"Actor: Roi Vinzon"

• American Ninja | DVD | (11/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The first of what would be a series, 1985's American Ninja is a martial-arts thriller. Michael Dudikoff plays Joe, a sullen young GI who turns up at American airbase Fort Sonora and immediately makes himself unpopular. Even when he single-handedly saves the Commanding Officer's daughter (Judie Aronson, whose function is to scream a lot and get her clothes very wet), from a ninja ambush, he's still ostracised. It turns out that Joe is actually a highly skilled ninja warrior, but he's an amnesiac with no idea how he acquired his abilities. Eventually, having bonded with fellow GI Steve James, he helps foil criminal arms-dealer Ortega, whose morals are as dubious as his accent, which veers from French to Hispanic. American Ninja is essentially an excuse for a series of martial arts set pieces, though these seem a little lumbering by the standards later set by Jackie Chan and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The soundtrack and overall feel is clearly influenced by the classic A-Team. The plot is well signposted at every turn and the dialogue makes you think of an American film that has been badly dubbed. However, the film will work as kitsch, for idle comfort-viewing or for small boys. On the DVD: The cheapness of the original has been immaculately preserved--however, the only extra is the original trailer.--David Stubbs