The Super Ninja (1984)

The Super Ninja (1984)- * * *

Directed by: Kuo-Ren Wu

Starring: Alexander Lou, Eugene Thomas, and Yi Tao Chang









John (Lou) and Spencer (Thomas), who may or may not be part of some sort of Blues Explosion, are Kung Fu cops on the beat in “New York”. There’s a mysterious bad guy on the loose named Mr. Tong (Chang) and he commands an army of ninjas known as the Five Element Ninjas. Their history goes back “1000 years!” with each ninja mastering the forces of metal, fire, wood, earth and water. Now we know where those plagiarists at Captain Planet got the idea. 

When drugs are planted in John’s home by a spectacularly evil police captain, John not only has to fight to clear his good name - he has to take on the Five Element Ninjas as well! Will he be able to do it? Find out today!

Having been fans of Alexander Lou since we saw Mafia vs. Ninja (1985), we were happy to see him again (even though MFN came out after The Super Ninja) - especially teamed once more with his co-star Eugene Thomas. The Super Ninja doesn’t disappoint with its Ninja Boom-era insanity and has all the hallmarks fans have come to expect: crazy dubbing (especially for Thomas, it sounds like a White guy doing a racist “Black guy” impression...with hilarious results), gravity and physics-defying ninja action in the forest, and fast and furious Martial Arts, which often get lost in the general aura of silliness.

Because the movie is about Lou going on a revenge mission in a series of events started by the unknown (?) vendetta of his commander, which perhaps is not enough on its own to fill 90 minutes, director Kuo-Ren Wu simply extends scenes to the breaking point: while we usually enjoy the time-honored workout montage, the problem is that the Prerequisite Torture and the quasi-pornographic sex scene with Lou and his girlfriend Nancy (Lung) just go on for an interminably long time. 

That being said, some of the classic items we know and love are here too: the yelling while shooting a machine gun, the sax on the soundtrack, and ninjas that travel quickly underground like Bugs Bunny, and much more. So the crazy quotient, while not quite as high as in Godfrey Ho-land, is still pretty darn high and makes the movie overall pretty entertaining.

One of the best sections of the movie came when it took time out from the plight of Alexander Lou and it introduced the strengths of the Five Element Ninjas in a series of quick profiles. Also it should be noted that ninjas can walk directly up a tree like they’re walking up stairs, and Alexander Lou’s sleeveless half-shirt that says “MAN” on it. As if his manliness was ever in question.

In all, The Super Ninja just reinforces why the Ninja Boom of the 80’s was such a beloved and successful time for ninjas the world over.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Mafia Vs. Ninja (1985)

Mafia Vs. Ninja (1985)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Robert Tai

Starring: Alexander Lo, Hseigh Wang, Silvio Azzolini, Eugene Thomas, and Philip So




 “The chief is leaving!”








Jack Do (Lo) comes to Shanghai in search of a better life. He and Charlie Wu (Hsu) (after a first initial fight) become buddies, and they land a job working for the benevolent gang boss William Chung (Wang). They do such a good job working for him, his rivals get mad and assemble a team of multi-racial weirdos with special fighting skills to end the competition. When the baddies do manage to dispatch their Master, Jack and Charlie get revenge on these guys one by one. Who will come out on top in this ultimate battle?

Mafia Vs. Ninja is a film whose insanity quotient ticks up as the movie goes along. It starts off as a fairly standard chop-socky production with the all the hallmarks: loud, yelling dubbing, music and sound effects,  fighting, etc. But hang in there, as this movie is like what might happen if Clash of the Ninjas (1986)-era Godfrey Ho directed Kill Squad (1982) or Death Machines (1976). Yes, it’s that fun to watch.

When the team of bad guys is being assembled, it’s truly great: there’s the Black guy, Mr. Jones (Thomas), the Italian knife expert who has an absurd “knife vest” and looks like Johnny Thunders, Nemo (Azzolini), an obese (what looks like) Hawaiian with a Hitler mustache named Woody (???), and of course, the evil Japanese guy (Tang). 

After their leader, who is presumably a Ninja but has what looks like a bag over his head with cut-out eyes, gives them their assignment, all hell breaks loose. There are wacky - but high quality - stunts, acrobatics, and  fights, bombs in pears, tree-fighting, dudes fighting in white leisure suits, silly wire-fu, and much, much more. It follows its own nonsensical logic that you just have to love.  It all comes to a very satisfying and enjoyable climax that’s a nice take on the time-honored Final Field Fight.

Mafia Vs. Ninja was released on VHS in the U.S. on World Video Pictures in a big-box with suitably eye-catching artwork. And the title certainly will stop you in your tracks as well. Now that it’s been released on a budget-priced DVD, there’s no excuse not to check out Mafia Vs. Ninja.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out write-ups by our buddies, The Video Vacuum and The Unknown Movies!