American Commando Ninja (1988) User Reviews

Terrible In many Ways, But Great Ninja Fun Also!!

[Movie-Misfit · 5/10 · 5 April 2020]

Apparently cut together from an unidentified Taiwanese TV series (along with another film called Born A Ninja), I remember having this on video tape way back in the early 90's. I was a young teenage in search of anything ninja or kung-fu related, an after watching it - immediately put off by its shot-to-video quality - I tried getting rid of it!

The films only saving grace is that it stars the fantastic and handsome, Meng Fei from The Prodigal Boxer, The Guy With Secret Kung Fu, and The King Of Boxers to name but a few. So this was totally out-of-sorts to see him in a modern film, especially as a ninja...

With atrocious English dubbing, I believe the plot was about a Japanese ninja in China trying to find an evil scientist called Tanaka, who just happens to have a secret formula from WW2 that could destroy the world. Also chasing him is Becky, who dresses in a bright yellow vest and pair of shorts patterned with the Confederate flag, and Brenda, her double-denim friend who's parents got killed in WW2 (even though she looks about 35 herself). A third party enters, Larry, who is a master of Hocus Pocus (honestly!) and as well as being adept in kung-fu, can shoot fire from his fingers and more.

Ugh, I actually can't waste any more brain power on this. American Commando Ninja is possibly one of the worst ninja films ever, and coming from the Lai/Ho catalogue, that's quite a title to have. Mind you, its just as much so unintentionally funny at times (well most times) from its dubbing to story line, its awful fashion to its average but still entertaining fight scenes. It also features a soundtrack that borrows from most Alexander Lo Rei ninja films and Michelle Yeoh's Royal Warriors, so it might make you think you're watching something special from time to time.

The action is supposedly directed by Hong Kong star John Chang, from Project A 2, Dragon The Bruce Lee Story, and Police Story 2. The lengthy end fight, with Meng Fei in full ninja mode, is actually a lot of fun...

Overall: Honestly though, as bad as it is, you can't help but be entertained. Sho kosugi's TV show, The Master, was a lot less enjoyable!

A real treat

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 16 September 2019]

COMMANDO THE NINJA is one of the cheesiest and funniest slices of trash I've seen from IFD, a bottom-of-the-barrel ninja adventure full of the usual cut and paste film-making and rock-bottom production values. This one was even shot on video, which sets it apart from the others. For a change, the film they're ripping off - which seems to be Taiwanese - is almost as entertaining as the new ninja footage, with a hunt for secret plans and the like. You get a bunch of permed women fighting and one of them wearing Southern Cross shorts at one point! Truly this film has the worst fashions of the 1980s in all their gaudy glory. The dubbing is also some of the shonkiest you'll hear. The new ninja footage is a hoot, full of random slow motion at the wrong times and extensive battles around wooden sets built in the woods. This one's a real treat for bad film lovers.

AKA Silent Killers

[tarbosh22000 · 10 November 2012]

It's almost pointless to try to recount the plot (?) of this gem, but we'll try: apparently a man named Tanaka has a formula that will either save or destroy the world, so Larry, Becky and Brenda kidnap him and try to get said formula. The power Tanaka contains comes from some sort of magical mirrored mustache that he must place on a magical mask. So far just your run of the mill day. Tanaka and his captors, who really aren't so bad after all, end up becoming friends and teaming up against the real enemy: the evil White guy named Martin. Both the good and evil sides of this spectrum have ninjas that fight against each other. Exactly how ninjas are interjected into all this is anybody's guess...but will the overwhelming power of the magical mirrored mustache drive Tanaka insane? DARE you find out the secret to the SILENT KILLERS? Insane movie alert! I guess it probably doesn't need to be said again, but at the risk of repeating ourselves: THIS MOVIE IS INSANE! If this movie was a person, it would be put in a rubber room for life. It would make Crazy Eddie and his prices look like Al Gore. It's from Joseph Lai and Betty Chan, the producers of many a Godfrey Ho classic. But this one's shot on video! Can you imagine an SOV Godfrey Ho movie? Though the director is listed as one Lo Gio, this is perhaps the closest we'll get to a non-patchwork, video-camera-shot Godfrey Ho movie, and the results are...really something.

There are some amazing 80's fashions on display, mainly Larry's shorts...but he's outdone in the shorts department by Becky's Confederate flag shorts! Presumably other countries get America's hand-me-downs and they don't know the symbolism involved. Either that or Becky fought for the south. Because it was shot on video, it has that Razor Sharpe (1998)-style vibe of "anyone could do it". But could anyone do THIS? Just look at the "my first editing machine" transitions between scenes. But the Master has magical Ninjitsu powers which have to be seen to be believed, there are some classic "underground ninjas", the prerequisite "final ninja brawl", and there's more slow motion than Hard Target (1993).

If you read the website Bleedingskull.com, you may have some idea of what to expect here. It seems they review things like this and it would be right up their alley. Silent Killers is very fun, highly ridiculous, completely nonsensical, and makes you realize that coherence in movies is just so boring. Sure, so many movies are out there that are "coherent" and blah blah blah. Anybody could do that. It takes something special and different to churn out a mutant like this.

From what we can gather, this movie is quite rare. It was released (ironically) on American Video. They make it look like some sort of post-apocalyptic thriller with an American cast. Why they thought that would be more attention-grabbing than the insanity within is unknown. It's finding rarities like this that make movie watching and collecting a rewarding experience.

If you can find it, definitely see Silent Killers.

For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

Holly-molly: bottom-of-the-barrel movie from a bottom-of-the-barrel genre.

[t_atzmueller · 1/10 · 11 January 2013]

The opening scene is set within a secret Ninja dojo – which looks like a living room, set up with some shabby bamboo mats, toy-store samurai armor and a few burning incense sticks. Here the clandestine master informs his student David, that the apocalypse is nigh. Japanese scientist Professor Tanaka, who has developed a deadly biological weapon, is in cahoots with the Russian secret service and has fled to China. There he is guarded by deadly Chinese bodyguards who have "mastered the martial arts of hocus pocus".

By now the viewer is tempted to believe he/she is watching a satire or perhaps a 'Naked Gun'-like spoof, dreamt up by David Zuckermann during an opium-induced nightmare. The acting (for the lack of a better term), of the protagonists speak otherwise: this hogwash is presented with the seriousness befitting a state funeral.

Unfortunately the next odd 45 minutes are rather dreary and must be put into the "waste-of-time-"-trash-bin rather than "entertaining-trash"-category. David travels to the mainland, coincidentally meets up with two bimbos, Brenda and Becky, who work for a triad-like-boss, likewise chasing Tanaka's secret weapon.

Becky gets hold of Tanaka and forces him to reveal the secret whereabouts of the deadly formula: the good professor had buried it in his backyard and is forced to unearth it with a shuffle. But danger is near, the Russian agents approach and our white clad Ninja hero David comes just in time to join a rowdy bash. Enter Larry, a man from out of nowhere (both in terms of cinematography and storyline: who he is or why he is there is never explained), prevents David from retrieving the formula. Larry has mastered the art of hocus pocus, which enables him to spark fires the size of gas-lighters with his fingers. David and Larry battle but soon realizing that they're each others equals. They decide to become buddies and celebrate the joyous occasion with fried lettuce and beer in a – wait for it – hotel room.

In another highlight in this wasteland of a movie, they forge an alliance with Brenda. Brenda believes her parents were killed by Tanaka during WW2. Through the sheer power of reason and logic, Larry is able to put to her attention that she's no older than 30 years. To make a long story short, the heroes capture the secret formula and save the day.

Think of Al Adamson as a gifted director, Godfrey Ho as a cinematographic genius and Ed Wood as the Mozart of modern cinema. Liken "Troll 2" to "Citizen Cane" – yes, all this is true in comparison to this garbage. Technically, there's nothing good to say about the film: The dialogue seems to have been composed by an imbecile; the acting never surpasses the level of a Kindergarten play, the fighting is pathetic and the weapons (swords, shuriken, guns, etc) are painfully obvious toys. The cinematography hurts the eyes and the fact that this whole mess is filmed by a single, shaking hand-camera doesn't improve it either. It simply shouldn't have been released. Or produced! Or even imagined.

The good news: this may well have been the dying breath of the infamous Joseph Lai / David Ho firm, who has pirated the Asian video market for more than a decade, flooding the world market with a legion of cut-and-paste Ninja flicks. Unless they send out a retarded nephew to make another "ninja-thriller" with his cell phone, that is.

I would give the film nothing, not even a leaf of fried lettuce but considering those extra-bad moments that make it so bad that, … you know: One point.