Ninja [2009]

November 1, 2022

Simply titled Ninja, this is a straightforward B-action movie reminiscent of its eighties predecessors. Do you remember all the ninja craze back in the eighties? It started with Cannon’s Enter the Ninja and continued with the American Ninja franchise starring Michael Dudikoff. The first movie spawned two sequels and American Ninja no less than freaking five! Ninja, 2009 edition, tries to capitalize on that subgenre appealing both to teenagers today and eighties teenagers looking for a bit of nostalgia.

The plot is simplistic, combat brutal with a lot of cool gimmicks. And don’t get me started on the characters. All of this is to be expected from a production like this. Boaz Davidson, another Israeli writer, and director (just like Golan and Globus of their Cannon fame) came up with the story and produced the movie. Like most of his productions, the filming took place in beautiful Bulgaria and the end result isn’t too bad. I also shouldn’t forget to mention Isaac Florentine, an Israeli director of this movie.

At least we got a real martial artist in Scott Adkins who could kick Michael Dudikoff’s ass. Although they’re different types of actors. Mr. Adkins is keeping this B action movie subgenre singlehandedly alive with his movies. He looks really jacked in this one but his face seems a bit too tense. I don’t why but I like how he looks now, in movies like Accident Man and Avengement. It’s so funny to think that all of these ninja movies are starring these white as fuck guys although they could have easily hired an Asian guy and been done with it. Ninja Assassin, another 2009 ninja movie did that with great success.

Casey is one of Sensei Takeda’s best students. He’s been studying martial arts at his dojo for many years now. Even Takeda’s daughter Namiko likes Casey, a poor orphan who spent his whole life in Japan. This doesn’t sit well with Masazuka, a skilled but evil and short-tempered student looking to take over the dojo from Takeda. After a cowardly attack, Masazuka is expelled from the school but this only fuels his desire for vengeance. And so the battle begins.

I think that it goes without saying that there will be some unintentionally hilarious scenes in Ninja 2009 movie. Cheesy one-liners, awkward CGI, and bad acting actually just contribute to the entertaining atmosphere. Let’s face it, if you play a movie with the title Ninja and starring Scott Adkins, you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. At least we will get a decent amount of gore. Heads will be flying and blood will be squirting, to be blunt. And some fight scenes are truly impressive, like the one in the metro.

Additionally, there’s not a bit of melodrama or fluff here. With a running time of just over eighty minutes, Ninja 2009 is a short and sweet ride down the nostalgia alley. There’s a sequel that’s also not too shabby from 2013, Ninja: Shadow of A Tear you might want to check out. Finally, if you’re looking for something heavier, I must recommend you Takeshi Miike’s movie 13 Assassins. Total fucking massacre!