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American Ninja Poster

American Ninja

R
Movie
1985
1h 35m
English
Action
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.
Rating
WATCHMODE
5.6
IMDB
American Ninja (1985) on IMDb
CRITIC SCORE
25

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Michael Dudikoff
Pvt. Joe Armstrong
Steve James
Cpl. Curtis Jackson
Judie Aronson
Patricia Hickock
Guich Koock
Col. William T. Hickock
John Fujioka
Shinyuki
Don Stewart
Victor Ortega
John LaMotta
MSgt. Rinaldo
Tadashi Yamashita
Black Star Ninja
Phillip Brock
Pvt. Charley Madison
Tony Carreon
Older Colombian
Roi Vinzon
Younger Colombian
Henry Strzalkowski
Bit Part (uncredited)
Directed By: Sam Firstenberg
Written By: Avi Kleinberger (Story), James R. Silke (Screenplay), + 2 more

Featured Comments/Tips

NotoriousX says...
9 years ago
American Ninja is by no means a classic, but it holds a certain position in my childhood. By watching it again for the first time since VHS went out of fashion, I found out how bad the story and acting really is. The strange thing was that I really enjoyed it non-the-less... It's probably not for all, but I think most people that have a relationship to 80s action would find it interesting. I think I'm going to go through the whole series at some point.
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  300
frohikey says...
6 years ago
Don't take me wrong this movie is extremely bad. Still... I really didn't decipher it, but it's so over the edge of absurdity that I had a great time with it. Literally, there are ninjas everywhere. And they all look like some cosplaying dudes who had too many beers. This is pure 80s action madness. Rejoice!
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  101
Spiritualized Kaos says...
2 years ago
Martial arts movie, in which "truth and justice" triumph.
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  000
siggi963 says...
2 months ago
It takes an American to show the Japanese what a ninja is. A classic of this genre for those who like Segal and Co.
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  000

Featured User Reviews

misubisu
2 weeks ago
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-se More
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  000
PolyWogg
6 years ago
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 More
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  000

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Also in this series

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