Lethal Ninja (1992) User Reviews

This movie looks like its from the 70's... and it ain't a period piece

[What_A_Waste_of_Money · 2/10 · 3 February 2006]

Where to start? This movie is crap. I didn't watch the whole thing but I saw enough to know that this movie makes most low budget films look like masterpieces, OK maybe that is a bit too harsh.

The movie starts off with a helicopter flyover that looks like its from the 60's. As it goes on it looks it may have been made in the late 70's or early 80's. But that isn't the worst part.

The acting in the movie is simply horrible. Some of the worst acting I have ever seen. The guys wife sees her scientific base blow up and just stays there with a stupid look on her face.

Another annoying thing about the movie is its crappy audio that makes the movie look like it was 50% dubbed.There's nothing quite like the refreshingly annoying and destructing movie with dubbed audio that makes you second guess every actors voice.

The best part of the movie is the choreography. Just take a moment to ponder the wonderful choreography that was in such TV shows as Batman (1960's). Now take even more uncoordinated actors and doubles and add slow motion. That kinda sums up how crappy the fight scenes are.

This movie is almost unbearable. Go see it or rent it on DVD (why in the hell would they release it on DVD anyways) if you want to torture yourself or someone you love.

The whole thing is very plain and lacks excitement or thrills.

[tarbosh22000 · 4/10 · 20 October 2022]

Joe Ford (Kettle) is some sort of cross between an art teacher and a yoga instructor who teaches "creation by meditation". Naturally, he lives in San Francisco. When he gets word that his wife Dominique (Hill) has been kidnapped, he goes to see his buddy Brannigan (Webb), and the two men go to Lake Oduba in Africa where she's being held. Kray (Coombes), the man who took her, claims he needs her for her "microbiology skills". Because her scientific encampment was besieged by ninjas, Ford and Webb decide they need to fight ninja with ninja and they become ninjas themselves, which is apparently something you can do overnight. Somehow tied into all this silliness is a Nostradamus prophecy. Will things get salty as Kettle chips away at the baddies?

The Ninja Boom meets the Africa slog in this lackluster outing. At first, we were excited to see a man named Ross Kettle be the imposing LETHAL NINJA that we see on the Vidmark box cover. Very quickly, disappointment set in when we saw how boring and lifeless it all is. It's like a lot of Yossi Wein/Nu Image movies. There are no interesting characters, dialogue, plot developments, or ideas - except for one, which we'll mention shortly. Even the time-honored barfight (at a place called New York Disco) is only about 30 seconds long.

In 1992, when Lethal Ninja came out, the American Ninja series was still very popular in video stores. But Wein and Nu Image failed to recreate that Cannon magic. Getting a guy who looks like Michael Pare (Kettle) and a guy who looks like Steve James (Webb) - not to mention a baddie that looks like Malcolm McDowell (Coombes) just wasn't enough.

Like in a lot of other Africa-shot movies, they got Ken Gampu, which is usually a good thing, but his screen time is extremely limited. Unfortunately, the main star and lead of the movie, Ross Kettle, is a charismaless personality vacuum. He looks almost exactly like Michael Pare, but makes Pare look like Regis Philbin by comparison in the energy department. You might say Kettle is sub-Pare. It seems the filmmakers made every wrong decision. Except one...

There is exactly one good idea in Lethal Ninja. I've got the two words you've been waiting your whole life to hear: rollerskating ninjas.

That's right, at one point Joe (the same first name as Dudikoff in the aforementioned American Ninja series) goes into a warehouse and is encircled by a gaggle of dudes in ninja pajamas skating all around him. Their skates have blades that jut out from the sides. Think Xanadu (1980) meets ninjas. Amazingly, even this fantastic innovation isn't really capitalized upon. They just skate around him for a few minutes and there's no big blowout fight. They even managed to screw that up. But for a while it was really cool.

Throughout the film, things perk up whenever there is a ninja attack. I'm not sure why they didn't think of this at the time, but there should have been more ninja attacks. Besides the brief barfight, other cliches include some exploding huts and a Prerequisite Torture scene of the heroes. Interestingly, this time around, Kettle is held above a rectangular vat of boiling oil. Just like you would do with a potato chip. Could this be a coincidence?

Not to be confused with the David Heavener outing Lethal Ninja (1991) AKA For Hire, this Lethal Ninja is basically the same movie as Danger Zone (1996)...but with ninjas. The whole thing is very plain and lacks excitement or thrills. It's ultimately an empty kettle. We doubt Lethal Ninja will be your kettle of fish.

Inept Ninja

[gridoon2024 · 4/10 · 31 March 2010]

Silly me, I thought ninjas could fight! Well, not according to this movie: the two leads (who are NOT ninjas) have about as much trouble taking them out as they would have with random people picked from the streets. They are so clueless and out-of-tune with their surroundings, in fact, that you can easily sneak up on them and twist their necks (aren't ninjas usually supposed to be the ones DOING that, instead of having it done TO them?). No wonder the bad guy says at one point "they've made a mockery of my men" - his men are his private ninja army, who are practically good for nothing, except rollerskating! There is one half-decent fight scene somewhere around the middle, against the only ninja who at least tries to put up some sort of fight; the rest of the fights are forgettable, and often poorly edited. The entire film is utterly forgettable, but some of the stunts are worthy of respect, so I'll be generous and give it *1/2 out of 4.

defines 'insane action movie'

[plantostickthat · 1/10 · 12 June 2001]

Yes, you read it right, this defines insane action movies, not because of the huge amount of action, but because it's completely insane. If you are a regular viewer of the bottom 100 (which you must be to look at a movie like this) then you would have seen 'US Seals' on the least, at its worst the number 1 bottom movie. Now just think about that. How is it possible for somebody to make a movie which is worse than EVERYTHING. Think of the worst, most painful movie you've ever seen. These people have made a movie worse than that. And why is this relevant, you may ask?

Because the same team made lethal ninja. Except lethal ninja was a lot earlier, and a LOT worse. In fact, it's possibly the lowest quality movie i have ever seen, and i watch bad movies on purpose. However, it is also one of the most hilariously atrocious movies you will ever see. The makers seemed determined to throw in every crappy cliche they possibly could, so the dialogue is completely inane. It goes along like this:

Woman: What are you doing? Man(dangerously): Don't mock me you bitch.

You will find gems like these scattered (actually, the movie is drenched in them) throughout the movie. Now, on to the story.

I've watched it twice recently, but i still haven't managed to pick up the story. Thats not because of me, it's because it has the most glaringly obvious plot holes EVER. The story is something about some woman and her crew finding poisoned water in africa. Then boom, no explanation, ninjas are there slaughtering everybody (serious. Their swords even bounce off people. I thought they were sharp...). Then she is taken hostage by somebody in a hotel in south africa (She chooses just to wait there rather than escape). Her husband, the american yoga guy, hears about his, grabs his mate, and off they fly to south africa against the warning of this government guy. They just happen to stay at the same hotel as his wife (coincidence of course) and then the fun kicks in.

Because, you see, Lethal ninja is absoloutely insane. The first flaw is that the main guy is not even a ninja. I think they should have called 'Lethal Redneck'. Anyway, I'll give you a rundown of some of the flaws and stupidities. When they arrive in south africa, they are carrying machine guns, pistols and bazookas. The customs man asks them 'do you have any firearms' and they say 'just crossbows'. And then, faced with these 2 huge and obviuosly dangerous men, the man LETS THEM WALK THROUGH WITHOUT CHECKING FOR WEAPONS!!! When they get to the hotel, they know nobody, so naturally they just pick up the phone and dial a random number and ask 'wheres my wife'. Theres a tip for hostage situations. If your wife has been kidnapped, pick up the phone, make up a number, and then dial for instant success. Anyway, there are too many flaws, but you will see them standing in the desert or something, and then one of them will say:

'hey, we better check out that old fort'

And off they go. It seems that the script was improvised as they went along, because anybody could come up with a reason for looking at the old fort, but they DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT EXISTED!!!

Anyway, i grow tired of this. All in all if you're looking for one of the stupidest and funniest movies, rent this. And watch for the dance and musical number which i swear the director choreographed himself. You thought Aaron carter was bad? Wait till you hear and see this!

The poor man's American Ninja, assuming that's possible

[nielsenbc · 1/10 · 14 June 2016]

For Fans of bad movies, Amazon Prime is a gold mine. The vast majority of the selections go from the ridiculous to the redonkulous, including Bloodlock, Breeders, and Night of the Demon (a personal favorite). I added Lethal Ninja to my watchlist hoping for the David Heavener vehicle featured on Best of the Worst. It wasn't. Oh Lordy it wasn't. I was roughly five minutes into it when I heard my doorbell ring. I thought it was the ringing in my head (watch the movie and you'll understand), but it persisted. I opened the door, and there stood Miss Watson exclaiming "Face it, tiger! You just hit the jackpot." Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh Hell yes! If Amazon Prime is a schlock mine, I just hit the motherlode.

Two "actors" pretending to be Michael Dudikoff and Steve James go to Africa(?) to rescue not-Michael's wife from the clutches of Dr. Evil if he were played by the child of Sigfreid and Roy. Instead of going "plot point" by "plot point", I think I'll just state what the "film" has going for it.

A Fake Nostradamus prophecy about a savior from the east, who comes from the west.

A ninja who feels it necessary to teach people how to breathe. It's difficult, I know.

The most effeminate yet clichéd villain I've ever seen, down to the monocle and black cigarette holder.

The Carousel of Carnage.

A song that reminded my of my acid reflux disease.

The Roller Derby of Death. Should this film ever catch on, this scene will be up there with the popcorn scene in Troll 2 and the horny nurse scene in Samurai Cop. It's that incomprehensible.

A hapless ninja who get belted in the face with the backblast from a rocket launcher. Not intentionally.

The Waterslide of Slaughter.

Acting that can best be described as a cry for help.

So much non-medy that Rich Evans will kill himself.

Lastly, a plot that's harder to follow than Miami Connection.

Lethal Ninja is amazing. I just watched it, and it's already one of my favorite bad movies. I wanted to give it ten stars, but I thought that would be misleading, so it's bottomed out. Just like the alcoholics who made this.

Kindergarten - Ninja

[knowing-all-answers · 5/10 · 7 October 2001]

I believe I understand this movie. The message is:

If you have a problem you only have to wait, to hit the guys who try to kill you with only one beat or turn out the lights with your ninja-sword. ...Am I wrong ?

It is fun and pain to watch the hero of this movie, Ross Kettle (called "Joe" in the film), trying to look cool, pretending to fight with big men, knocking them down after almost no fighting and grabbing bigger men's...you know.

Problem 1: Ross Kettle is no action hero, he was good in "Santa Barbara" (a soap opera) and without him you could forget the movie completely, but he is just not right for the part.

Problem 2: One of the worst actresses I've ever seen: Karyn Hill, who plays Ross Kettle's kidnapped wife. Anyone could have been a better choice. If she was at least naked to convince us with her breasts...

Problem 3: The story...what story ? It would be ridiculous trying to explain what happens. It doesn't matter !

Problem 4: Explosions are nice and good fights are interesting, but is it really necessary to hear a sound like when Batman and Robin of the original Batman-series beat someone up, every time Ross Kettle, the hero (a joke, sorry), is knocking someone down ? Besides, there are no good fights here and explosions look like from a cartoon.

Pretending to be a movie for adults. Not even children would care, or perhaps the little ones !

Ingenious

[aloep · 20 November 2004]

*Mild Spoilers*

Yossi Wein is the God of awful Bulgarian productions that usually fall into the "so bad it's good" category. This was his directorial debut and is probably his second best work to date in terms of laugh out loud entertainment with only Disaster (aka Sudden Damage, Cult Of Fury) beating it. Make no mistake, it's a p*ss poor film with absolutely no redeeming values what so ever, but that's why this is worth watching. It's so awful in every angle that it needs to be seen to be believed, and is so entertaining. I have seen a lot of bad movies and although this is by no means the lowest quality (that award would go to Urban Menace/Corrupt/The Wrecking Crew), I don't thin I've ever seen anything so goofy that tries to take itself seriously.

OK, where do I start? It was filmed in South Africa and all of the cast appear to be local including several who have no other starring role listed on IMDb which is hardly surprising given the performances they pull off. Although it is set in Africa, they even manage to mess things up badly with this. Firstly, both the lead and "Dominique" are supposed to be American but it doesn't explain the thick South African accents. Not only do they not try to put on an accent, the acting level of them (and the entire cast) is absolutely abominable. I don't think I've ever seen a film with a worse display of non acting from absolutely everyone involved. The award for the worst performance goes to the scientist who gets killed at the beginning who says "We've got no time for visitors, tell them to go away". The way in which that line is delivered is indescribably awful. The worst performance from anybody who has a significant amount of screen time is from Karyn Hill who plays "Dominique", the wife of the "hero". She delivers all her lines in exactly the same tone throughout the movie just like everyone else, but the entire facial expressions she reads them with is beyond laughable. It's her only acting role listed on IMDb to date. What a surprise, eh? However I do have modest hopes that she'll accept a sometime role in the near future, I could use the laugh. Quite simply, the whole cast in this provide abnormally bad performances.

The plot is utterly stupid and full of the biggest holes I've ever seen and is entirely pushed along by coincidence. Once they arrive in Africa, Joe (Ross Kettle) dials a number and asks the person at the other end of the line to meet him at a disco but who was this? And how did they happen to stay at the same hotel where Joe's wife is held? But after 20 minutes you can give up looking for plot holes, as you will never keep track and you'll probably be laughing too hard at other things.

Lehtal Ninja boasts the worst choreographed fight scenes ever seen. They are all painfully slow and everybody appears to be overly careful not to get hurt in them. Anybody who's in at least reasonable physical shape could pull these off. Even when slitting throats and breaking necks, it still manages to come off unconvincing and laughable. It is only made even worse that these involve laughable ninja's who are obviously wearing protection as their swords even bounce when they hit the human target on occasion. And to top it all off, these are all complimented with the same cartoonish wind sound almost every time a "ninja" moves a muscle.

But wait, there's more. Gawk at:

A song and dance that needs to be seen to be believed. Yossi probably choreographed it himself and wrote the lyrics of the song.

Before leaving America, we see stock footage of San Francisco yet they state that they have flew from Los Angeles.

A Mercedes which crashes over a small hillside and suddenly appears about 60 ft in the opposite direction back on it's wheels only to explode. On a sidenote, I'm surprised they crashed a 1970's Mercedes which would surely have been of interest to far more people than this movie!

Incredibly cheap production values. Grainy picture which just reeks of low budget and exceptionally poor lighting.

Ninja's who circle round the "hero" on roller skates with blades on the side and let themselves get slowly taken out one by one.

Simply put, this is one of the worst movies ever made but Good Lord, it's hysterical. Another movie that would make a very fun drinking game. It isn't the most worst movie ever or the most funny bad movie ever, but it is a runner up and is definitely worth seeing for that!

An alright Ninja movie

[Rautus · 10/10 · 28 August 2007]

I bought Lethal Ninja in a buy one get one free offer when I bought the Ninja Terminator/ Ninja Dragon double disc, Lethal Ninja isn't a great movie but it is alright. The film is low budget but some of the action pretty cool, one scene that is kind of funny is seeing the Ninja's roller blading around the main hero Joe and then he just beats some of them up as they try to attack him, the box says "From the makers of American Ninja" so that made me more interested in seeing Lethal Ninja.

The plot sees the main hero's wife trying to figure what's made the water go bad when suddenly her colleges are killed by a group of Ninja's, she's then taken away meanwhile her husband Joe is training some kids when suddenly he's told his wife has been kidnapped so with the help of his friend they go off to rescue her.

Lethal Ninja is a pretty good Ninja movie that should be seen with a group of friends. Check it out.

Skating Ninjas

[currax · 6/10 · 6 October 2002]

This is the first movie I've seen where Ninjas use rollerskates with blades sticking out of the sides. Where do they sell those things? I want some.

So the movie is pretty bad, yes. Bad enough to be funny? Sure. It's not the best bad movie out there but it does have its moments. One key bad element is the completely unconvincing fighting on display. There are moments where I know I could have done better, and I have no training in the area whatsoever. Particularly bad is the final showdown at the end. I'm not going to ruin it for you by revealing who's fighting who. I will mention that it was one of the crummiest attempts at portraying a fighting move in the history of cinema.

Another reviewer mentioned the bad acting on the part of the woman who portrays the hero's wife. She is the worst actor in the film, but I quite liked her scenes. She managed to deliver each of her lines in such a way that any dramatic tension that could have existed was vanquished. She's fun. Troll II, anyone? She could easily fit in there.

It's not all the fault of bad acting, either. Some of the attempts at buddy-picture humor between the main guy and his kickboxing friend are dead at the script level.

If you like bad movies, go ahead and check this one out. And stay tuned to the end, because immediately before the credits we are treated to stirring orchestral music while we see clips from the film we've just watched followed by the title, LETHAL NINJA. I think they want to you feel like you've just watched an 80-minute epic.

Spoilers (not that you'll care)

[Retrofunkdaddy · 31 August 2004]

This is one of the worst/best films i have ever seen in my entire life and it only cost me one English pound. I was so entertained but of course for all the wrong reasons from the awful acting to the hilariously bad action sequences.

Highlights included (spoilers) roller skating ninjas, the main characters climbing through storm drains that look disturbingly like water flumes and some of the worst ninjas i have ever seen in my entire life. Pretty much the start of every other scene features the lead "creeping" up on one of the "ninjas" (i use the terms creeping and ninja very loosely) and breaking his neck.

Anyhow as bad as this film is i still bring it out every now and again for a chuckle with my mates and if you find it as cheap as i did certainly pick it up for kicks and giggles.