi is a stubborn hero, Roberts an amusing bad guy. Familiar faces in small roles include John LaMotta, Professor Toru Tanaka, and Don Shanks.

The undeniable highlight is the final, extended rooftop battle between Osaki and Braden. Our villain sure shows some real ingenuity at times!

Seven out of 10.

Revenge of the 80's: Sho Kosugi's Cannon films!

[Captain_Couth · 3/10 · 7 November 2004]

Revenge of the Ninja (1983) was the second film in the "Ninja" series. This time Sho Kosugi is the good guy (ya!) and the Caucasians are the evil villains (Ya-ya!) Sho tangles with the mob over the usual scheme (drugs what else). The mob don't take too kindly to Japanese people but they picked the wrong guy to tangle with. Sho goes into action when his family's endangered. Using his skills in the ways of a ninja, Sho grabs his sword and stars and lays waste to the local mafia.

A better film than the first one. Although Sho Kosugi acts with all the emotion of a wooden Indian, he's one bad dude and is very credible as a hero. A fun action film filled with enough cheese and sleaze to entertaining fans of this genre. Followed by the weird and strange Ninja III: The Domination starring a very hot Lucinda Dickey!!

Recommended for Sho Kosugi fans and Cannon Film buffs. A film company that's sadly missed.

B+

A classic

[vince9 · 8/10 · 28 April 2006]

Revenge Of The Ninja is a classic 80's ninja movie, I grew up watching this movie and other crap ninja movies and I would always come back to this one. You always knew when you rented an action movie which started with the Cannon logo on screen or was a ' Golan / Globus production ' you were going to be entertained. Yes, the acting is dreadful and the plot could have been written by a 14 year old, but its entertaining. The fight scenes at the time were amazing, baring in mind that action flicks back then did not rely on CGI effects. The action was also fairly brutal, as far as I am aware all UK VHS versions were heavily cut as the film was released around the same time the BBFC appeared and were censor happy on anything involving ninja stars and nunchakus etc. I can understand why someone watching it now who has never seen it before would find the film 100% crapola, but if you remember this film fondly from your childhood then make sure you watch it now, its just as good now as it was back then. Make sure you get your hands on the region 1 DVD version as it is uncut and has a good few extra minutes of violent action which was snipped from the uk video versions.

"Only a ninja, can stop a ninja"

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 8 April 2011]

The follow up to "Enter the Ninja", sees Cannon productions this time set the action mostly in America for "Revenge of the Ninja". Quite an improvement over the original, but still a clumsy and cheap low-grade b-affair. However that doesn't knock just how much fun it is to watch. Ninjas doing their stuff are truly a sight to behold… even though the stunt work here was less than graceful. At least it did up the ante, numerous carnage and frenetic set-pieces. Shô Kosugi returns, but this time the leading man and also playing the good guy. His character Cho is forced to leave Japan with his son and mother, after his family was slaughtered by a band of ninja assassins. He flees to America with the help of a friend who becomes his business partner, but unknowingly to him he's being used with his valuable dolls being used to traffic heroine. Although his mother did warn him "I do not trust this man, my son".

The plot is rather slight, unassuming and secondary to the on-screen damage (gushing blood and ripped clothing) and dramatic ninja combat. So it delivers on what you want. Some scenes are rather humorous (unintentional of course) and random. Plenty of child beatings. Like the sequences of his young son practicing his martial arts on bullies… well just say every scene where it has the kid battling on (and squealing while doing so) is quite rib-tickling. What we wait for is the ultimate battle… and it is a good one too. Friend vs. friend. In costume, swords, ninja stars and wait a flame thrower. It's quite a long, legendary standoff. However we do not have wait around as it still comprises of some enjoyable exchanges where Cho goes after some thugs who steal his dolls. This makes him upset. There he battles Chief. An American Indian who bestows some tomahawks. Chief vs. Ninja. "If anyone gets in the way, scalp them." After that ordeal, he doesn't look all that great. Tattered and bruised with his clothing hanging off him, after literally going for a ride, but still better dress than the next group of thugs he takes on. Which leads to some violence in a kid's playground being condoned, where four bad-ass posers (with questionable fashion sense) hang out and get their asses whipped by Cho. It's an on-going cycle, but hard not to admire.

Everything moves by at a fast clip, even though the editing is somewhat jaunty, but the cinematography is masterfully judged, the shonky electronic score is addictive and the slow motion is beautiful. Slow-mo and violence is always a win-win. Can't go wrong with a hobo informant getting a ninja star in the face and then diving into a water fountain… while being caught in slow-mo. Just beautiful. The performances are lifeless, but honestly who cares here. A serious looking Shô Kosugi equips himself well enough, Keith Vitali hones down that evil cackle and Ashley Ferrare is the eye-candy under hypnosis.

Silly, over-the-top and entertaining b-grade ninja hokum.

Bad-Movie Lovers, Rejoice!

[bronty · 3/10 · 7 January 2004]

Ah, the American martial arts movie...In the 80's, they littered the theatres with almost as much regularity as a teen sex 'comedy', and this may very well stand as the worst of a very bad lot. It certainly must rank as the FUNNIEST. Where to begin...? First and foremost, you will see some of the lamest, most stilted fighting ever presented on screen; as with just about every early-to-mid 80's chop-socky flick, the villians are amazingly polite, pausing at JUST THE RIGHT MOMENTS so that our hero can get in a few VERY well-placed hits, most of which never really seem to find their mark but that doesn't stop these filmmakers from instructing ALL bad guys to not just drop or fall to the ground - OH NO! Instead, the MEREST punch, kick or swat sends the baddies FLYING through the air. Oh, and, it seems, when humans are hit by flying stars or swords or knives or even just someone's fist, blood pours INSTANTLY from the wound, and looks eeriely like ketchup. The fight scenes - along with the rest of the movie - might best be appreciated with your TV's captions 'on'; then, and only then, will you get such choice subtitles as - and I kid you not - "splurch!" (the sound a body makes, apparently, when impaled), "OO! EE! AH!" (said by a small, remarkably hammy child in the film) and "Ha-Cha!" (that's ninja-speak, for the uninitiated). "Splurch" happens to be my favorite and it's used several times throughout. And eagle-eyed viewers will enjoy copious laughter from the stunt-doubling: keep a keen eye, especially, for the laff-riot showdown between our "evil" ninja, Braden, and Sho Kosugi's grandmother, in which her stunt double is about 6 inches taller and 50 pounds slimmer. And then there's the acting...oh, the acting! You get the full gamut here: wooden (Kosugi's handsome cop buddy), hammy (that aforementioned little kid, as well as the actor who portrays Braden), stony (Kosugi himself), and bimbo (the ubiquitous blonde love interest). Even worse may be the direction (or would that be the score? Hmm...close call...): AT ALL TIMES, ALL villians ACTUALLY ISSUE a Snidely Whiplash-type laugh. I kid you not. You just can't help but laugh at loud when it's just SO cartoonish! As for the plot - and, really, who watches these things for the plot, anyway?? - it's got something to with stolen dolls...but does it really matter? Come on now! What DOES matter is that, as a martial arts flick, it's god-awful. As comedy, though...it kicks serious ass.

The best ninja movie

[samoanui · 9/10 · 3 February 2020]

This movie is terrible. The acting is just awful and the plot could have (or perhaps was?) written by a drunk autistic child. Nonetheless, you will love it. Watch it! It and Enter the Ninja are easily the two best ninja movies of the 80's.

better than Enter The Ninja...concerning camp

[trashgang · 7/10 · 5 October 2011]

Better than the original one, Enter The Ninja. It's the same story and was also made by the Cannon group but this was campy. If you just thought it couldn't get any worser well, here you have it. Ever seen a granny ninja? Or gratuitous violence toward a ninja kid? The use of cheap effects are in full glory to watch, throwing stars flying into faces, nails in heads, nudity for no reason at all, but we liked it! Or have a look when a girl appears in a red robe forgotten to put a trouser on, but she's fighting nevertheless. It's so typical eighties, look at the clothes, look at village people at a playground...It's more bloodier than Enter The Ninja but it is really campy at sometimes. Only for the freaks of eighties smut.

Oh boy........

[plantostickthat · 1/10 · 15 October 2001]

Man, this movie SUCKS!

But it is absolutely hilarious. There are many, many flaws in this piece of rubbish falsely labelled a 'movie' (dont let them trick you!)

In particular, watch for the bad guys who die WITHOUT EVEN BEING TOUCHED!!

If you're looking for a laugh, this is top stuff.

Die laughing- the way of the 80's ninja flick

[kaisercam · 18 September 2004]

Cho's (Sho Kosugi) family are butchered by evil ninja's and he is forced to flee to America. Cho hangs up his sword and open's an art gallery in some slum neighbourhood and is inevitably caught up in a struggle between awfully dressed mafia and a quick-change artist evil ninja. I knew this film was bad as I'd seen it in the 80's but fancied the nostalgia trip. In the end I almost had a seizure from laughing.

***Spoilers***

It opens with the massacre of Cho's family who must be taking part in a reality TV show where you pretend it's the nineteenth century. Evil ninja's for no reason that is revealed, slaughter everyone. Cho returns with his American pal (never revealed how they hooked up) Braden who has a fetish for opening art galleries and is trying to convince Cho to come to America. Ninja senses alerting him, Cho goes tearing into the evil Ninja's who politely queue up to get sliced and diced. Braden being the respectable art dealer he is, produces a colt 45. blows away a couple of ninja's who stand out in the open looking to be shot by a entrepreneur. Cho's infant son (Kane) and non- Japanese looking mother still live. Braden seizes the opportunity and badgers Cho about the gallery idea again.

Jump to America years later, we know this by first seeing the American flag and then a caption beneath that says "united states". We have an obligatory fight scene with Cho's (now piggy looking) son who defends his right to wear a bright pink pullover with some bullies who despite outnumbering him, being bigger than him, and getting some choice hits in, still get their ass kicked by this pint sized ninja wannabe. Cho seems to have prospered and has a dojo in his art gallery and even a blond bimbo with fake tits who fights in her stockings (she is Braden's girl, kind of). Braden is using the artwork to smuggle heroin in what must be minute quantities since it's inside small Japanese dolls. In a masterstroke Braden puts these dolls on display to the public. Braden is partners with the stereotypical mafia who have no fashion sense, (even for the 80's), give each other back-rubs (shudder), most of them look like they've been recruited from the local retirement home. Braden and the don squabble about business that ends with Braden threatening the Mafia for screwing him. You see Braden IS A EVIL NINJA (it's never explained how he learned to be Ninja).

Braden goes on a mafia-killing spree...dressed as a ninja in broad daylight.

He kills a guy in the toilet in less time than it took for him to duck in the stall and put on his ninja costume. Seeking information on the killings and high finance crime the Don asks a tramp in the middle of a busy street. The tramp is dispatched by a shuriken in the eye. Where Braden threw the star from (as passers-by tend to notice a guy dressed in black pyjamas and a silver skull mask) is unanswered. The Mafia Don, (now sporting a cowboy hat) has had enough and sends a white/red Indian and some goons to steal the drug dolls. The police are investigating the strange killings and one cop (who couldn't act his way out of a soggy bag) asks Cho for help.

Cho being the concerned citizen tells them to bugger off and runs out to buy another beige pullover. Meanwhile Chief robbing-Bull and the goons have cleared out the gallery, Cho catches them in the act and a fight-scene ensues. The bad guys in this film can soak up massive amounts of punishment, still come back and produce weapons out of nowhere (like two tomahawks). After dragging Cho through two states with a van, the bad guys escape. Braden sensing his blond bimbo may not be loyal, leave's her in the care of a leering sumo sized child molester who has always wanted a blond bimbo of his own. Braden arrives at the gallery in Ninja garb, but disturbs Granny. Granny then tackles the intruder by morphing into a stunt woman but ultimately gets gutted by Braden. Killing grannies is hot work, and Braden suddenly has a compulsion to take off his mask, but pig boy Kane is up on the roof for no apparent reason. Sensing someone has seen him Braden looks up and sees Kane, but can't catch him.

Braden returns home to find the rapist he left his Blond bimbo with is trying to rape her, so he kills him. Using his magic fluorescent eyes Braden hypnotises the bimbo into capturing Kane. Meanwhile Cho discovers Granny impaled to the wall. The cop who can't act invites him to check out some ex-cons who hang out at a children's playground. The extremely camp looking ex-cons don't take kindly to being asked questions by a bad acting cop and a tiresome fight scene ensues. Meanwhile the hypno-bimbo has Kane who after failing to subdue him by laying into him with a metal pipe, simply carries him away.

The blond bimbo gives Kane to Braden who has hired another leering deviant (who refuses to wear a shirt, but really should). Braden and the henchman inexplicably leave the room letting the bimbo have easy access to a phone. Bimbo calls Cho and spills her guts about Braden only to be discovered. Braden has seen too many Bond films and instead of cutting their throats, sentences Kane and Bimbo to death by sauna and Jacuzzi. Braden realising the Mafia has his drug dolls goes off to the mafia headquarters. Cho gets out his Ninja gear, extra eyeliner and heads off to fight Braden. Both Braden and Cho make the mafia their bitches and end up fighting one another on the roof. After exhausting 50 weapons each (including a flamethrower up Braden's sleeve), Cho triumphs while his ugly kid and the bimbo escape to be reunited.

"Sho" some love tonight!

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 27 September 2010]

Living legend Sho Kosugi portrays the similarly-named Cho Osaki in this classic Ninja Boom outing that helped kick off the aforementioned boom.

Cho is a mild-mannered man living in Japan who is also a ninja. When baddies kill off his family, except for his son Kane Osaki (real-life son Kane Kosugi) the two move to the U.S. to start their lives over again in the face of the tragedy and get on with their doll-selling business. Little do they know that some nefarious men are importing drugs in the dolls. When Kane sees what's going on, it fuels a war between the Osaki's and the drug peddlers. Add to that, there is a traitor in Cho's midst. Will Cho Ninja his way out of this mess and finally have peace? It's easy to see why this is one of the most popular Ninja titles from the classic era. Sho is at his best here. He says little, but that works in his favor. His son Kane takes after his dad, and nowhere is that better seen than when he fights some schoolyard bullies. Those kids never saw NINJA moves coming their way. Don't mess with pint-sized Kane. Maybe this was the seedling that later sprouted the 3 Ninjas franchise (the first one of which features Prof. Toru Tanaka, as does this film...coincidence?) and, of course, Little Ninjas (1990).

The movie is surprisingly brutal, with ninja stars embedded in foreheads and all, but it's all in good fun. Fun really is the name of the game here, as the simple plot allows for the maximum amount of Ninja action. It's well-shot and everything is very pro. This obviously raised the bar for Cannon Films.

Watch out for the aforementioned Toru Tanaka who is always fun to see, and Keith Vitali of American Kickboxer 1 (1990) fame is on hand as well. This is a great place to start for those unfamiliar with Ninja movies and are looking for a good way to kick off a potential obsession. Go Sho! For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Crap

[goev · 2/10 · 23 June 2002]

This movie is real crap! The fights are some of the worst I've ever seen. The timing in the fight scenes are awful as you can see the actors/"martial artist" are waiting for the next hit to come. This is the kind of movie that makes martial arts look bad...

He was a good looking kid....

[FlashCallahan · 6/10 · 30 August 2013]

After his family is killed in Japan by ninjas, Cho and his son Kane come to America to start a new life.

He opens a doll shop but is unwittingly importing heroin in the dolls.

When he finds out that his friend has betrayed him, Cho must prepare for the ultimate battle he has ever been involved in....

To the movie snob, you know those people who think they know everything about film because they own The 400 Blows, will laugh this movie out of the shop.

But while the film offers nothing new, it has a wealth of great stuff going for it, and its one of the better Ninja movies of the eighties. Ninja movies in the eighties were as common as Vampire movies today.

Its unintentionally hilarious, and its all the better for it. From a back flipping Granny, to the best thing in the film, a fight in the park with the Village People, which lasts nearly as long as the fist fight in They Live, the film is never boring.

I does have many flaws though. The bad up wears a mask whenever he is fighting, because they probably couldn't find a stunt double that looked like him, and Kosugi isn't the best actor in the world (although he has great hair).

But for all its flaws, it has really good set pieces, and stunts. The final siege is pretty remarkable stuff, and the sub plot involving the mafia and strangely, a Red Indian, is hilarious.

So all in all, its not for everyone, but if you are a fan of the eighties, and especially Cannon movies, you will lap this up.

Plus, its the best movie ever made where a chap dressed up as a cowboy is getting beat up in a park, and his false moustache keeps coming loose.

Nonsense Ninja Movie

[kankawin25013 · 3/10 · 10 October 2011]

Many movies about Ninja have introduced to us because of interesting culture and action. However, you can't trust that every Ninja movie are good. Revenge of Ninja is one example of Ninja movies' "fault".

Somebody in this page maybe praised this movie and like it because how it present the action flick. But for me, unreasonable things came up all of 90 minutes. Did you think that a lot of henchmen with the machine guns can lose to an "one and only" police who just punched them? Yes, he is not John McClaine or The Terminator or JCVD, but is this foolish us?

I am laugh at the interview of Sam Firstenberg, the director, which was posted in this page's trivia. If he thought that he is the best director, I don't think so. He is just an "amateur" director. Bad arrangement of the story, some unreasonable scenes, and particularly the "kidslike" action scene. You put many of Ninja weapons in the movie, but only end in very silly way? I can guarantee that all of you will shocked when everything is over. Oh! Bring my money back!

For the cast, Arthur Roberts was OK with his villain role, but Shô Kosugi failed. He had no look of the great protagonist, especially when he still think that "his friend" didn't betrayed him. How fool? However, I praised of Kane Kosugi due to his action ability and maybe this movie made him "the second protagonist" because he appeared in many scenes liked he was the main hero.

I accept that Ninja has a very exclusive character and style. But if you didn't understand it so good, please don't think that you can pick it up and film it easily, because you are trying to "bullsh*t" the audience. Thus, I firmly think that we have other good Ninja movies to watch rather than Revenge of the Ninja.

Great Ninja-film

[gaus · 9/10 · 9 August 1999]

The best ninja-film ever made. A bit naive and weak on story, but the action scenes in this movie i one of the best ever made. Sho Kosugi & Virgil Frye has a reel talent in martial arts (but where are they now). A must for ninja-fans. I can't understand why this movie is banned in my country.

tiny ninja

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 21 October 2020]

In Japan, Cho Osaki returns home to find most of his family murdered by a group of ninjas. He decides to take his mother and his surviving son Kane to America. It's 6 years later. He has swore off violence. He resists the advances of his assistant Cathy. He is importing rare Japanese dolls with business partner Braden. Kane accidentally breaks a doll and discovers white powder inside. It turns out that Braden and Cathy are smuggling drugs. The Italian mob refuses to pay Braden for the drugs and a ninja starts killing them.

There is some good action and some good fighting. There is a good fight in a moving vehicle. There is even a pretty good kid stunt fighter. He should do a Kid Ninja movie. As for the adult ninjas, the main drawback is that they're running around in daylight. It's harder to do the sneaking around. It leads some stupid stuff like a man running down a hallway and missing a ninja in the doorway. It's still silly ninja fun.

I seriously considered suicide

[mandelmanden · 1/10 · 20 August 2007]

The only thing worse than acting was, the fightscenes. And of course the plot was a laughing matter. Poor choreography, poor dialogue, poor acting, a 6 year old that defeats adults with his martial arts skills and in general so many laughable clichés (the mafia guy has an Indian chief (who's the most non-native-American looking guy in the world) and so many poorly executed scenes make this movie a complete farce... 1½ hours of time wasted and a good evening ended because the poor quality of this movie hypnotised everyone to sleep.

The only redeeming quality I can think of was the healthy amounts of blood when the evildoer is finally brought down by our courageous hero. Of course not until after the evil boss guy has defeated him time and time again almost casually. Several times fooling him with the help of mechanical dolls of himself that somehow materialise out of thin air when needed the most.

I've watched I don't know how many kung-fu, samurai and ninja movies and I can honestly say that none of them has been as poor as this one.

Yet Another Cult Classic to show your friends

[chao_san23 · 10/10 · 12 January 2006]

I watch this movie religiously with my close friends. Several "household" quotes of ours come from this movie. "Count with me" followed by the wacky hypnotism hand movements performed by Braden. Hilariously funny to the point of absurdity. I'm not even gonna comment on the "artistic vision" plot, or storyline of the movie in that I didn't care for it....All I cared for was the amazingly bad acting that made such a great laugh out loud movie for me and my friends. DO NOT watch this movie and expect an edge of your seat thriller or a "how'd he do that" Karate movie...(Well...with the exception of the giant Indian jumping 5 stories and hitting the main character with a crate) Watch it for the sheer pleasure you get in pointing out the horrible acting to your friends and making fun of it for years to come..."We don't need the police...No..WE DON'T NEED YOU!"

The Best Ninja Movie Right Up To 2009!

[damianphelps · 6/10 · 28 January 2021]

Give me a ninja movie with extra cheese...and that's what you have here and I love it. As with the first movie I was still very young when I first saw this and I was already a fan of Sho Kosugi. I was also very swept up in the romance of the ninja and the samurai (and I still am).

So I love this movie probably more than I should. To date I still don't feel like we have seen the best ninja movie that can be made (2009 Scott Adkins Ninja is pretty good). They have all lacked the real darkness that we found in the Dark Knight Trilogy, violent yes but always with a hint of the comic book to them.

This is an 80's action movie as much as anything else so you should know what to expect :)

ha ha!

[Janissary · 1/10 · 15 July 2000]

well today i rented this movie and watched it with my friend. but we didn't rent it to be excited...we rented it to laugh at! it is so retarded! like he says, "look, superman!" and the bad guy says, "where??" and the kid then kicks him...sigh! The fighting was extremely pathetic. I doubt that you can jump 20 yards downwards and still stand on your feet! the acting and story was so laughable... i laughed so much through this movie. A ninja star can't penetrate a skull that easily. The weapons were mostly retarded and the 80's music....sucked!! This movie is probably the worst movie i have ever seen...it is not boring though, it keeps you laughing! This movie was very dumb. On almost EVERY fighting with weapons move i could find a mistake or goof. I hate this movie, it is very poor and pathetic. Rent this to laugh at!