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American Ninja Poster

American Ninja (1985)

R Aug 30, 1985 Action 1h 35m
User Score
60%
452 votes
Internet Movie Database
54%
Rotten Tomatoes
0%
Metacritic
2000%

The deadliest art of the Orient is now in the hands of an American.

Overview

Joe Armstrong, an orphaned drifter with little respect for much other than martial arts, finds himself on an American Army base in The Philippines after a judge gives him a choice of enlistment or prison. On one of his first missions driving a convoy, his platoon is attacked by a group of rebels who try to steal the weapons the platoon is transporting and kidnap the base colonel's daughter.

Sam Firstenberg
Director
Paul De Mielche
Screenplay
James R. Silke
Screenplay
Avi Kleinberger
Story

Part of the American Ninja Collection

Includes American Ninja and other great movies.

View Collection

Top Billed Cast

Michael Dudikoff
Michael Dudikoff

Pvt. Joe Armstrong
Steve James
Steve James

Cpl. Curtis Jackson
Judie Aronson
Judie Aronson

Patricia Hickock
Guich Koock
Guich Koock

Col. William T. Hickock
John Fujioka
John Fujioka

Shinyuki
Don Stewart
Don Stewart

Victor Ortega
John LaMotta
John LaMotta

MSgt. Rinaldo
Tadashi Yamashita
Tadashi Yamashita

Black Star Ninja
Phillip Brock
Phillip Brock

Pvt. Charley Madison

Full Cast & Crew

Media

American Ninja (1985) Original Trailer [HD]
American Ninja (1985) Original Trailer [HD]
Trailer
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Reviews

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A review by PolyWogg
Written on February 24, 2019

The Bottom Line

A basic action movie from the '80s but it doesn't hold up.

Plot

An American soldier with special skills gets posted to an island base where someone keeps hijacking military convoys. When his convoy gets hit, he's cooperating right up until someone hits the Colonel's daughter, and then he intervenes. His memory of his childhood is mostly gone from an explosion on an island, but he has obviously had training. When the hijackers send Ninjas after him, it becomes obvious though that his skills are way more than just simple techniques.

What I Liked

Some of the basic fight scenes are fine, particularly between Joe and the Black Star Ninja. And the opening sequence is really well done. There's a scene where they shoot arrows at him, and he uses the handle on a shove...

Read the full review on TMDb
A review by misubisu
Written on July 12, 2024

The acting is terrible, the scripts and dialogue are terrible, the plot is [extremely] shallow.
But, I love this movie... from the 1st time a watched it (a straight to VHS video tape).
The fighting sequences are actually pretty well done, and believable.

You'll get many laughs out of the non-sensical dialogue and some good entertainment out of the action and fighting scenes.

A diamond in the rough, that's for sure....

Read the full review on TMDb
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