Customer Reviews

American Ninja 4 - The Annihilation

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I need to admit, I was never a fan of the "American Ninja" series, but I'm a sucker for action hero team-ups like this. At the time of this one's release, Michael Dudikoff was already an established name in the martial arts B-movie genre, and David Bradley would soon be doing neat stuff like Cyborg Soldier and Hard Justice, so their collaboration seems especially cool in retrospect. It's just a bit of a shame that the two of them don't do any real teaming up until the end of this film, and an even bigger shame that such an opportunity didn't yield anything but average results...but damn if it isn't an entertaining sort of disappointment.

The story: Special Forces expert Sean Davidson (Bradley) is sent into an oppressed African nation to free a Delta team from the clutches of a terrorist duo (James Booth and Ron Smerczak) with an army of ninja at their command, but when he too is captured, a retired Joe Armstrong (Dudikoff, Cobra) must return to action and finish the job.

You can argue at which point in the series it officially happened, but definitely by now, ninja have become a gimmick and completely extraneous to the actual plot. Really the only reason they're still hanging around - wearing heavy, color-coded jumpsuits in a hot, colorless African landscape and behaving more like foot soldiers than mystical shadow warriors - is to give Sean and Joe a reason to go through their own miniature becoming-a-ninja rituals and break out their ninja weapons. Admittedly, in the former's case, this immediately leads to the best action scene in the movie, wherein he takes on a whole squad of ninja with a bow, a strand of wire, a club, nunchuka, and shuriken. But like the costumes, the action looked silly long before that and doesn't really improve: few of the eight fight scenes are downright awful, but they all adhere to a lackluster standard of hit & miss camera angles, over-editing, and questionably-executed choreography. Most disappointingly, Dudikoff and Bradley don't ever really battle side-by-side, although they do have an okay-ish fight against eachother late in the movie.

The lack of actual teaming up between the two stars is mostly due to Michael Dudikoff's character not making an appearance until the movie's second half, whereupon he takes over the spotlight from David Bradley as the main lead. It's kinda hard to judge which of them has the weirder onscreen adventure, but since Dudikoff's half features more screentime for the film's over-the-top despicable villains, his side takes the cake. These two baddies are really something: James Booth's character is so darn evil that he whips the bound Delta team members to make them lick his shoes, and Ron Smerczak plays an arrogant sheik who encourages his forces to fight to the death but admits that he considers the promised heavenly reward to be mere propaganda. Jerks, I know, but they help keep the movie interesting: as hammy as the acting is and as beyond implausible as a lot of the action seems, the one thing that "American Ninja 4" has going for it is that it's never boring. Occasionally, it even flaunts some decent cinematography, like the helicopter shots of the entire ninja force training on a mountaintop. Director Cedric Sundstrom (who also did American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt) wasn't a genius but clearly knew how to do his job when it came to intentionally campy junk like this.

On the whole, "American Ninja 4" doesn't really do it for me, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad movie. For what it's worth, it might be the best installment in the series since the original film. Know yourself before you make a purchase.

Here are only a few reasons why this movie surpasses even Plan 9 as the worst movie ever made.
1. Every cliche in the book has been written in. Like the soldier coming to the retired American Ninja at his Peace Corps classroom to ask for his help in rescuing the other American Ninja where the retired ninja responds "I told you the last time, it was the last time." BAM!
2. All the bad ninjas are COLORCODED! Don't know which ninja is more skilled than the others? Well, they're all wearing prime colors and you know which one is the boss because he's got an eyepatch.
3. The American Ninja enlists the help of some kind of retro-80's junkyard gang to take on the bad ninjas like something out of Mad Max.
4. Lastly we have scenes like the recently un-retired ninja fashioning a new sword. One scene he's got what looks like a led pipe and an grinder and in the next he's got a perfectly polished sword. The best scene however, is where the American Ninja, wearing a t-shirt and jeans is about to attack the bad ninja castle when he jumps into a convenient hole in the ground and immediately jumps back out in full black ninja gear. OH WAIT! I forgot about the scene when he catches a crossbow arrow in his teeth and stabs the guy next to him with it while it's still in his mouth.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this movie. Nothing like a good chuckle and no brain cells required. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves a good bathos.

Michael Dudikofff of 'American Ninja' 1 & 2 comes out of retirement to save David Bradley of 'American Ninja' 3 who is captured in Africa by a band of evil ninja's. Say what you want but I love this movie. After all, who doesn't love story's where a few brave warriors defeat all odds and the enemy to save the day!

Obviously not an Academy Award winner, but who cares. This is a total guy film. A couple of buddies with a six pack or two and you're good to go! Not to forget, the late Robin Stille is a very attractive addition to the story.

I remember how back in 91 this was THE movie to see... Dudikoff (Joe Armstrong) was coming back and was teaming with the new guy... The previews showed clips of both American Ninjas fighting each other and you couldn't have been more excited... Unfortunately, the best fighting we see was in the beginning 30 minutes and came from a real martial artist in David Bradley (Sean Davidson)... This movie was a complete gimmick from the start with the idea of Dudikoff returning and it failed to produce... Dudikoff was underused and his "martial arts" was sub-par... The tacky groups of allies from the garbage dump with their homemade weapons were a joke... The little kid who knew everything sucked... The black side kick guy was pointless... The lead woman was a waste... The setting of South America (I think) was a dumb place for ninjas to be training... The multi racial, unisexual ninjas were a budget problem... And to top it off, NO STEVE JAMES! (Rip) What probably really hurt this flik was the fact that Joe and Sean didnt appear on screen together until the last 10 minutes of the film

2 Stars for the unusually good score put to the fighting and for the excellently choreographed Forest and Training scenes, but that's it... This movie is only for the curious who are getting bored with fast actioned kung fu fliks of today

Forget "American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt," that movie will make anyone pay money for someone to get rid of it. Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff) is back this time as an environmentalist preacher, also retired from the Peace Corps. Yes! Sean Davidson, now a CIA agent (David Bradley) is captured by a group of ninjas led by an ex-soldier named Mulgrew (James Booth). He wasn't pure ninja like Armstrong, silly wannabe. Mulgrew has plans for domination with a plan. Intelligence. "American Ninja 4: The Annihilation" is pure ninja. If Carl Douglas had a music video for "Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting," this movie would be it. Michael Dudikoff did deserve an Oscar for his performance (he hardly spoke and just fought ninjas). I've noticed ten year old boys have driven cars in these ninja movies. Won't those ninjas ever learn not to mess with lordage?

Compared to more accomplished martial arts cinema, the American Ninja series comes off as a poor addled cousin from the Ozarks. These flicks have always been a guilty pleasure for me, cheesy with average martial arts and sometimes it gets so bad that it's good. AMERICAN NINJA 4: THE ANNIHILATION again features David Bradley whose stiffness as an actor is surpassed only by that department store mannequin who calls himself Michael Dudikoff.

I make fun of the guy but, to be honest, I have a fondness for the Dudikoff. Part of the fun is having him star in the first two movies and watching him explore his acting range. As it turns out, his acting range mostly consists of planting on the same blank expression to signify all sorts of emotions. His "martial arts" is shady enough that I'm compelled to use quotation marks when mentioning his "martial arts." David Bradley is actually a more fluid action guy. But absence, I guess, does make the heart grow fonder. I thought Bradley was decent in AMERICAN NINJA 3: BLOOD HUNT, but I missed Dudikoff. There's just something likeable about the guy. When AMERICAN NINJA 4: THE ANNIHILATION came out in the U.S. in 1991, heralding Dudikoff's return, it became a must-see flick for me. Even now I like it enough that I rate it 3.5 stars out of 5. But I probably re-watched it while wearing rose-tinted nostalgia.

When a Delta Force unit is captured by ninjas, covert operative Sean Davidson (David Bradley) is deployed to some sweaty third world country to effect a rescue mission, but not before Sean busts up his best pal's wedding to drag him on the mission. And when Sean Davidson, his still unwed best pal, and a pretty doctor are in turn captured by ninjas, it's finally up to reluctant ex-agent Joe Armstrong (Dudikoff) to come out of retirement and ninja up. There's also the added incentive of a nuclear device neatly packed in a suitcase and intended to detonate in New York City.

I tell you, there's something effing cool about a ninja master catching an arrow with his bare teeth - and, in the same motion, ripping out an enemy's throat using that arrow, still clenched in his teeth. AMERICAN NINJA 4: THE ANNIHILATION is cheesy goodness, and, even now, I find it surprisingly watchable. Absolutely, there are flaws - holy shabbadooby, there are some seriously dubious moments here. The trippiest thing may be in seeing a rainbowful of ninjas: red and yellow and blue and white and black ninjas. And also one Uberninja with an eyepatch. And I'm guessing Japan must import a lot of white ninja dudes; there sure are a lot of Caucasian skins peeking out from under the masks of the evil ninja army. And what's up with Sean's mouth mask? I also get a kick out of the fact that while prior operatives had to secretly parachute into enemy territory, Joe Armstrong takes a commercial flight right out in the open.

To throw even more color into the mix, Joe enlists the help of an insurgent gang of riff-raffs who look like rejects from a Road Warrior set. I would say it's a jarring effect, but it's that kind of movie.

Disappointingly, Dudikoff and Bradley don't share much screen time. Bradley hogs the first half of the film, and then the Dudikoff comes into the picture 45 minutes into it. When we renew acquaintances with Joe Armstrong, we find him in the Peace Corps, evidently having had enough of the slaughter game. He's in class, teaching his students about the environment and how it's everywhere (his assignment for the kids: "Now go outside and bring me a sample."). He's then visited by an old soldier who tries to talk him into going back into action. After mulling it over over some coffee, Joe gets back into the mix. This whole time, Dudikoff's expression doesn't change. I love the guy, but Michael Dudikoff exudes the charisma of a passed out Michael Dudikoff.

The fighty fights are passable stuff. We do get to see Dudikoff and Bradley facing off and are treated to Dudikoff's go-to expression (staring blankly) when his character thinks he's just killed his pal Sean. And, because Joe Armstrong is an AMERICAN ninja, he even mixes in some good old-fashioned haymakers into his fighting style. Joe and Sean do end up joining forces for the last 10, 15 minutes of the flick, so that's something.

Lastly, I agree with the reviewers who miss Steve James's strong presence and cool vibe. The American Ninja series is far less without Curtis Jackson to offset all the wooden acting. Ultimately, AMERICAN NINJA 4: THE ANNIHILATION is fun but cheesy. Or maybe it's fun because it IS so cheesy.

The only thing that makes American Ninja 4 beter than 3 is the return of Michael Dudikoff. Sadly he doesn't show up until half of the movie is over and when he does show up, he looks embarrassed to be seen in such a weak effort. ONLY American Ninja fans should check out, but don't expect much.

Michael Dudikoff returns as the original American Ninja, Joe Armstrong, in American Ninja 4: The Annihilation, but you may forget this long before he finally makes an appearance near the 44m mark. Joe is now a teacher for the Peace Corps and ex-superior Gavin (David Sherwood) cynically laments that "his head is full of peace, love, and life". When Gavin shows up at the church where Joe teaches, pleading with him to reconsider his non-involvement with the violent plot, Joe still takes a few moments before deciding whether to rescue his friend from certain death.

That friend is Sean Davidson, the American Ninja played by David Bradley in American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt. He's been captured by Colonel Scarf Mulgrew (James Booth) and Sheik Ali Maksood (Ron Smerczak), who have succeeded in making a nuclear suitcase bomb to wipe out New York. A previously-deployed Delta Force team also failed at subduing the duo and everyone will be burned alive within a week.

This includes Carl, the token black guy who serves doubly as a replacement for Curtis Jackson (the awesome Steve James from American Ninja 1 through 3, absent here), and the annoying sidekick who serves no other purpose than to make the hero look good. He's so useless that Sean expresses utter disbelief that he's getting shafted with him for the mission... you can almost hear him thinking "Dude, I am so not fighting ninjas with Carl. Carl? That Carl? You've got to be kidding me!" When ninjas later descend on Carl's hiding place, he fires three close range shots only to have each bullet dodged; this not only accentuates Carl's ineptitude, but indicates that Sean, in the midst of ass-kicking nearby, is faster than a speeding bullet.

Joe eventually saves the day by enlisting the help of a ragtag mob from nearby Sulfur Springs, a "rallying point" for those generically pissed off with Mulgrew and his wily ways. Before Joe walks off into the sunset, tiptoeing over fallen enemies and comrades alike, he duels it out with the one-eyed Super Ninja, one so adept at his art form that not even the lack of depth perception can defeat him.

Mulgrew is a genuinely great villain, though his "ex-British police officer" status wouldn't suggest as such. Not only does he first appear at the local bar in a puff of smoke, but he gets some entertainingly evil dialogue. When a captive asserts that the demons from Hell are coming to get Mulgrew, he replies to "tell my friend the Devil I'm not ready to come home yet." He's regretful (lamenting that he "shoulda killed [Sarah] when I killed her father"), intolerant of religion ("Are you mad? There are no bloody priests: I shot them all months ago."), and quick on the draw, both in guns and lovemaking ("I think she needs a stiff talking to ... I'm going to have you, but I won't keep you too long"). His Sheik cohort barely warrants recognition, save for clapping on both success and deadly failure in his outdoor Ninja Olympics obstacle course.

With just one more installment in the series, The Annihilation is entertaining enough for what it is: ninjas, fight scenes, and villains, but it doesn't really excel at any of them. It's nearest win is Mulgrew as villain, but he plays it almost too straight, creating a situation where the comical nature of the rest of the movie drags his performance down, making him seem decidedly and unfairly unfunny. Still, to quote the ending, it's "not much for words, but comes through in the end."

Death by: 1: ninja, spike; 2, 3, 4: machine gun; 5: ninja, sword; 6: ninja, bow and arrow; 7: gun; 8: gun, fall from great height; 9: strangulation; 10, 11, 12: gun; 13: hanging; 14, 15, 16: ninja, bow and arrow; 17: ninja, strangulation; 18, 19, 20: ninja, shuriken; 21, 22: spear; 23, 24: ninja, knife; 25, 26, 27: ninja, sword; 28: explosion, fall from great height; 29: explosion; 30: ninja, shuriken; 31: ninja, crossbow; 32: ninja, snapped neck; 33: ninja, knife; 34, 35: burning; 36: machine gun; 37: machine gun, fall from great height; 38, 39: explosion; 40: machine gun; 41: explosion, fall from great height; 42: shotgun; 43: fall from great height; 44: explosion; 45, 46: fall from great height; 47: sword; 48: fall from great height; 49, 50: rocket launcher, explosion; 51: ninja, explosion; 52: ninja, beating. Sleaze by: None.

Sid never believes in living with regret no matter what the situation may be. Even though there has been many missed opportunities we tend to find the best in the situation to make it hilarious. The only situation we can't get past is the fact we didn't spend more of our youth watching Ninja B action. Due to a certain Dutch making the genre seem terrible we spent years passing on them thinking they were something very different from what they are. These films are sheer genius that meet every criteria we look for. From bad acting, to awful scripted fight scenes, to laughable romance situations the Ninja world has it all.

American Ninja 4, yeah they made a total of 5 of these babies, CIA agent Sean Davidson and a guy named Carl (who looks exactly like the nerdy black guy from Ninja Vengeance) are sent on a mission to rescue Delta Force commandos that have been captured. Their captor is some British lunatic named Mulgrew whose acting is simply hilarious. In addition to his acting he has an army of ninjas that are trained in some type of death boot camp. Sir yes Sir! Once Sean and Carl are captured America must send in their secret weapon known as Joe Armstrong to take care of business ninja style.

Being that it was show at 12:45 am was the perfect compliment to a movie worthy of 5 stars and an upcoming Woody Award. It had absolutely everything you will need from a low budget Ninja action forcing you to wonder what the other in the series hold. There are more then a handful of WTF moments in addition to a Don Mattingly Factor of 3. The fighting is something right out of the book of Ninja Vengeance as guys go flying despite no actual contact being made. Just perfect in every way. So for anybody out there we must recommend American Ninja 4 with the utmost regard.

The long lead-up to Dudikoff's entrance is boring. Bradley is child-like, a student, minimally ok, but he's not the American Ninja. Once Dudikoff arrives the film picks up. This series would be much better if they had stuck to using only Dudikoff.