The Ninja Trilogy (1981-1984) High Camp of the 80s Ninja Craze (Review)

Cannon films where rarely more iconic than when they produced the Ninja Trilogy. In 2016, films that pay homage to the richness of the Eighties, or the type of genre silliness that ensued, seek to exploit that which came before through the lens of irony. While blaxploitation, producers like Corman or studios in Cannon and Troma did exploit gore, culture and trends, the films themselves were purer than they were cynical. Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja and Ninja III: The Domination are entirely cynical but they are an entirely different proposition.

First in the trilogy is Menahem Golan’s Enter the Ninja which is the simplest of the three. Franco Nero is Ninja graduate Cole who upon receiving a call from an old war buddy heads over to the Philippines only to be dragged into a violent land dispute. Released in 1981, Enter was heavily inspired by the post Enter the Dragon buzz and Death Wish in fighting back against the powers that be and violent reprisal, the lead actor’s appearance could even be compared to Charles Bronson.

Titles can be deceptive with the titular Shinobi only featuring at the book ends, elsewhere a stunt-doubled and dubbed Franco Nero murders a procession of goons that is closer to a prototypical Jean Claude Van Damme feature than anything Ninja affiliated. The reductive measures that Golan took follows many fellow 1980s films by suggesting that anything oriental was a martial art, producing a formulaic platter of roundhouse kicks, stealthily broken necks and backwards stabs. As flat as that is, there is an even more fundamental issue whereby Nero’s actions are only appropriate when the people who he was protecting get targeted, accounting for a good 45 minutes, until then he kills countless men just because they are in his way. That is common for this generation of action films but it makes it incredibly hard to connect with, making an already bland action film all the more forgettable. Two franchise themes were instigated even at this early point, the first is that Sho Kosugi is the best thing in the film and the second is an unintentional suggestion that the Western Ninja where more corruptible than those brought up by the traditions of Japan.

Enter the Ninja is up there with the worst that Cannon produced, the second film and the first directed by studio mainstay Sam Firstenberg, Revenge of the Ninja, reacts to the insipidity of its predecessor by being both sillier and more grounded. It’s an altogether more relatable piece as Franco Nero barely gets scratched throughout whereas the hero of Revenge, Cho (Kosugi), is beaten and battered throughout. Cho’s family might have been murdered by a rogue ninja clan for literally no reason and the rationale behind his friend, Braden’s (Arthur Roberts), presence is equally ambiguous, yet his decision to give what remains of his family a chance at a normal life makes him a more relatable protagonist.

Like many films before and after Revenge of the Ninja, there was no prolonged attempt to construct a cohesive narrative, Firstenberg’s film is what it is and it’s joyfully unapologetic with that. Just a run-through of some of the films wilder moments paints a vivid image. In beats freshly ripped from 80s comic books, Cho fights a dual tomahawk wielding native American in a car park; his then 6-year-old son, Kane, engages in numerous fight scenes principal of which sees him scrap with a fully grown hypnotized woman and that’s without heading towards the trickiness of Arthur Roberts questionably motivated Dark Ninja or the classic tag line “only a ninja can defeat a ninja”. Critical faculties are the enemy when it comes to Revenge of the Ninja, this is prime camp and the fun to be had from letting it wash over you more than makes up for the anonymous predecessor.

The stakes are forever rising, hindsight makes the middle film feel like social realism by the time you get to Ninja III: The Domination. First came an approximated Death Wish thriller, then came another ‘more grounded’ revenge thriller and then to mix things up Cannon turned out another revenge thriller only one that is actually an exorcism Horror designed to appeal to the 80s dance craze born from Flashdance. As barmy as that sounds it’s even weirder on the screen.

Like all these films the first 10 minutes open with Ninja battles drenched with 80s decadence and the domination doesn’t disappoint with another dark ninja cutting a swathe of violence across a golf course which is only halted after he is shot, literally, thousands of times. With the Ninja successful in his mission but utterly defeated he bequeaths his sword onto the passing, dumbstruck Christie (Lucinda Dickey). This very same sword goes on to possess the young aerobics instructor who ekes out revenge on the Ninja’s behalf, it’s only when Sho Kosugi appears in the final act that the violent grasp of the dark ninja is loosened.

The Domination is bad, legendarily so, but with every passing moment, it’s almost impossible not to observe with slack-jawed glee as to what the writers, producers and cast got away with as part of this 80s Ninja obsession. As bad and as silly as these films are, they always entertain and there is a great deal of value to be had from Kosugi, a cameo from James Hong and possession scenes that invoke Evil Dead’s sound design and Poltergeist through the lens of the most pungent Eighties pop culture. Outside of its boxing ticking approach, the domination is just as horribly acted and questionably cast.

Divorcing the dumb grin these films force out of you, the real takeaway is the career of Sho Kosugi, the man had charisma, aptitude and personality that could have rocketed him to super-stardom. With an intensity comparable to Jet Li, with the collaboration of the film industry, he could’ve carved his own successful niche by providing counter-programming to the broad slapstick of Jackie Chan. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be.

People acclimatized to the slick patter of the modern action film will look upon this Eureka box-set with absolute disdain and that would be a reasonable conclusion given how alien these films are to their contemporaries. Even taking the barebones release of this set into consideration, the Ninja Trilogy reminds of a time when action films had no shame, they knew how rollickingly stupid they were and for anybody who watched this style of film in their youth; Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja and Ninja III: the Domination are undiluted nostalgia. Approach The Ninja Trilogy seriously and, well, you are clearly doing something wrong.

Thanks for reading our review of The Ninja Trilogy

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