{"id":12690,"date":"2016-08-19T08:06:26","date_gmt":"2016-08-19T15:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=12690"},"modified":"2016-08-19T08:06:50","modified_gmt":"2016-08-19T15:06:50","slug":"review-americanninja-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2016\/08\/review-americanninja-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: American Ninja BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>American Ninja<\/em><\/strong> is not a \u2018good\u2019 film in the traditional sense yet god help me, I liked it for just how 1980s it feels and looks. The acting isn\u2019t great and the scriptwriting was horrible, yet Michael Dudikoff and Steve James managed to save it from itself and made a really fun bad movie.<\/p>\n

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American Ninja<\/span>
\n(1985)<\/span>
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Martial Arts, Action, Adventure
\nOlive Films | R \u2013 96 min. \u2013 $29.95 | August 16, 2016<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 08\/19\/2016 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n

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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Sam Firstenberg
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Avi Kleinberger & Gideon Amir (story), Paul De Mielche (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, Judie Aronson, Guich Koock, Tadashi Yamashita<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Commentary, Featurette, Trailer
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 1.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>22.5 GB
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 3.25\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>Joe Armstrong (MICHAEL DUDIKOFF) is a one-man ninjitsu fighting machine. Serving in the army to avoid a prison sentence, Joe will find himself battling the deadly ninjas of the Black Star Order, as well as corrupt military leaders in order to bring down an illegal arms sales conspiracy. Joining in on the adventure is Joe\u2019s comrade-in-arms Curtis Jackson (STEVE JAMES) and Patricia Hickock (JUDIE ARONSON), the daughter of Joe\u2019s commanding officer Colonel William Hickock (GUICH KOOCK).<\/p>\n

Quick Hit Review: <\/strong>Ah, combine the 1980s with The Cannon Group and it\u2019s usually a recipe for awesome cheesy action-schlock. American Ninja<\/em><\/strong> is a classic, amongst the Cannon library anyway, that is too funny not to enjoy. The acting is bad, the fight chorography terrible and the writing somehow is the worst of the bunch. Yet, it\u2019s hard not to have a good time and at least the two leads possess some<\/em> charisma.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Audio Commentary<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Director Sam Firstenberg and Elijah Drenner, producer of A Rumble in the Jungle: The Making of American Ninja<\/em>. It\u2019s a basic track but both participants provide background on the project with the director recounting his days working on the project while Drenner serves as a moderator asking the questions.<\/p>\n

A Rumble in the Jungle: The Making of American Ninja<\/em> (22:48; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is a featurette with new interviews with director Sam Firstenberg, actors Michael Dudikoff and Judie Aronson (who has aged well I might add), screenwriter Paul De Mielche and stunt coordinator Steve Lambert.<\/p>\n

Theatrical Trailer (1:49; HD)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Olive Films brings American Ninja<\/em><\/strong> onto Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and for the most part, it\u2019s a nice looking 1080p high-definition transfer; colors look nice and bright throughout and although there\u2019s the occasional dust mark or scratch, it\u2019s fairly clean. The picture is well defined with sharp detail especially on the close-ups though distant shots begin to lose some texture. All in all, it\u2019s a well done transfer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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The DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track sounds pretty darn good. Although the depth isn\u2019t the best, dialogue levels at least were crisp and clear and any of the numerous action sequences made fine usage of the singular channel. As with the picture, it might not\u00a0 be worthy of a wow or anything, it is certainly a nice step up from previous releases.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Overall, American Ninja<\/em><\/strong> is not a \u2018good\u2019 film in the traditional sense yet god help me, I liked it for just how 1980s it feels and looks. The acting isn\u2019t great and the scriptwriting was horrible, yet Michael Dudikoff and Steve James managed to save it from itself and made a really fun bad movie. The Blu-ray released through Olive Films has good video\/audio transfers and a fine selection of special features.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n