Golan-Globus’s “American Ninja” from 1985 is the perfect Regan Era action movie cum franchise starter that offers up the right amount of camp and action, along with the ninja glorification that dominated the eighties. Directed well by Sam Firstenberg, “American Ninja” is the introduction of action star Michael Dudikoff whose debut is rather memorable and dynamic. Despite the fact Dudikoff has about ten lines of dialogue in the entirety of “American Ninja,” he is pretty much the ideal American action hero. He looks like James Dean, he fights like Bruce Lee, and he’s a one man army from the military like John Rambo. The icing on the cake is that his name is Joe. Joe Armstrong. Get it? He’s an American Joe with the skills of the ancient Ninja.
When we meet him in “American Ninja,” he’s brandishing a switchblade and is ready to get to work in accompanying the daughter of a high ranking military official on her way to the airport. Dudikoff plays Joe with about as much resolve and determination as possible and tries to convey a lot of character in his expressions and body language since we basically have almost no dialogue to learn about him through. Joe’s back story is dodgy, as he spent much of his childhood being raised by an enigmatic sensei who taught him the art of the ninja. After a mysterious explosion caused him to lose his memory, Joe was rescued as an orphan and spent most of his life as a troublemaker. Rather than going to prison, Joe ended up in the army. Joe is a pariah in his military base and takes it upon himself to help Patricia, the daughter of a colonel, saving her from a group of ninjas hired by an arms dealer.
When Joe manages to defeat a few of them in self-defense, their leader, as played by Tadashi Yamashita, is intent on getting revenge and is also anxious to learn where Joe learned his ninja skills. “American Ninja” places a lot of the film’s appeal on Michael Dudikoff, with him front and center on all the posters. Though the movie does bank on the ninja craze of the decade, thankfully it never shies away from the ninja action and cannon fodder. It’s a great thing that Dudikoff is an enthusiastic and charming action hero who can handle a lot of his scenes with flair and swift movement. Director Sam Firstenberg gives Dudikoff a lot to play with in his debut, staging some really excellent action sequences that become banner moments for the series. There’s the implied rumble staged with shadows as Joe lurks around a warehouse, there’s Joe dicing through a ninja net with ease as they attempt to trap him.
Director Firstenberg even throws in a little homage to Steve McQueen giving Joe a chance to ride a motorcycle off a ramp. The late Steve James pulls up a lot of the slack for Dudikoff providing a great supporting performance as Corporal Curtis Jackson, a tough soldier who challenges Joe and eventually gains a big respect for him. “American Ninja” is a typical jingoistic genre entry from the eighties where the American military man prevails over a foreign foe, but damn, it’s such a fun action film. And it’s really tough to hate Michael Dudikoff.
Now on a much deserved deluxe Blu-Ray from Olive Films, “American Ninja” comes with the original trailer for “American Ninja.” Filmed exclusively for Olive Films, there’s “A Rumble in the Jungle: The Making of American Ninja,” a featurette that explores the production of the film, and the history of “American Ninja.” There are even interviews in the segment with Judie Aronson, Michael Dudikoff, and stunt coordinator Steve Lambert. Finally there’s the new audio commentary with director Sam Firstenberg, and producer Elijah Drenner, who provides great detail about the casting process for the film, the revelation that the role of Joe was reserved for Chuck Norris, the apparent involvement from Sho Kosugi, and discussions about the film’s alleged political message. It’s yet another commentary recorded exclusively for Olive Films.