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Ninja

post #1 of 43
11/23/09 at 4:14am
Thread Starter 


There are two Ninja movies coming out soon, "Ninja Assassin" which I don't really care about and plain "Ninja". NINJA reunites Scott Adkins, one of the best movie martial artists working today, with Issac Florentine director of the awesome Undisputed II: Last Man Standing and soon to be awesome Undisputed III: Redemption. After seeing this, I find it hard to believe that Ninja Assassin will be even half as good as this was. Scott Adkins plays an American "white boy" whose name I can't remember, who studies ninjitsu in Japan. There's an evil ninja who trains there as well who has it in for Adkins/"white boy" and he is pretty menacing but the best villain is the evil head of an cult/club for rich fatcats called "THE RING". This aspect reminded me of the evil consortium from "Blood and Bone". This cult they even have Thulsa Doom robes that they wear over their fancy suits. The evil head of this cult steals the show. The actor reminded me of a magical mix between Willem Dafoe and Charles Napier. He was a video game boss come to life. When his cronies fight Adkins, he stands in the background yelling "COME ON, STOP HIM!!" In fact, the whole movie felt like a 90s beat em up video game... FINAL FIGHT: The movie!

Issac Florentine really knows what the big action fans want because this is only 80 or so minutes long and most of it is action. And when you are dealing with Scott Adkins you are guaranteed some of the wildest martial arts action. If I have a complaint it is that there is a lot of CGI blood, but thankfully its not so bad because it usually appears in dark scenes so it doesn't look too fake. Also this movie really challenged my perceptions of old Japanese ninjas. All the old man ninja masters I have seen in movies seem like they are Amish types, they never use modern technology. But the old man ninja master in this uses a cordless phone in one scene, and even holds a big fancy press conference outside the temple, complete with a podium, emblazoned with a ninja logo on the front. There are lots of great fight scenes but if I had to pick three of the best, they'd be the fight on the subway, the fight at the cult's hidden lair where he fights like 40 guys (it reminded me of the gauntlet from MISSION OF JUSTICE), and the last fight where Adkins ninja and evil ninja have a war in the street. They fight each other and also a ton of cult members riding around in their SUVs. I give this a 9/10 and recommend it

Direct to video proves once again that this is the place to be if you want great action movies!
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post #2 of 43
11/23/09 at 4:30am
Thread Starter 
P.S. here are two clips of fight scenes from Ninja

Rooftop fight (complete with bizarre model city that reminded me of the old school HBO intro):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDWx_zI_QGs

hbo intro for comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1NKoMNy5bY

Subway fight (10/10 DELICIMO):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU1DaMeNZBU
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post #3 of 43
11/23/09 at 4:53am
awesome! thanks a lot for the info. Will have to keep my eye open for this
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post #4 of 43
11/23/09 at 8:20pm
Adkins plays a boring guy named CASEY, but what really matters is that he once again brought his action A-game. I agree that Isaac Florentine knows what the fans want. He loads the movie with a variety of action. Swordfights, gunfights, hand to hand fights, etc. I wanted to see Adkins whip around the nunchucks more, though.

I also thought the villians were formidable. You have the evil ninja who just hates Adkins and wants to kill him for some reason and the EVIL OIL BARON who has a dubbed video game voice. The evil Ninja even turns into the Emporer at the end of the movie.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.......
Such Anger!!!!!!!
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post #5 of 43
11/23/09 at 8:32pm
Glad to hear that Adkins shines in his first leading man role. Hope this is the first of many and that his working relationship with the great Florentine continues for years on end.
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post #6 of 43
11/23/09 at 8:42pm
I'm hoping UNDISPUTED III will be the ultimate Adkins movie. I expect him to act like a cocky russian psycho and kick the crap out of people for the duration of the film.
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post #7 of 43
11/23/09 at 8:43pm
Thread Starter 
The biggest question I have about UNDISPUTED III: REDEMPTION is about Scott Adkins' Yuri Boyka character. He was the villain in part II, but in this he is the main character. Will he still be an evil son of a bitch or will he reform his ways and become a hero!?
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post #8 of 43
11/23/09 at 8:51pm
He'll be a good guy by default. He'll still be cracking all sorts of limbs but his opponests will probably be more evil than him so everything will appear swell and heroic.
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post #9 of 43
11/23/09 at 9:15pm
Hopefully the only thing that changes about Uri BOYKA (BOYKA BOYKA) is that he's now the underdog! He'll also have to TAKE ON THE SYSTEM now that he isn't the champ and isn't getting all the prison perks!
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post #10 of 43
11/23/09 at 10:14pm
Hans Gruber's EYE CONDITION! I cannot wait to see...Ninja! However, I am equally Jazzed by wednesday's release of...Ninja Assassin, which to me looks...Spectacular. If Issac Florentine is as good an action director as you say, then clearly...Marvel should hire him to direct...Power Man/Iron Fist. Scott Adkins would be perfect for...Danny Rand the living weapon of K' un-L'un. Rampage Jackson (B.A. Baracus in 2010's penultimate action film, with...The Expendables as #1) should play...Luke Cage Power Man! The Daughters Of The Dragon could be introduced in the first movie and then spun off into their own series. Aunjanue Ellis could play...Misty Knight, Iron Fist's Gal Pal, she also has a bionic arm after being injured by a terrorist's bomb. Ziyi Zhang would be perfect for...Colleen Wing also a friend of...Iron Fist. Wing and Knight also have their own detective agency, and they meet Luke Cage, on a case. I know also that I again...went off on a tangent. The first thing I thought of, when I saw Scott Adkins in...X-Men Origins Wolverine, is that he would be perfect for...Iron Fist.
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post #11 of 43
11/23/09 at 11:30pm
Thread Starter 
duke fleed I'm sorry to say that I have no interest in Iron Fist, but Scott Adkins deserves A-list action star status so I hope he can find a theatrical vehicle for his talent whether Iron Fist or not.
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post #12 of 43
11/23/09 at 11:33pm
Glad to hear it. UNDISPUTED 2 (and Adkins) is aces.
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post #13 of 43
11/23/09 at 11:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hans Gruber's EYE CONDITION! View Post
duke fleed I'm sorry to say that I have no interest in Iron Fist, but Scott Adkins deserves A-list action star status so I hope he can find a theatrical vehicle for his talent whether Iron Fist or not.
Marvel should give Adkins some kind of big role just to make up for wasting his precious time on the set of Wolverine.
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post #14 of 43
11/23/09 at 11:40pm
Adkins can't play Iron Fist. Ray Park is all lined up! Cameras are ready to roll.
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post #15 of 43
11/23/09 at 11:47pm
I didn't really see Boyka as being a "villain" in Undisputed II. He was a dick, but he had honor. I can get behind him being the anti-hero in Undisputed III.

Ninja sounds like a blast. Can't wait to see it.
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post #16 of 43
11/23/09 at 11:53pm
I have a great idea for Michael Jai White & Scott Adkins. Will you let you boys know in due time.

NINJA sounds fab and my trailer vibes is always a 9 out of 10 and I get goose bumps from the NINJA trailers.
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post #17 of 43
11/24/09 at 12:17am
I am definitely going to get...a Kick, from watching...Ninja. I will also drink some...Punch, while the Ninja battle for martial arts supremecy, and the damsel in distress, as well.

Hans Gruber's EYE CONDITION!, I do not know...Why you do not enjoy Power Man & Iron Fist. It involves a near indestructable guy paired with the deadliest Martial Artist, who's fist can become...a thing of Iron to bash his foes into submission. Throw in...K'Un-L'un a world that only appears every 10 years, where every male is a Martial Arts Expert. Basically it is...The Tournament, with superheroes, Ninja, Samurai and more street gangs, street fighters and more EEEEEEEvil Villains than Marvel can produce. Ideally a...Power Man Iron Fist film would be set in the...1970's NYC. I have been reading...Marvel Essentials...Power Man 1 + 2, Iron Fist, and Power Man & Iron Fist 1+ 2, and they are all...awesome!
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post #18 of 43
11/24/09 at 12:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hans Gruber's EYE CONDITION! View Post
All the old man ninja masters I have seen in movies seem like they are Amish types, they never use modern technology. But the old man ninja master in this uses a cordless phone in one scene...
To kill a guy? Please tell me the old man ninja master uses a cordless phone to kill a guy.
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post #19 of 43
11/24/09 at 12:33am
No the old sensei is a man of peace!
He uses his state of the art cordless phone to call his loving daughter.
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post #20 of 43
2/12/10 at 10:50pm
Just saw NINJA. This is a way better film than that tepid NINJA ASSASIN we saw last year.

The opening sequence at the Dojo really impressed me with Adkins and the other Japanese students performing their martial arts. No CGI. No tricks. Just sheer ability. Especially with Adkins and his Bo Stick/Katanna.

There's a very strong 80's feel in the surroundings. Especially that DOUBLE DRAGON type Cult that dressed up in hoods. That Cult Leader even had a Videogame Boss type line.

"KILL HIM!"

I'll rate this better over THE TOURNAMENT (Which is a good film as well). Good fights. Though the final showdown with Casey and that evil Ninja was a bit of a letdown.

P.S- Knew there was an antidote for the poison in that sword, when i heard the opening voiceover.
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post #21 of 43
2/12/10 at 11:50pm
Saw Ninja a few weeks back and Ninja Assassin recently at the 3$ theater and Ninja kicks its ass all over the place.

Adkins is good and the story is lame but par for the course for Ninja films.
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post #22 of 43
2/13/10 at 1:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wadew1 View Post
No the old sensei is a man of peace!
He uses his state of the art cordless phone to call his loving daughter.
And hell, it has caller ID! I thought that was rather strange... but I don't want to give any plot points away.

As you can currently rent it at Blockbuster (while everywhere else, you have to wait until at least March 2 to get it), I saw it last weekend. Aside from the expected plot holes and the low-budget sets being obvious at times in the nighttime outdoor scenes, it was great entertainment. Indeed, there's a nice variety of action and it's all well-done for the amount of money they had. I agree, it is better than Ninja Assassin. So, if you're a fan of this sort of fare, it's required viewing.
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post #23 of 43
3/8/10 at 3:33pm
Haven't seen NINJA ASSASSIN yet but this one definitely turned out better than pretty much all the old Cannon ninja movies. Fight scenes are a blast. Both Adkins and Tsuyoshi Ihara are formidable adversaries for each other.

I loved the glee from the evil oil barons when they watch that one Russian guy bleed out from his neck on live TV.

"As promised, no more merger."

"Cheers, gentleman!"
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post #24 of 43
3/8/10 at 3:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti View Post
Haven't seen NINJA ASSASSIN yet but this one definitely turned out better than pretty much all the old Cannon ninja movies. Fight scenes are a blast. Both Adkins and Tsuyoshi Ihara are formidable adversaries for each other.
Considering it's a DTV movie, what a great movie that was. And it only missed the Cannon logo and a Sho Kosugi cameo. Adkins isn't your average white actor who can't fight, like Dudikoff. He delivered..
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post #25 of 43
3/8/10 at 9:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by felix View Post
Good fights. Though the final showdown with Casey and that evil Ninja was a bit of a letdown.
Yea, what was the deal with that anti-climax?

But definitely delivers on its ambitions in a way that Ninja Assassin failed to do. Fight scenes were a blast, and the sensei is Rain's dad from Speed Racer!
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post #26 of 43
3/8/10 at 10:00pm
The last fight is fine. Plenty of good swordplay, Ihara taunting Adkins with the antidote ("You need this to keep her alive"). Only flaw is Adkins summoning his Ninja senses to realize that Ihara was right behind him. But the look on Ihara's face when he's skewered sort of made that worth it.
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post #27 of 43
3/8/10 at 10:21pm
Got my review copy late, and was pretty disappointed. It's way better than those late '80s VHS 'classic' ninja movies I watched as a kid, but really wasn't THAT far removed. I honestly expected more silliness from a regular Power Rangers director.
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post #28 of 43
3/8/10 at 11:17pm
Moltisanti, Ninja Assassin, lands on dvd...March 16th. It kicks all kinds of ass. I give Ninja a step above it, as there are more fights during the day in...Ninja.
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post #29 of 43
3/8/10 at 11:24pm
This was better action wise than those Cannon films and I dug this but those movies had style and cheesiness that had a charm of their own.

Maybe Scott Adkins can be in Gymkata 2?
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post #30 of 43
3/9/10 at 5:14am
Anyone else think that the bad Ninja looked like Patrick Swayze if he was asian?
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post #31 of 43
3/9/10 at 2:34pm
Good call.
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post #32 of 43
3/12/10 at 9:56am
Watching American Ninja and The Octagon recently on Netflix streaming made me appreciate this movie a little more than before.
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post #33 of 43
3/15/10 at 2:04pm
The end fight WAS kind of a let down. Wouldn't have cost them much more to stage a really good streetfight, but they instead wasted the money on CGI blood.

Again though, this follows the blood and bone philosophy of having a tight story with limited stupid drama and no unnecessary plot elements to pad the running time. Just keep it simple. All we need to know about the main character is that he's badass, that's all. And that's what we got here.
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post #34 of 43
6/15/10 at 2:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti View Post
The last fight is fine. Plenty of good swordplay, Ihara taunting Adkins with the antidote ("You need this to keep her alive"). Only flaw is Adkins summoning his Ninja senses to realize that Ihara was right behind him. But the look on Ihara's face when he's skewered sort of made that worth it.
Ihara does that disappearing trick too, so apparently there's more to this ninja trickery than in the classic Cannon milieu. Personally, I liked how this didn't get all supernatural like NINJA ASSASSIN. Well, that and the great fight scenes. ASSASSIN's action was kinda weak.

I loved how the leader of The Ring sounds like Voiceover Guy. CAn't remember if he ever says "In a world..."
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post #35 of 43
6/17/10 at 10:50am
Cackled like a witch throughout. The fight scenes were pretty insane, though the zoom-in 300 technique wore a little thin at times. Also, I was pretty disappointed in how ineffectual Namiko was for a female Ninja. A bit too damsil-in-distressy for my tastes.

Still, it kicks Ninja Assassin's ass and I actually enjoyed the final fight up until the magical disappearing ninja trick. Adkins it fantastic, even if he does, as the girl I was watching with kept commenting, look like he belongs in pornography.
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post #36 of 43
9/9/10 at 10:38am
Re-watching this right now. Evil Ninja Guy sure feels sad that he got kicked out of that Dojo.

Especially liked the Ninja Training scenes at the beginning. But Adkins is really bland as the Lead. He's servicable enough but Adkins is definitely better as Boyka.
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post #37 of 43
9/9/10 at 5:19pm
There's good production value on this one but I think (and Nu Image pushed it better than COMMAND PERFORMANCE), Florentine and Adkins were both aware the script (partly re-written by producer Boaz Davidson) wasn't good enough. They both need much better material to work with.
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post #38 of 43
2/21/11 at 2:28am

Saw this in my hotel room one morning while on holiday at the beginning of the year and found myself whooping and hollering throughout. I honestly didn't think Hollywood, or anyone for that matter, made films as fun as this anymore. This flick was a joy from start to finish, I got to be thirteen years old again for two hours and it's immediately become an action favorite. 

 

Watch it if you haven't.

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post #39 of 43
2/21/11 at 4:59am

The Rain Dog, I agree with you about, Ninja.  I definitely give the film a rating of...5 throwing stars out of 5.  Not only should there be more movies as...Awesome, as Ninja, but there should be even more Ninja films being made.  I do rate, Ninja above Ninja Assassin, while Ninja Assassin is far better than Alien Vs Ninja which is let down by the weak alien villain.  The Ninja in AVN though are excellent.  Also Mika Hijii is given alot more fighting in AVN, then she did as the gal pal Ninja Daughter of Adkins Master in Ninja!  I of course loved seeing...Snake Eyes vs Storm Shadow in, G.I. Joe Rise Of Cobra, and would love to even see, More, Joe Ninja!  Scott Adkins as Kamakura would be...Perfect Casting.  Also, Mika Hijii as Jinx, Storm Shadow's cousin, would be terrific as well.  I also Love...The Warrior's Way.  Sure, there isn't a ton of action, but there are, Ninja vs Cowboys in scenes far more satisfying than  the sock puppet Alien vs Ninja!  Maybe...Ninja 2, get's made as hopefully Scott Adkins name rises.

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post #40 of 43
2/24/11 at 3:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by felix View Post

Re-watching this right now. Evil Ninja Guy sure feels sad that he got kicked out of that Dojo.

Seriously, he almost ruined Ninja School graduation. You'd think Ninja School would have better security, but bad guy was a ninja after all. You could tell he would be the villain from the beginning though, since all he could do was scowl (and he wore black... wait, he was a ninja!). I like the night vision helmet. Silly in a GI JOE kinda way and cool at the same time. The ninja girl was nearly useless here. She was obviously not a Varsity ninja.

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post #41 of 43
2/24/11 at 3:29pm
Glad you liked it, Raindog. As you were in Thailand i hope you popped out of your hotel after the movie and busted some moves.

If you crave more crazy action from these guys then check out the amazing UNDISPUTED 2 & 3.
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post #42 of 43
2/28/11 at 9:30pm

i also like watching ninja films because i like the karate stuff of that one. i like the part where they fight.

 

anyone wants to suggest a good ninja movie?

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post #43 of 43
3/1/11 at 5:59am


juliepainting, Revenge Of The Ninja starring, Sho Kosugi!

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