Ninja Shadow Of A Tear 2013 is a sequel to the 2009 movie Ninja starring Scott Adkins. He reprises the role of Casey here along with Mika Hijii who plays cute but deadly Namiko again. The director is also the same so you can expect pretty much the same movie. This time Casey won’t be running but looking for revenge against those who wronged him. The production values are a bit lower along with the quality of the CGI but at least the fights are much better.
This time we will get a lot of actual fights and not shootouts, showcasing all of Scott’s skills. As a bonus, we get Kane Kosugi, Sho Kosugi’s son. Sho was the original ninja, starring in all three Enter the Ninja movies back in the eighties. Oddly enough, I first watched this movie, Ninja Shadow Of A Tear, and then found it’s actually a sequel. So, you don’t need to know anything from the original in order to enjoy this one, just to be clear. The story is rudimentary and the same can be said about the characters. But this is not the reason why we watch these movies.
We watch them because they’re entertaining and require little effort. The whole martial arts/ninja thing is a bonus. Sometimes you want to watch a movie that’s easy to follow and that will leave you in a good mood. And Ninja Shadow Of A Tear is a great choice if you’re looking for something like that. For those of us who grew up on action movies of the eighties and nineties, this is pure gold. If you want more proof, just head over to the IMDb page for this movie. It’s full of positive reviews.
After the untimely passing of his Sensei Takeda, Casey took over his dojo. He’s now training a new generation of fighters to be quick, disciplined and above all, moral. Casey is teaching them Bushido, or the way of the warrior. At home, things are also great. His wife Namiko is pregnant and the two of them can’t wait to welcome a new addition to their little family. At the same time, ruthless drug lord Goro is plotting his next move, not knowing that he’s about to run into the one and only ninja Casey!
Not only Scott Adkins is kicking more ass in this one but he also speaks fluent Japanese! This is a nice touch and adds a surprising amount of authenticity to this otherwise mediocre movie. You could even argue that Ninja Shadow of A Tear is a better movie than the original Ninja from 2009. The plot is better and more streamlined along with the action. We will even get some twists here and there along with humor. Something that was sorely missing from the original.
So, if you’re looking for some ninja action, this movie got you covered. Action that you won’t find anywhere else. And that’s a fact! It’s astonishing that this is the most recent American ninja movie. I mean, we get a couple of new shark movies every year but none about ninjas?
Director: Isaac Florentine
Writers: David N. White, Michael Hurst, Boaz Davidson
Cast: Scott Adkins, Kane Kosugi, Mika Hijii, Shun Sugata, Jawed El Berni, Vithaya Pansringarm
Fun Facts: The knife thugs use in an alley fight is a Japanese ceremonial knife called a tanto.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2458106/
