First of all, this movie has many bad sides to it. Initially, the whole ninja-stuff is totally ridiculous. This means that this is a movie you just don't take seriously. If you want to do that, stop reading and watch something else instead. But if you like B-action movies from the 80's just for the fun of it, you'll enjoy this entry to the genre. It's hard to explain why it's so entertaining, since Dudikoff doesn't even make good fight scenes. It's still fun. I guess that Steve James' part in the movie helps a lot in guiding the film in the right direction. The last scene is more 80's than anything else. James handles the machine-gun almost like Arnold did in his prime time.

This action art-martial movie is starred by the ranger Armstrong(Michael Duddikoff), a new soldier from an American base in Philipines islands. At the beginning he fights against corporal Jackson(Steve James), but early they befriend. But the colonel's daughter(Judie Aronson) is kidnapped and the prime suspect is a nasty villain, a gunrunner with a private army formed by violent Ninjas.The criminal ninjas worn in black, hooded, wielding a Katana on the black and using Shinkaisen, a metallic star they throw.Armstrong encounters ample reasons and opportunity to utilize his deadly skills trained by a Ninja master(John Fujioka).Armstrong along with Jackson go to evil's haunt and wipe out a passel of heinous nasties.

This classic-Ninja film is a violent and gripping story plenty of action and fights. Michel Dudikoff who is beefy as ever plays a tough ranger soldier forced into action and metes out his own justice when his girlfriend is abducted. The film is co-starred by Steve James(1952-1993), a bouncing and muscular actor, he habitually performed pal to action-stars; as, Michael Dudikoff,( three times: American Ninja 2, Avenging force), Chuck Norris and David Carradine, but unfortunately he early died. Furthermore appears John Fujioka, who trains Dudikoff in the Ninjitsu art-martial and he'll repeat in the following movie. Atmospheric musical score is composed by Michael Linn, made by means of synthesizer and appropriately adjusted to action.The picture is interestingly written by Gideon Amir, also producer, along with the usual, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globlus, from Cannon productions. The motion picture is acceptably directed by Sam Firstemberg, he's a low grade specialist on art-martial and Ninjas sub-genre. Followed by various sequels, starred by Dudikoff , later substituted by David Bradley, such as ¨American Ninja 2 : the Controntation, Ninja 3 : Blood Hunt, American Ninja: Annihilation, American Ninja V¨. Rating : Passable and entertaining.

One of the very finest, frequently rented VHS-era classics wasn't given much of a push in the digital age, as until only recently, ardent fans of maestro, Sam Firstenberg's explosive, Golan Globus classic, 'American Ninja' couldn't even have imagined how the uncommonly studly pugilists, Michael Dudikoff and super sinewy, Steve James would look in glisteringly restored High Definition! Arguably, 'American Ninja' remains one of the more dynamic examples of the enormously popular 'Ninja Craze', an exquisitely silly, relatively brief, yet unrepentantly violent celluloid zeitgeist, whereby any 80s action movie without at least one blackly shrouded, silently death dealing, Shuriken-slaying assassin was nigh on unthinkable! Even the legendary film icon, Franco 'Django' Nero colourfully donned the mystical PJs with , admittedly questionable results, but none ever did so with quite the same conspicuously deadly cool as, Dudikoff's soon to become immortal American Ninja hero, the taciturn, Private Joe T. Armstrong!

An island foundling, young Joe is lovingly and diligently trained in the murder-mystic arts of Ninjutsu by kindly sensei, Shinyuki (John Fujioka), and once this especially gifted initiate has endured the most rigorous training, Joe then fatefully becomes not only a fearful master of arcane, diabolically effective weaponry and quicksilver close quarters combat, but will ultimately be able to confound opponents by apparently manipulating the very nature of time and space itself! After a brush with the law finds him confined on a far-flung American army base in the Philippines; this silently brooding loner, initially shunned, soon earns the love of colonel, William T. Hickock's (Guich Koock) daughter, Patricia (Judie Aronson), and discovers that the recent thefts of high-end military equipment might be masterminded by someone on the base, and thus it will take all of, Joe's not inconsiderable Ninja mastery to keep his pretty girlfriend safe from harm, and resolutely take the desperate gun runner's to task! Huzzah!

Powerhouse filmmaker, Sam Firstenberg, and heroically handsome leading martial arts mancake, Michael Dudikoff quite literally knock it out of the park with cult classic, 'American Ninja', there was nothing quite like it back then, and there's certainly little to match it today! The furiously-mounted action is pretty relentless from the get go, and there's no time for introspective navel-gazing, as hero Joe is in a tight spot! Mr. Big want's him dead, the colonel's sweet lookin' daughter wants his bod, Steve James wants his killer moves, and the deliciously evil Black Star Ninja (Tadashi Yamashita) wants his finely chiselled head on a spike! 'American Ninja' is one of those truly magical action movies that strikes a powerful chord with the viewer when young, and remains no less compelling almost 40 years later, and I'm not convinced many of the uninspired action movies made today will share American Ninja's extraordinarily durable legacy! And no praise of 'American Ninja' would be anywhere close to complete without a mention of ace composer, Michael Linn's exhilarating soundtrack!