Such a frustrating disappointment

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Although it doesn't have as much action, as say for Pray For Death, where there's a similar premise, this one comes off a not a bad rate movie, where Sho is battling a more deadlier enemy of his own stature. The cover of this movie is fantastic, all the way down to it's impactful title'd font, with those deadly little spikes, that shoot out different colored smoke. An impressive fountain scene, involving them, I liked. Again, we're not asking for Oscar calibre actors, but we just surrender to the thrilling action, punctuated between not so happening but involving moments, one chase scene, that might leave your knees a bit raw and grazed. Like I said earlier, there are a few familiarities here that are akin to Pray For Death, even in it's opening. Even that flashback in PFD is similar to a scene here. Check out the start of the other I've mentioned, and you'll know what I mean. Sho and son, Kane, have come to America for a better life, but there's a deadly enemy stalking Sho and son, where unbeknown to Sho, used as a patsy, the inside of his dolls is housing cocaine. ROTN is a real kind of 80's film making I liked. It's a real quality movie of a different and more spectacular action. The couple killed screwing in a hot tub, and can't be pulled apart give a new meaning to the term, inseparable. Pity too, though like in Ninja 3, that incidentally came out only months later, as a double feature with Swordkill, we have to put up with that awful music. A small price to pay for exciting action like this. Just don't expect constant action, as for some Ninja fans, this could prove a bit of a down sight. The climax is engagingly intense. Good stuff.

After his family is killed in Japan by ninjas, Cho and his son Kane come to America to start a new life. He opens a doll shop but is unwittingly importing heroin in the dolls. When he finds out that his friend has betrayed him, Cho must prepare for the ultimate battle he has ever been involved in....To the movie snob, you know those people who think they know everything about film because they own The 400 Blows, will laugh this movie out of the shop.But while the film offers nothing new, it has a wealth of great stuff going for it, and its one of the better Ninja movies of the eighties. Ninja movies in the eighties were as common as Vampire movies today.Its unintentionally hilarious, and its all the better for it. From a back flipping Granny, to the best thing in the film, a fight in the park with the Village People, which lasts nearly as long as the fist fight in They Live, the film is never boring.I does have many flaws though. The bad up wears a mask whenever he is fighting, because they probably couldn't find a stunt double that looked like him, and Kosugi isn't the best actor in the world (although he has great hair).But for all its flaws, it has really good set pieces, and stunts. The final siege is pretty remarkable stuff, and the sub plot involving the mafia and strangely, a Red Indian, is hilarious.So all in all, its not for everyone, but if you are a fan of the eighties, and especially Cannon movies, you will lap this up.Plus, its the best movie ever made where a chap dressed up as a cowboy is getting beat up in a park, and his false moustache keeps coming loose.

Revenge! Ninjas! And the best use of caltrops and marbles as an attack method I have ever witnessed. This little 80s gem from the illustrious Cannon Group starts out with a brutal and never explained slaughter of a man's family by ninjas, who are then easily defeated with guns. Interestingly (or not), the ninjas in another Shô Kosugi movie are easily mowed down by bullets. Only his son and mystical mother survive to move to Utah.. er.. Los Angeles to unwittingly open up a heroin den/fancy doll shop.After that, the plot can best be described as:"Where's my money?""Put on some pants!""You'll get your money!""Get that kid!""Get that old woman!""Send in the Village People!""He killed my mother! Where's my son?"I never could quite figure out why the white man ninja was so angry at the drug dealer who was going to get the money for the heroin dolls (new from Mattel), and why he needed a Japanese ninja to sell dolls filled with heroin to the drug dealer. Or why the smoke bombs never worked properly for anybody but the old woman ninja. Or why I ate so many pancakes before starting this movie.The end of this movie features one of the longest, most realistic fights I have seen between two ninjas. By realistic, I mean they looked like they were really fighting: no wires, no special moves, kind of clumsy and slow. I guess it's what fighting really looks like, but it isn't that much fun to watch.Although this 2nd in the completely unrelated ninja trilogy (Enter the Ninja and Ninja III: The Domination) contains a ridiculous amount of fighting and a few odd nudities, the convoluted plot and terrible acting make it a little hard to watch near the end.By the way, Wikipedia lists guns and land mines as ninja weapons. I am now ready to start ninja training.

Living legend Sho Kosugi portrays the similarly-named Cho Osaki in this classic Ninja Boom outing that helped kick off the aforementioned boom.Cho is a mild-mannered man living in Japan who is also a ninja. When baddies kill off his family, except for his son Kane Osaki (real-life son Kane Kosugi) the two move to the U.S. to start their lives over again in the face of the tragedy and get on with their doll-selling business. Little do they know that some nefarious men are importing drugs in the dolls. When Kane sees what's going on, it fuels a war between the Osaki's and the drug peddlers. Add to that, there is a traitor in Cho's midst. Will Cho Ninja his way out of this mess and finally have peace? It's easy to see why this is one of the most popular Ninja titles from the classic era. Sho is at his best here. He says little, but that works in his favor. His son Kane takes after his dad, and nowhere is that better seen than when he fights some schoolyard bullies. Those kids never saw NINJA moves coming their way. Don't mess with pint-sized Kane. Maybe this was the seedling that later sprouted the 3 Ninjas franchise (the first one of which features Prof. Toru Tanaka, as does this film...coincidence?) and, of course, Little Ninjas (1990).The movie is surprisingly brutal, with ninja stars embedded in foreheads and all, but it's all in good fun. Fun really is the name of the game here, as the simple plot allows for the maximum amount of Ninja action. It's well-shot and everything is very pro. This obviously raised the bar for Cannon Films.Watch out for the aforementioned Toru Tanaka who is always fun to see, and Keith Vitali of American Kickboxer 1 (1990) fame is on hand as well. This is a great place to start for those unfamiliar with Ninja movies and are looking for a good way to kick off a potential obsession. Go Sho! For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com