His body posture and especially the way he looks at his opponents would be far more appropriate for a reformed Italian gangster in a Fernando Di Leo film. Nero, for instance, isn't the right actor to play the veteran-turned-ninja. In this film the wrong actors are asked to play the wrong characters. Indeed, these types of action films do not always require solid scripts, but they need the right actors that understand the project they are committing to and what is expected of them. The real problem, however, is the quality of the acting - it simply isn't good enough. The remaining elements of the story are basically all over the place and so incompatible that it is hard to believe that someone thought that they would actually work. It also isn't surprising that Hasegawa can't stand Cole - as a ninja he is absolutely appalling. For example, it isn't surprising that Frank's beautiful wife quickly jumps in Cole's bed. There are so many questionable relationships and subplots that it would be a lot easier to name the few that actually make some sense. There is a lot of enthusiasm in this film, but it isn't enough to mask its mediocrity. Eventually, the businessman hires Cole's rival from his training days in Japan, Hasegawa (Shi Kosugi, Black Eagle), to kill him and deal with everyone else that questions his authority. Soon after, the businessman's thugs appear, but Cole kicks them out and decides to extend his stay to protect his friend. Frank's beautiful wife, Mary Ann (Susan George, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry), tells Cole why - because a powerful local businessman (Christopher George, City of the Living Dead) has tried to force them to sell their property and the pressure has collapsed their marriage. When they meet, Cole realizes that his friend has become an alcoholic and is on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown. After he receives a scroll that certifies him as Master of Ninjustu, Cole travels to the Philippines to visit Frank, an old friend who years ago saved his life. The best of these films were made during the late 1980s and early 1990s by small studios that no longer exist.įranco Nero is Cole, an army veteran who has traveled to Japan and trained hard to become a ninja. It relaxes you and then slowly makes you fall asleep. Menahem Golan's Enter the Ninja is one of those films that are great to see very late at night. Note: Menahem Golan's "Enter the Ninja" is part of Eureka Entertainment's The Ninja Trilogy Blu-ray box set. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film.
Menahem Golan's "Enter the Ninja" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.
0 kommentar(er)
