New York Ninja (2021) User Reviews

Glorious early 1980s ninja action...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 9 November 2021]

Well, if you grew up as a kid in the 1980s then you are well-familiar with the wave of ninja movies that swept over the home video front. Cheesy? You got it. Funny? You betcha. Enjoyable? Well...

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the 2021 released "New York Ninja" and I was intrigued by the movie's cover/poster, because it definitely had that particular 1980s vibe to it. And as the movie progressed, I must admit that I was taken aback with the sheer 1980s feel that the entire movie had, from the costumes, to the fight scenes, the scenery and the entire movie actually. Then I read up on the movie and found out that the movie was actually shot in 1984, but the movie was only released now, as the studio stumbled upon it, but had lost the audio tapes, so they had to record a new sound for "New York Ninja". And truth be told, that added audio just added to the enjoyment of the movie, as it felt like a bad dubbing track.

If you enjoyed the ninja movies back in the 1980s, when the ninja movies were at their highest, then you will certainly enjoy the 2021 "New York Ninja". It has all the cheese and loveable things from that era.

The storyline told in "New York Ninja" was as to be expected from a ninja movie filmed in 1984. I enjoyed it, no doubt about it, and it was a trip back to the childhood and watching the ninja movies all over again.

The acting performances in the movie were as to be expected as well. For a movie of this type, then you know what you are getting yourself into.

And as for the action and martial arts scenes, well they were cheesy. So very, very cheesy. But again, it was a 1984 movie, so of course it was. And I do love the way that the bad guys and thugs always just come one at a time against the ninja. Very considerate henchmen actually if you think about it.

The gang members in the movie were hilarious to look at. Now, I grew up in the 1980s, and I don't ever recall seeing anyone wearing outfits like they were. They were colorful and hilarious to look at, to say the least, and added a comedy and goofy value to the movie.

I was looking through the cast list after the movie, and I have to say that I was really surprised with seeing the names of Don Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock and Michael Berryman on the list. But I found out that it was voices only, so it made perfect sense, as I hadn't seen any of them in the movie.

You should sit down and watch "New York Ninja" is you enjoy the cheesy ninja movies. It certainly was a blast.

My rating of directors John Liu and Kurtis Spieler's "New York Ninja" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Hard to rate, but it's mostly great!

[jellopuke · 5/10 · 20 December 2021]

This is a whole bunch of random nonsense. It's hard to known what was intended so how do you rate it? What we see is hilarious and worth it, but was it what was meant by the footage? Meh, who knows, it's still worth seeing for sure!

Cult movie lovers, sadly, you can skip this one.

[Gregor_81 · 5/10 · 7 November 2021]

New York Ninja has that 80's action B-movie charm, and has a fair amount of unintentionally mildly funny scenes, but it's not nearly enough to carry it into cult status by 80's grindhouse fanatic's or "Bad Movie" fans.

I'm a big fan of unintentionally funny movies, especially if they are from the 80's, and even more so if they have Ninjas kicking ass. A Ninja in the gritty big apple... how could you go wrong? Well, as with any obscure low budget action movie, it doesn't matter how "bad" or "good" it is, what really matters is if it's entertaining. Movies like:

Miami Connection, Hard Ticket To Hawaii, Deadly Prey, Ninja III: The Domination, Nine Deaths Of The Ninja,

all made BOLD choices by their writers/directors that demanded your attention and sometimes confusion, but unfortunately NYN lacks ambition and far too much of the movie clunks around in unnecessarily boring dialogue, and repetitive scenes. There just isn't enough happening in this movie.

While I have a great appreciation for the amazing work that Vinegar Syndrome has done to dub, master, edit, and completely resurrect this movie, I do also think it's worth noting that cult movie enthusiasts are in store for a dull experience. I really wanted to like this movie, but it just doesn't have enough meat on it's bones to deliver the silly fun you expect.

NY Ninja Cheese

[FilmCurator · 2/10 · 6 November 2021]

It was an incredibly weird experience. From some of the goofiest looking gang members, bad fight chorerography, and some atrocious dubbing, it was fun. I did love some of the locations they shot. New York city is a character in films shot there. Some great subway scenes to grafitti covered alleys. There is a large market out there for people that love bad films. This should be up there on the list. Almost forgot about the cheesy 80's music. You may enjoy this just for the laughably bad acting, script, and overall strange characters.

Worst of all time?

[lonewolfie · 1/10 · 14 May 2022]

This movie makes Plan 9 From Outer Space look like a masterpiece. Terrible acting, terrible dubbing, terrible story line. A woman gets her throat cut with a rubber knife and the result is a red magic marker line on the neck. Hilarious.

so bad it's good

[talllwoood13 · 6/10 · 30 October 2023]

If you're into films such as The Room or works by Neil Breen this will be right up your alley. It has some seriously bad action by the main character and his voice certainly doesn't fit his body how bad the leads voice dub is if that makes any sense. It would be like a big fat black woman was voiced by a little old korean woman with a very thick accent. This film has a similar fate to Miami Connection which was shot in the mid 80s and then finally came out 30+ years later.

The action in this movie is stiffer than Ron Jeremy who was probably shooting his own films a few blocks away. We take for granted good fight choreography and.flexible actors who can kick higher than someones chest when they do martial arts as for the most part it just comes off like drunk fathers wrestling after a few cold ones.

The musical score fits the era, especially of the movies budget where it's probably on the cheapest musical keyboard, where it almost sounds like 8 bit Nintendo music of that era. Then of course you get the odd bit of rock music but for the most part it's Nintendo music.

Some films this reminded me of besides the ones mentioned are the Death Wish series with Charles Bronson, then we've got bits and pieces of stuff like Spiderman or any of the other trillion super hero movies as well as stuff you'd expect from a Tromaville film. Perhaps Toxic Avenger which Toxie kind of sounds like main character John as well as the questionable costumes from Nuke'em High.

I love the over the top bad guys. It's so over the top you just laugh at them. It can't be intentional. The chauffer who they called "Rat tail" is almost memorable. Did anyone on set have any bleach? Our ninja looks like he's using his urine soaked sheets for the costume. Everything is whiter than his outfit. I don't care what anyone says, you see even a bit of someones face though you'll know who they are. Some other stupid scenes was when he nursed him and this random boy back to health. The 10-ish year old boy asks if he'll be his friend than 7 movie weeks later they are fishing and the only thing more stuffed than John's speedo is egg rolls at a local Asian restaurant.

I can't wait to show this gem to my friends. I enjoyed this more than a lot of garbage from Tom Cruise, Matt Daemon and so forth lately.

So Bad. No way to be good.

[bradhill-55637 · 1/10 · 15 July 2022]

Easy to understand why unfinished for 30 years. Bad acting, bad fight scenes, bad voice overs. Such a waste of 2 hours spent while trying to nap. Even Steven Seagal movies are better than this and they have an old fat man trying to act 35 again.

Screw the haters

[jasonthompson-95511 · 8/10 · 11 November 2021]

As of this writing there are not many reviews on here. And from the majority of the ones I read, they don't seem to understand what's going on. This wasn't filed to "look" like it took place in the 80s. It WAS filmed in the 80s. The film was eventually scrapped and lost to time until it was picked up by a studio that specializes in underground/exploitation flicks. That actually should have been fairly obvious.

Unfortunately, the audio for the movie was nowhere to be found, and it had to be completely redone. I'm not super clear on how faithful they were to the original script, or even if they ever managed to get ahold of it. But honestly, I don't care.

For someone who is really into the over the top action flicks of the 80s and how ridiculously fun they can be, this movie checked off most every box. Basically, if you know, you know. Drink a few beers and give it a shot.

I Heart NY Ninja

[Maniac_In_Black · 6/10 · 20 June 2022]

Thanks to the TCM channel for airing this. Film fanatics are lucky to be able to view this rare and almost forgotten film. Seeing pre 9/11 NYC is always special, especially here since this movie could have easily been lost. The New York location here isn't just a backdrop but a character itself. NY Ninja is definitely a "B movie", but an enjoyable one you can watch on a rainy day. I don't know if it was because of a limited reconstruction budget or what but I do wish they would have hired at least a couple voice actors that had NY accents, that's my only complaint.

Anyway, how about those ending credits?

I am indeed hoping that the Ninja will return.

What a pathetic excuse for a movie

[dannyrest · 1/10 · 7 November 2021]

Not even the fast forward button could save this garbage. There's good bad movies but this isn't one of them. They should have burned this one while it was still in the can. The movie is just as lame as watching drunk rednecks pretending to be pro wrestlers in the backyard. Right from the start the acting was a sign it won't be getting any better. And once the first gang of thugs is introduced it was all downhill from there. I would have been better off watching Kung Fury instead of this sorry excuse for a flick.

Great camp, excellent restoration, ninja action

[nicholas-morine · 8/10 · 23 December 2021]

Let's keep it brief.

Needed a montage. Needed more Rattail. Needed a bit more blood.

Other than that, an excellent ninja movie from the 80s,lovingly restored. Voice work was top shelf, great soundtrack. Great video quality. Funny, which is the most important part. Is it Miami Connection? No. But it does stand alone and the laughs are present.

If you're a fan of bad action movies and cheese, I do recommend. A lot of visual gags and obvious plot holes / hardcore overacting. Kudos to Vinegar Syndrome for bringing a worthy relic back to life.

Exactly what you would think a movie called New York Ninja would be like

[dworldeater · 7/10 · 10 August 2023]

New York Ninja was originally shot in 1984, but ran out of money and was unfinished with no sound and no script. Vinegar Syndrome found the film and reshot, re edited and added overdubbed dialogue and a score. The end result is a very action packed and campy martial arts flick. This is very gritty in the grind house style with lots of over the top fight scenes and characters. The main hero(John Liu) is a legitimate kung fu star,. He made some kung fu movies and worked with Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo Ping early on in their movie careers. Our main character is out for justice after his pregnant girlfriend got attacked by thugs. If you enjoy classic kung fu movies, I he Cannon ninja flicks and post Deathwish vigilante revenge movies taking place in NYC(Vigilante, The Exterminator) and put all of these things together, you will get something like New York Ninja. I bought this movie on title alone knowing nothing about the film. I was pleasantly surprised and Vinegar Syndrome did a good job with its restoration.

Did They Think They Fixed It?

[boblipton · 4/10 · 14 May 2022]

Don Wilson's pregnant wife is killed, and after a brief training sequence, he becomes a Batman-like protector of women throughout the city.

At least, that's the story as it is now. Originally shot in 1984, it has a whole, new story with bad dialogue delivered in incompetent tones. I can see why redirector -- is there such a thing? -- Kurtis Spieler tried to salvage the images. The original DP -- I think it's Aaron Kleinman -- favored eccentric moving shot and managed the camera with a light hand. But the editing to make the martial arts choreography work is obvious, the acting is poor, and we are left with bits and bobs of competence amidst a vast sea of idiocy.

Hopeless ! 100 % crap.

[rev937 · 1/10 · 7 November 2021]

Movie in style of 70-80's, but so hopeless. Forget low budget but actors are so amateurs and are acting like little kids . Not sure if this movie is a joke or parody ,but 100% is crap in any possible way,

Sho Kusugi were where you?

[kaefab · 1/10 · 24 November 2021]

My god where to start in this awful mess.

Its an 80 z grade ninja flick, first you got bad acting then you got this.

The lead ninja looks like a goof and really sucks at martial arts and ninja skills. A ninja in roller blade wow that was the high point of the movie.

It starts off with a HUG feeling when he meets is wife and she tells him she is pregnant. That bit of acting should have won an Oscar for worst ever.

If you want some really good ninja movies from the 80 there are no better then the Sho Kusugi movies.

Enter the ninja, revenge of the ninja, prey for death.

A glorious disaster!

[Duellist · 6/10 · 16 May 2022]

Yes, the acting is wooden. Yes, the fight scenes will never compete with anything from Bruce Lee. The plot is all over the map. The dialog isn't great, but that's a combination of the fact that it probably wasn't great to begin with and the the fact that Vinegar Syndrome basically had to make it up based on what the actors might have said. But, it's fantastic. If you know what 80s DTV movies like this are like, you will not be disappointed. John Liu does some real stunts, too, like dangling from a helicopter (no CGI here).

I reluctantly give this only 6 stars because while what VS did is worthy of 10 stars, the movie itself is really only 2 or 3 stars.

I have no idea this came out today

[chefmarty-34833 · 1/10 · 10 December 2021]

Saw a review of RedLetterMedia and this looks like a 1980s cheesy action film. I think The Room is just like this. Bad acting and idk what else to write. I like eggs and bacon and sausage with on a muffin.

The Greatest Worst Movie of All Time

[kluseba · 10/10 · 22 February 2022]

New York Ninja is the best worst movie I have ever watched. It even outclasses amusingly dreadful classics such as Samurai Cop, The Room and Titanic II that were among my favourites before experiencing this film. This movie was originally filmed all the way back in 1984 but remained unfinished and unreleased. The material was discovered three and a half decades later and completed with voice actors, electronic soundtrack and new script.

The final result is a hilarious dumpster fire you won't easily forget. The story revolves around an Asian-American sound technician whose pregnant wife gets murdered by a group of street criminals that is kidnapping women for a plutonium-addicted mastermind. The protagonist decides to become a vigilante dressed up as ninja who is accompanied by two overtly enthusiastic work colleagues, weird police officers walking off the beaten path and a poor homeless kid that has become a thief in order to survive.

Everything that could be wrong with a movie is wrong here. It starts right from the start with hilariously bad dialogues that will make your jaws drop right from the opening scene. Some dialogues that are supposed to have depth are delivered quickly, randomly and superficially. Less important dialogues however are emphasized, overacted and repeated.

Up next, the acting performances are absolutely dreadful. The protagonist has no charisma whatsoever and looks like a silly clown wearing cringeworthy costumes instead of a vigilante on a mission. The side characters are portrayed in an annoying way from overtly self-confident gangsters by the numbers over aggressively noisy street kids to theatrically screaming women who talk way too much without saying anything at all. The worst acting performance is however offered by the antagonist with his shameful facial expressions, weird overacting and incredibly stupid vocal deliveries.

The settings are as ugly as the rest of the movie. The film portrays subway stations covered in nasty graffiti, back alleys filled with piles of trash and industrial wastelands. These settings are randomly interwoven with repetitive shots of famous sights such as the World Trade Centre that don't add anything to the story.

The costumes and make-up are absolutely dreadful. The ladies in this film are overstyled in a way that makes them look like members of a circus ensemble. The gangsters in this film wear exaggeratedly colourful costumes that are worse than anything you could see in a rap music video of the eighties. The worst offender is however the ninja costume of the protagonist that looks like a walking mummy clad in toilet paper.

This film attempts to be a martial arts flick but the fight scenes are as wooden as they get. Especially the numerous street gangsters have the swagger of malfunctioning non-player characters in a simplistic video game of the eighties. The misuse of weaponry is also beyond ridiculous and especially the sword fight during what is supposed to be the film's climax makes you think of kindergarten children running around with plastic weapons on Halloween.

It's needless to point out that the story is beyond ridiculous. The villain is addicted to plutonium for reasons that are never explained. He seems to be very influential, powerful and wealthy even though it' impossible to figure out why. The antagonist orders to kidnap specific women for goals that remain mysterious as this character is just having awkward seizures when spending time with the ladies. Those are only the elements that are wrong with the villain's back story but let me tell you that everything else is just as horrible.

You might wonder why such a dreadful movie deserves such a high rating. The explanation is quite obvious. This is easily the most entertaining, hilarious and memorable movie released last year. Right from the opening scene, most viewers will have to laugh so much that they might end up crying. Every new scene, each new setting and every twist in the tale will make a movie that is already dreadful from the start even worse. I have watched this movie at a local cinema and the entire audience was reacting so strongly to this film that it might become a cult classic in the key of The Room that had been shown at the same cinema for more than one hundred weeks in a row before the pandemic ended that memorable run.

My suggestion for you is to watch this film at the cinema with as many friends as possible. Grab as many drinks and snacks as you can to have as much fun as possibe. In difficult times like these, it's great to have this kind of unintentionally hilarious entertainment.

All things considered, this really isn't half bad

[I_Ailurophile · 6/10 · 29 January 2024]

I suppose it's perfectly reasonable to argue that it's unfair to judge a filmmaker based on a single past experience. John Liu's 1981 feature 'Made in China' (alternatively known by various other names) was such godawful, sloppy dreck in every capacity that it was almost entirely unwatchable, and thereafter I could only assume the worst of anything else he made. This does, however, put 'New York Ninja' and filmmaker Kurtis M. Spieler in an interesting position. The nature of this flick is well established: written and directed by Liu in the 1980s, it was thereafter left unedited and lost to time, with no meaningful surviving record of what the intended story was, let alone any audio; fast forward a few decades, and following rediscovery of the footage, it was put in Spieler's h ands to try and make the most cogent product that he could. We effectively have a film where the credits are thoroughly divided: Liu, the director, and the writer of material at which we can only guess; Spieler the editor, the writer of the reconstructed footage, and the director of the assembled voice cast; an uncredited cast of actors joining Liu in front of the camera in the 80s, and a cast of new actors with no attachment to the original production, hired to dub dialogue in Spieler's reconstruction. It's only fair to wonder how the end result will stack up; the effort is unique and admirable, and the outcome might be either brilliant or awful. Would it validate the credentials of those involved, including Liu, or would it demonstrate their shortcomings?

Awkwardly, scattered across time and multiple hands as this is, in my opinion 'New York Ninja' actually turned out better than at least the one other Liu title I've watched. As Spieler accordingly tried to put this together with the best possible echo of the sensibilities of 80s film-making, this is arguably even more solid than Liu's most well-regarded starring vehicle, 1977's 'The invincible armour.' True, all told there are invariably some rough edges, and some of Liu's original footage was borne of some, uh, interesting choices; watch for the scene where the titular hero makes his second appearance, thwarting some petty crime. It's also possible that some otherwise more questionable inclusions (e.g., "costume design" that's just all over the place) are made to seem more palatable because the overall 2021 construction is more skilled than what we might have gotten 25-30 years ago. Yet one way or another, in no few ways the movie is surprisingly solid, and to varying degrees speaks well to those who participated in some capacity.

Silly as the concept is, one can easily see how the picture might have ended up as Z-grade fare, or just an altogether senseless tawdry mess. However, one will also discern similarities with unserious B-movies of the 80s and 90s, and ultimately I think this is the most useful point of reference. It's readily apparent from the footage alone that Liu's original intent was less than wholly somber, more a fun romp than an earnest thriller or martial arts piece, and to whatever extent some bits may raise a quizzical eyebrow, it was all only with a mind to entertain. In every regard some moments come off better than others, and the acting in the original footage is probably most variable of all. From what we can make of his work, however, Liu's scene writing and original direction were half decent, even if some odds and ends seem too far flung to have belonged in the same film. Meanwhile, say what you will about Liu's contributions, but Spieler's editing is plainly superb as he assembles a cohesive action feature with no significant framework for doing so; the screenplay he put together to create that order, and provide foundation for the voice cast, is likewise very appreciable. (Should a copy of Liu's screenplay ever be rediscovered I'd be so curious to compare Spieler's to his, but I don't suppose that will ever happen.) And while the dubbed voice work isn't especially great, it's surely far superior to too many examples of international pictures - especially Hong Kong kung fu flicks of the 70s and 80s - that are downright infamous for poor dubbing. Everyone involved in 'New York Ninja' treated the project with all due sincerity, and however much one might level criticism at various aspects, the sum total speaks for itself.

Some elements don't fit together so flawlessly; some of the dialogue is woefully blunt and forthright - for better or worse, appropriate for a lot of the acting on hand, the original direction and some of the camerawork, and what we know of Liu's other prior works. One way or another this is definitely not a top-of-the-line production, even including the stunts and action sequences (fine as they may generally be), and for any of the voice cast involved (notably including Don Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock) it surely falls into the middle or lower tier of their credits. Yet all told 'New York Ninja' is fairly well made, and it bears repeating that in the very least Spieler is to be commended for making a workable, enjoyable title out of Liu's raw footage. In one measure or another this is actually a good time, imperfect though it may be; don't go out of your way for it, but if you do have the chance to watch, it fits right in with like-minded 80s flicks, and it's worth checking out.

Ninja on Rollerblades...

[genchidojo · 3/10 · 12 December 2022]

This should have never been finished let alone produced in the first place. The acting is so over the top it's laughable at first but then if you have the stomach and patience to continue to watch, moves to annoying.

I know Don Wilson hasn't been in the best of movies but even this is an ultimate low. You might also even think since the film was originally filmed in 1984, this movie is outdated for today!? It should have never been produced!! The action scenes are so bland and poorly executed, one should be paid if they are able to watch this movie from beginning to end. Absolute waste of your time and intelligence.

Incredible job by Vinegar Syndrome

[Jameswalt1 · 10/10 · 6 November 2021]

Ignore the other review here. If you're a fan of 80's ninja films, and the grindhouse scene in general, you probably already know what you're looking for here. And let me tell you - it delivers in spades.

From the seedy NY back streets, The Warriors inspired knock off gang members, and the ninja motif - this movie just encapsulates the entire genre. Vinegar Syndrome did an absolutely outstanding job restoring this new classic; with an incredible and authentic sounding synthwave score, and absolutely on-the-money voice acting/dubbing --- it's simply a masterpiece of the genre. Period. It's hard to believe the voice acting, sound, and music weren't actually completed in 1984 - it's that good.

Hats off to the team responsible, and THANK YOU for restoring this masterpiece that sits proudly beside Samurai Cop, Dangerous Men, Miami Connection, and many many others as a primo so-bad-it's-good flick.

It's not an 80s film

[paul-psr-ryder · 4/10 · 11 November 2021]

You can see some real work went into making this film bad but don't expect to be seeing a potential future cult classic or a well made box office film and you won't be disappointed.

The film has the 80s grainy look down to a t, the dubbed characters however let the side down. Unfortunately the over/underacting made it feel worse than just a typical cheesy martial arts B movie that you'd still enjoy today for being so bad it's good... The martial arts in the film would've been a lot better if not overacted . If this was meant to be like it actually is then well done to all involved.

Recipe Needs More Cheese

[refinedsugar · 5/10 · 20 November 2023]

It's 'Death Wish' without the seriousness, it's 'The Exterminator' without the heavy sleaze, it's 'New York Ninja'. From Vinegar Syndrome & Kurtis M. Spieler comes this put together "lost film" from original director / star John Liu in his only American production. Some notables names like Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock & Michael Berryman providing voice dubbing since the original audio material was lost.

John (Liu) learns his girlfriend Nita is pregnant and he's going to be a father. However she's killed after witnessing a young woman getting abducted on the streets of New York. Gangs control the city and an evil mastermind villain aptly named 'The Plutonium Killer' is behind most of it. Can John get revenge and turn the tide when he becomes the masked savior?

It's a 2021 production from a 1984 source so it looks great picture- wise otherwise it's very much the feels of the 80's. Lots of poorly choreographed fighting, bumbling cops, wacky clothed street hoods, one set of huge boobs and a villian who purposely gives himself radiation poisoning. As you know whenever a flick needed a crime ridden, seamy undertone NY was the go-to city.

Filmed without much of a budget you have to decide if the 80's charms and barrel of tropes - vigilantism, ninjas and poor acting - are enough to make this a good time. I appreciate the effort restoring and releasing 'NY Ninja' and there's some fun campy bits, but as a whole it's missing something.

An absolute gem if you know what you're in for

[smak-90612 · 10/10 · 18 January 2022]

It seems a lot of the reviews here don't understand what this is, how it came to be, or what it's trying to do. That's all well and good, but it's important to understand this in context.

As others have already explained, this is a film that was abandoned back in the 80's and has been restored/completed just recently. It's a love letter to film and its preservation. The story behind it is even more cool and fun than the movie itself.

There's lots of laughs to be had in this due to the absurdity of the "story" and the acting itself. If you're into (definitely) bad movies that you can tell the people involved tried their best in, who just wanted to make a movie, you'll enjoy this.

The story is razor thin, the costumes are cobbled together, the special effects are practically MS Paint level, and the characters are all over the place. A credit to the voice actors who had to create emotion and actually tell a story using nothing but guesswork though. They deserve all the credit in the world to bring this to life.

10/10 for the effort and heart that went into the movie. Both in the 80's and the past two years. The movie is obviously not a "great" movie but it's worth your time to see and experience. If you get a chance to see it with an enthusiastic crowd, do yourself a favor and get there.

Awesome

[globenglaad · 9/10 · 9 November 2021]

What i've understood this movie in new (2021) And they got that old loveable ninja feeling, like late 70's and the 80's. Need a ström i on the memory lane , this is the movie.