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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Keel Ze American Ninja, March 23, 2005
This is a review of American Ninja 2.
OK. So this movie isn't going to win any major awards. The plot is supposed to suck and the acting is supposed to be terrible. However, anybody who has watched and appreciated this movie knows differently.
The plot can't be that bad. Why are there popular movies today that seem to have borrowed ideas from American Ninja 2? A guy who has amnesia but has special fighting skills (Bourne Identity)? Cloning / genetic research (Jurasic Park)? On a side note, I am pretty sure the idea of cloning ninjas back then was a bunch of bull, but look at where the technology is today.
The acting may not be what this movie is remembered for, but Dudikoff is convincing as the American Ninja. He doensn't say too much, but he knows what's going on and he definitely seems to know how to kill ninjas. Steve James convinces you that he's actually having a good time killing ninjas. The bad guys convince you that they are indeed bad. What more can you possibly need?
Overall, this movie is jam packed with action and cool fighting sequences. There are a coupla cheesy scenes (jumping from the cliff onto the jet boat, and Steve James wrestling with like 15 guys), but that is what makes the movie funny. Its a shame that more movies today can't pull off this type of deliberate unprofessionalism once in awhile. Anyways, American Ninja 2 is a favoritie of mine (although I wouldn't really admit this outside of Amazon).
Couple of minor gripes:
1) Why go through all the trouble of a high speed truck chase, jumping out of the truck at full speed, crashing the truck, and blowing up the truck into the side of building... all to get rid of ONE stinking ninja who is barely hanging on. Couldn't Dudikoff just stop the truck, get out, and then beat up the ninja?
2) Since when do ninja masters start packing sawed off shotguns?
Although American Ninja 3 is included on the other side of the DVD, consider it as a bonus. American Ninja 2 is worth the price alone.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps the best deal in DVD history, October 12, 2002
Putting the second and third installments of the "American Ninja" series on one specially-priced DVD just may have been the best idea that humanity has had since the wheel. These two movies, along with the original "American Ninja" film, represent everything that bad, low-budget action movies should be: negligible plotting, lame dialogue, wooding acting, and plenty of semi-believable martial-arts action. Here, in one sentence, is the plot of both movies: an American martial-arts whiz (played by Michael Dudikoff in the first two movies, and some other guy in the third one), with help from his well-muscled friend Jackson, takes on a sinister tycoon's private army of ninjas. Not that plot really matters, since it's interrupted about every five minutes for a fight scene. Dudikoff and the other guy can't really act, but they can fight, and that's all that really matters. No self-respecting fan of bad action should be without this DVD.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ninjas, ninjas, and then......more ninjas!!, October 18, 2002
This DVD is one of the best buys in town. 2 classic movies for the price of one? Unheard of! I picked this one up as soon as it was released and I was not disappointed.American Ninja 2 was one of my childhood favorites, and watching it in DVD format brought tears to my eyes. Dudikoff is the quiet hero, accompanied by Jackson, his muscle bound friend who says awesome one liners that bring a dash of comedy into the mix. Together they battle an army of super ninjas led by an evil ninja master, who in turn is commanded by a rich drug dealer. Same plot as the first film, and just as enjoyable. American Ninja 3 doesn't have Dudikoff, but is still a great B action flick. The plot is exactly the same as the previous two films, but the action choreography is a little better than its predecessors. Steve James is even more brilliant as Jackson in this film because he gets more of the spotlight than he did in the first two films, and he makes the most of it. The only thing that puzzled me is Jackson's martial arts knowledge...when did he learn to wield double swords? Both films have predictable plots, corny dialogue, sub-par acting and fighting, but none of that matters with films like this. These elements just make it that much better. These films are meant to be devoid of intellect. It's just purely entertainment, nothing more. Perhaps it's just nostalgia that is clouding my judgement, but show these films to your kids and they will be ninja kicking you every day for a month. What can beat that?
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