American Ninja (1985)

Get ready for breathtaking action and electrifying martial arts magic as a young American becomes one of the greatest masters of Ninjitsu the deadliest art of the Orient. American Ninja is entertainment as swift and sure as the flashing blade of a samurai's sword!Stationed in the Philippines 18-year-old U.S. Army private Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff) is escorting a supply convoy when it is ambushed by rebels - one of whom he recognizes as a Black Ninja warrior. Instinctively Joe defends himself using the esoteric martial art of Ninjitsu - an ability that puts him under suspicion by his commander and fellow soldiers. Alone in his fight against corruption the boy finally discovers the secret of this mysterious past - a secret that pits him against the evil Black Star Ninja in the ultimate martial arts battle.System Requirements:Starring: Michael Dudikoff Judie Aronson Steve James Guich Koock Tadashi Yamashita Directed By: Sam Firstenberg Running Time: 95 Min. Color Copyright MGM Studios 2003Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 027616867681 Manufacturer No: 1002567 Product Description

Sure it's not Lucas or Kubrick it's b action movie take for what it is!,

Amercian Ninja is a gulity pleasure if anything. The film has some decent fight scenes and some good B movie acting. Mike Dudkoff and Steve James are some smooth pimps in the movie bringing it to the man as only they can. If you like 80's karate movies then check this out. March 25, 2008

Dumber for having watched it.

What a wretched piece of garbage! The '80s b-movie genre at its worst. They should have shown this on MST3K. Horrible acting, fighting, and cinematography. March 11, 2008

The deadliest art of the Orient is now in the hands of an American.

This movie is one of the best Ninja movies I ever seen despite being a B movie at best. Ninjas and fight scenes look pretty legit and locations for movie were cool too. I really liked the plot and story line as well. I believe this to be Mr. Dudikoff's best work. If you hold any interests in Ninjas check this one out. March 4, 2008

Best movie of the series

While this movie is great the sequels suck a$$. They took away the Tai Chi smoothness of Joe (This gave him an invincible aura) and created an unoriginal flashy karate like Joe (with phony looking stuntmen doing the some of the fighting) with terrible choreography. They also have terrible ninja soldiers in these sequels that couldn't even beat the average army soldiers in hand to hand combat. While the ninjas in this film were ninjas (they had skills to even combat armed soldiers). This should have been the only movie made of the series. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. They had Michael Didikoff (an non martial arts master)looking more smooth and masterful than a real martial can be (like David Carradine in Kung-Fu). This movie singlehandedly made me want to be a ninja throughout my childhood (I still do, ha, ha). February 11, 2008

"He possess great skill !!!"

"American Ninja" is one of my favourite 80's actioners produced by the unforgettable Golan-Globus team of "Delta Force" fame.
Though the body count is not massive, there are definitely some stirring scenes, in particular the truck hijack by the black-star ninja and the final confrontation with throwing stars, lasers, mini-bullet firing gloves etc. etc.
Dudikoff is a decent actor, mute most of the time, while the colonel's daughter is just fun.
The reunion with his childhood ninja mentor is high level (unintentional) comedy, "Ninjaish" dialogue galore.
Overall, a solid action film that should be frequently watched and appreciated. December 23, 2005

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