American Ninja 2: The Confrontation

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation was a fairly good B film. The action was non-stop but far-fetched and the choreography was sometimes quite unrealistic. Michael Dudkioff and Steve James played pretty good roles and their acting was substantial. One cool aspect of the film was where the fightings took place,for example, at the beach and in the bar. The ring scene was also interesting but the choreography somewhat ruined these scenes. The choreography was only good in about the first-half of the film. The plot was also very plain which also brings the film status down a little bit. Basically the fight scenes were unrealistic for the fact that the Ninjas were just plain stupid. Also in the bar scene,Steve James has about twelve or thirteen guys on top of him and he throws them all off with one single burst of power. In my opinion this movie is worth watching even though some of it was a little phony. The acting was fair and the fight scenes for the most part were pretty good. On a scale of 1-10 I would rank this film about a 5 just for the effort. As for my advice I would rent this film whenever you get the chance because you just might enjoy it. Thank you.

American Ninja 2: Ninjas in Paradise--I can't quite endorse it as much as the original. It's still a solid bit of fun though. The American Ninja films are notorious for movie mistakes, but this one takes the cake. Michael Dudikoff is onscreen aside Steve James as they meet the C.O. of the base, then cut to behind as they leave the room and it's a completely different dude. It's not Dudikoff at all!! It's the most blatantly obvious goof I've ever seen. But it also made me laugh out loud so they score points there. Other mistakes include rubber swords, dead guys that get up and continue fighting, and guys that are supposedly stabbed in the stomach but are really just holding the sword to their side. No matter how dumb the director may be, Michael Dudikoff and Steve James still kick ass and that's what the first two movies are all about. American Ninja 2, or Episode II as I like to call it, is about Joe Armstrong's encounter with genetically enhanced clones. Hum...sound familiar? Ninjas basically are Jedis, right? I could be wrong, but then again maybe George Lucas owes a bit of credibility to the genius behind American Ninja 2: The Confrontation. Dudikoff isn't in the third film so you can skip it; after all, he IS the American Ninja.

Steve James originally didn't want to appear in this first sequel, since it was to be shot in South Africa (which was still under apartheid). He later admitted that he had a lot of fun making the movie, which is evident onscreen. Like the first movie, James steals the show from Dudikoff, both in his martial arts skills and with a bouncy performance that makes him a treat to watch. The best that can be said about Dudikoff's performance is that he seems to be a lot more comfortable in front of the camera than he was the first time around. He's still very unemotional, has almost no dialogue, and it's still clear he knows little to nothing about martial arts, seeing how he does pretty simple moves (when not being doubled.)

Despite the movie being weighed down by Dudikoff's presence, it's still a fun movie, certainly better than the first movie. The locations are eye-catching, giving the movie a nice backdrop. The pace is quicker, giving us little chance to be bored between the action sequences. And there's certainly plenty of action, with dozens of ninjas popping up everywhere at any time. Yes, there is a cheesiness to the entire enterprise, from George Clinton's synthesizer score to the ludicrous scheme of the villain... but hey, it's a *fun* kind of cheese, one that makes you smile instead of grit your teeth. Sometimes a little silliness is what the doctor ordered, and it's also a nostalgic blast for those into '80s actioners.

Here's another great martial arts action film. Prior to the first AN, American Ninja 2, provide lots of action and suspense just like the first one. This time taking on "superninjas" they weren't so super to me there. Both Armstrong and Jackson(Michael Dudikoff and Steve James) were always on top of things. The Marines weren't so warm to the Army Rangers at first, but when it was getting the job done Armstrong and Jackson don't play around. Armstrong was all techniques, Jackson was all power, that's why he is later named "Powerhouse" Jackson. He was the martial artist with attitude. Especially when he stomped on the ninja and he said, "STAY DOWN!" You don't play with Powerhouse Jackson. The outside fight scene with Joe and the ninjas were memorable as well. I liked the part where Joe catches the dart with his hand and took out that ninja with the shuriken(throwing star). These characters were outrageous, they'll make any brawler run home to mama. This movie is just as good as first, however it does have more action though, which I like the best. Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Okay here's the deal. You are either gonna expect one or two things from this. 1.)A solid action movie about an American fighting ninjas or 2.)You're gonna laugh till you hurt. Well this movie definitely falls into #2. You see its quite ridiculous. Ninjas with bones made of metal and feel no pain? Yet, when they're attacked you hear bones crack and them yell out in pain? Or the fact that these superninja's are taken down by a Vanilla Ice/Guile look alike who needs a serious fashion update. Its comedic relief for all! Or the fact that this bad to the bone lazy eyed Asian man pulls out a shotgun from out of nowhere. Or the black man, named Jackson, pulls out knifes from no where. I think to really sum up this movie its one of those things that'll either end up on Mystery Science 3000 or be in the $3 bin at Wal-mart to buy. Which is how i got my copy! Regardless this is more of a cartoon than a action movie.....sad. It is funny to watch ninjas get shot down by Marines in hawaiian shirts! Oh the fun!