Alan Amiel, Alex Courtney, Christopher George

A westerner, Nero, initiated into the arts of ninja, the secret army of professional assassins, finds himself up against greed and an old rival. Spectacular martial arts battle with explosives ensues.

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45% liked it

2,408 ratings

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Emmett Alston, Menahem Golan

Release Date: January 1, 1981

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Flixster Reviews (145)


  • January 10, 2009
    Well here it is ? this is the catalyst for the 1980's 'Ninja Craze' that swept the west by storm and spawned literally hundreds of similar themed movies from all around the world.

    In addition this also happens to be the film that propelled its REAL star (an actor who was actua...( read more)lly playing the role of the movies main villain!) to super stardom literally overnight (if only for a modest while) and made him forever synonymous with such roles. Who was this actor? Well it was of course the legendary Sho Kosugi!

    While ninja had previously reared their heads on a number of occasions in western cinema, (probably most famously in the classic James Bond outing 'You Only Live Twice') THIS was the film that really catapulted them into the movie going publics eye. Such was the demand for ninja themed shenanigans following this films initial release that producers Golan-Globus were sagaciously swift to rush two sequels into production, namely The Revenge Of the Ninja (probably THE seminal 1980's ninja flick) and the sadly embarrassing Ninja 3: The Domination, again, both starring Kosugi (albeit in the more welcome role of the good guy)

    But enough of the history lesson?..what of the quality of the film being reviewed here I hear you cry? Well as it happens, it's rather solidly entertaining stuff!

    Franco Nero plays Cole, a westerner who through hard work and determination has against all odds (not to mention certain persons wishes) ascended to the top ranks of his ninja clan. Traveling to the Philippines to visit an old friend Cole finds that his deadly skills come in mighty handy when he is forced to stand against some local hoodlums. (In a morally ambiguous subplot he also manages to sleep with his best friend's wife ? but we won't go there?..!!!)

    In fact these hoodlums are merely puppets belonging to a much larger crime syndicate headed by a particularly ruthless boss (the always fun to watch Christopher George hamming it up wonderfully!)

    Seeing that Cole is laying waste to his plans, the crime lord takes drastic measures and hires Cole's old nemesis from Japan (Kosugi) to take care of him.

    Inevitably the two ninja must square off at the films climax with only one left alive by the final credits but which one shall be triumphant? Well you can probably guess?..

    Aside from the odd casting of Nero in the lead (a great actor in his own right but woefully miscast here owing to the fact that he has blatantly no martial arts skills whatsoever) ? it has to be said that this is a great movie and is intrinsic viewing for fans of the genre.

    Of course the main attraction here though, is undoubtedly Kosugi himself, who succeeds in carrying a wonderful silent air of extreme menace in every single scene he appears in, in addition to entertaining us with some excellent martial arts demonstrations.

    Great stuff!
  • August 30, 2009
    Remember the scene from Pee Wee's Big Adventure where James Brolin stars as P.W. Herman, well that's this entire movie. It's like the director glimpsed into the future, saw Road House, and decided to preemptively take a cinematic dump of his own. This gem of a turd features vastl...( read more)y unappealing actors doing remarkably little ninja-ing. Throw in some smarmy land grabbing baddies, a fat comic relief todie and you've got yourself one of the most underrated terrible movies ever.
  • January 20, 2007
    Throwaway cheep martial arts flick.
  • November 3, 2009
    I finally gave this a watch this afternoon, as it was a film I had thought I'd seen before, but realized immediately that I hadn't. Such a corny film, but it was so much fun. You can see Nero's Goddamned mustache through his ninja mask for fuck's sake! There's a wacky 'wah-wah'...( read more) sound of the saxophone when someone is killed! It's just so ridiculous I wanna re-watch it with friends and beer right damned now!

    Give it a look.
  • October 23, 2009
    9 levels of power! The movie start off with an action scene that isn?t action packed, but about 15 minutes long, longer than the roadside action scene in T3 (I think), and has 1. a great chase over a waterfall. 2. dual near-syncronized death throes. 3. the worst looking severed ...( read more)head ever. But it all makes sense in the conclusion of the scene. And it is continually electronically scored like most 80?s movies! Does that sound like praise? Well, it?s more like awe. This is pure 80?s cheesy action. And you gotta take it for what it is.

    I saw a bunch of these old Cannon films when I was a kid. Whenever my dad came around, he would take me to see these action movies that were fairly inappropriate for very young kids. Between my dad?s love of action movies and my mom?s love of scary movies, I could have been a really messed up adult, but I?m only semi-messed up. This movie brings back memories and I now realize why my Dad liked this enough to take me to the other Ninja series movies, it took place in the Philippines. I don?t believe the others did though. And this movie has the lady from Straw Dogs in it, what happened to her. She should have been a big star. I guess I can look it up, I?m online.

    As for this movie. A great bad movie. Definitely worth the mid-point rating.
  • October 22, 2009
    Good movie even though it was corny in some
    parts
  • August 26, 2009
    This is fun, cheesy, '80s badass goodness. Part of what makes this film fun for me are its many flaws, including rediculous sound effects for broken bones, punches and kicks not coming close to landing, horrible editing and those cheesy, badass one-liners. If you know what you ar...( read more)e getting into, this is a fun '80s action flick.
  • June 11, 2009
    Add a review (optional)...
  • March 13, 2009
    A film about a man who trains with other men in the art of ninjitsu, then visits an old war friend, a man who owns land and employs several men, then must battle an evil businessman and his men, in the process killing several men, until his climactic showdown with his rival ninja...( read more) (also a man). Men.
  • March 8, 2009
    When I was a kid I used to love these types of movies. Movies like 'Revenge of the Ninja,' 'Pray for Death,' and this one were all regular staples of my weekend viewing. I had ninja toys, ninja outfits, and daydreamed about ninjas at school. If it had Sho Kosugi or Jackie Chan, I...( read more) was watching it. 'Enter the Ninja' is largely regarded as one of the films that started the ninja craze in the 80s (and spawned several indirect sequels). It is directed by Menahem Golan, who, along with his cousin, formed the nucleus of the great exploitation studio Cannon films, which gave us a decades worth of awesome fare involving ninjas, Chuck Norris, and Michael Dudikoff.

    Franco Nero stars as the ex-Army guy turned ninja Cole, who travels to the Philippines to help his buddy out, who is having trouble with some local unscrupulous businessmen who want him to sell his land. Along the way, Cole saves the day and manages to show himself an honorable ninja by banging his friend's so very hot wife, Mary Ann (Susan George)- to be honest, his friend was practically begging him to, since he "couldn't get it up" for her, due to his recent binge drinking and all. The interplay between Cole (who sports a sweet 'stach) and Mary Ann is hilarious: in one scene, Mary Ann is stroking a big shotgun while staring him down, and asking him if he wants to "come" into town with her in another. Not to be outdone, our hero asks, while being frisked, if she found "anything interesting" down there.

    Sho Kosugi co-stars in this; he plays a baddie who isn't really a baddie, just jealous of Cole and overzealous for honor. He's duped by the baddies into thinking he's doing the right thing but he realizes his mistake at the end. Kosugi also choreographed everything- and for an early 80s film, it's typical action, probably on par with Gymkata or the latest Chuck Norris.

    The bad guy, played by Christopher George, is very funny in this, and is constantly overacting, raising his voice, and berating his assistant Mr Parker that he "wants his ninja too!" like a 4 year old.

    I'd say that this is one of the beginnings of the Cannon formula, one that would propel Golan-Globus to incredible heights into the 80s. If you had a Ninja fest of some kind, this would definitely be included, along with 'American Ninja' and 'Pray for Death.'

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