the choreography was fantastic, the 5 element ninjas awesome, and it had some very gory parts. huge pluses. all in all it was an easy 7 out of 10 for me.
*SPOILERS* but there were elements that i thought detracted. i don't go into a 70 kung fu flick with high plot expectations, ever. but I've seen quite a few shaw bros. films, as well as others in the genre, and they work best when kept fairly simple. the elements i disliked: i just thought the female ninja spy, and the whole sub plot going on with her was distracting and odd... first of all, she killed the main characters best buddy, and then all of a sudden she is in love with the main character?Where was there any chemistry or reason he shouldn't have killed her on the spot when the ropes were untied? because her character was so poorly woven into the story, her involvement did nothing but distract from the amazing action/revenge story. revenge stories are best kept simple. also, the TOTAL GAPING plot hole of the main character all of a sudden remembering he knows some ninja skills? wasn't it just a half hour before that, where everyone at the school, (including our protagonist), after the samurai dies, are scratching their heads at the mention of the word "ninja"? if the protagonist would have remembered he was taught about ninjas before they sent the first 8 to be slaughtered by the 5 element ninjas, perhaps they could have been a bit more prepared. that memory he had of being taught ninja secrets while he was tied up just came out of left field and was inconsistent with the earlier part of the film.
don't get me wrong, i love a campy, cliché, and poorly dubbed martial arts film. master of the flying guillotine, 5 deadly venoms, one armed boxer, iron monkey, the executioner. i even like some of godfrey ho's hilarious garbage. i just felt that with a few slight tweaks to the script of Chinese super ninjas, it would have been easier to suspend disbelief and be drawn into the awesome characters and action.
a side note: i thought it was funny how they worked a bunch of dialogue into the film explaining how ninjitsu was derived from Chinese martial arts.... sure Asian martial arts in general came from china, but I'm pretty sure the arts the ninja used started in japan... could be wrong though ;)
*SPOILERS* but there were elements that i thought detracted. i don't go into a 70 kung fu flick with high plot expectations, ever. but I've seen quite a few shaw bros. films, as well as others in the genre, and they work best when kept fairly simple. the elements i disliked: i just thought the female ninja spy, and the whole sub plot going on with her was distracting and odd... first of all, she killed the main characters best buddy, and then all of a sudden she is in love with the main character?Where was there any chemistry or reason he shouldn't have killed her on the spot when the ropes were untied? because her character was so poorly woven into the story, her involvement did nothing but distract from the amazing action/revenge story. revenge stories are best kept simple. also, the TOTAL GAPING plot hole of the main character all of a sudden remembering he knows some ninja skills? wasn't it just a half hour before that, where everyone at the school, (including our protagonist), after the samurai dies, are scratching their heads at the mention of the word "ninja"? if the protagonist would have remembered he was taught about ninjas before they sent the first 8 to be slaughtered by the 5 element ninjas, perhaps they could have been a bit more prepared. that memory he had of being taught ninja secrets while he was tied up just came out of left field and was inconsistent with the earlier part of the film.
don't get me wrong, i love a campy, cliché, and poorly dubbed martial arts film. master of the flying guillotine, 5 deadly venoms, one armed boxer, iron monkey, the executioner. i even like some of godfrey ho's hilarious garbage. i just felt that with a few slight tweaks to the script of Chinese super ninjas, it would have been easier to suspend disbelief and be drawn into the awesome characters and action.
a side note: i thought it was funny how they worked a bunch of dialogue into the film explaining how ninjitsu was derived from Chinese martial arts.... sure Asian martial arts in general came from china, but I'm pretty sure the arts the ninja used started in japan... could be wrong though ;)