Among plenty of low budget action films produced by The Cannon Group in 1980s American Ninja stood out not only by its commercial success, but also by turning relatively unknown actor Michael Dudikoff into genuine action cinema star. In 1987 Dudikoff returned to the title role in inevitable sequel titled American Ninja 2: The Confrontation and directed by Sam Firstenberg, film maker who had directed the original.
Dudikoff again plays Joe Armstrong, US Army soldier who was taught the ancient secrets of ninjutsu as a child. In the beginning of film he appears promoted to Sergeant and assigned to US Army Rangers together with his old friend and comrade Sergeant Curtis Jackson (played by Steve James). Two of them are sent on a mission to unnamed Caribbean island nation where they must assist small detachment of US Marines, commanded by Captain “Wild Bill” Woodward (played by Jeff Weston), which guards the American embassy. Some of the Marines have mysteriously disappeared and testimonies suggest that this might have something to do with strange black-clad men that look like ninjas. Armstrong and Jackson begin to investigate and, after battling ninjas themselves, discover that the person behind the mystery might be Leo “The Lion” Burke (played by Gary Conway), international drug lord who has police and local government in his pocket. Joe meets Alicia Sandborn (played by Michelle Botes), daughter of a scientist who had been forced by Burke to create army of genetically engineered ninjas.
Faced with financial problems, Cannon has slashed the budget for this film in comparison with American Ninja. Thankfully, it doesn’t show much in the film, because exotic beach locations in South Africa and Mauritius look much more eye-pleasing than in predceding film. Script, co-written by Gary Conway and James Booth, is based on a preposterous premise that looks more fitting for James Bond films than low budget martial arts films; on the other hand, it isn’t burdened with origin story nor politics and allows director Sam Firstenberg to concentrate solely on action. American Ninja 2 indeed features almost non-stop barrage of action scenes, with little time and opportunity to develop characters and exposition. Those scenes are, however, quite impressive and show great stuntwork, as well as Dudikoff developing more than decent martial skills. He is, however, still bland and overshadowed by Steve James who looks more iconic and has better lines of dialogue. Other actors are mostly forgettable, and that includes South African actress Michelle Botes who lacks any kind of chemistry with Dudikoff. In the end, American Ninja 2 doesn’t offer much improvement over its predecessor, but it isn’t much worse either and as a decent genre piece can be recommended to fans of martial arts action.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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Anyway, on a small Caribbean island, US Marines are going missing and Army Rangers Armstrong and James are sent to investigate. Hijinks ensue. Kind of.
-all photos via IMDb.com.