Die Herrschaft der Ninja

If other ninja movies from Cannon Films seemed like tales written by ten-year-old boys but were limited to mediocrity by the confines of traditional action-movie formulas, then Ninja III: The Domination takes the same concept to its feverish peak by combining it with other period influences, specifically aerobics flicks and horror movies about exorcism. The result is magnificent camp in which literally every scene provides spectacular, if not entirely intentional, amusement. This is in large part due to the absurd outcome of combining elements of American ninja flicks with elements borrowed from Flashdance and The Exorcist. So, we can rave not only about the concept itself, where a girl practicing dance aerobics is possessed by the spirit of a superhuman ninja, but about the individual ridiculous sequences such as the girl’s attempt to defy the evil spirit by dancing. The captivating superstructure is the culmination of the reasons for the particular “creative” handling of scenes with zero budget and the obvious evidence of zero taste and sense of proportion on the part of the producers. Thus, for example, the female protagonist, though evidently inspired by Flashdance, does not work in a foundry, but repairs telephone lines, because that can be filmed in the desert for next to nothing. However, even the “direct content” of the scenes is worth it – starting with the deranged opening passage, in which a ninja with superhuman abilities destroys half of the police force and a helicopter, while his opponents spawn like in a video game, so that not a single move goes to waste. Or the ridiculous sequence involving the exorcism of the evil spirit, which causes diaphragm spasms with its unique combination of cheap scenery, zero budget for effects, pseudo-Asian mysticism and the protagonist’s limited acting ability. And that’s not even to mention every imaginable minor detail, such as the main tough guy’s natural angora sweater. Even in the Cannon Films collection of absurdly unhinged flicks, this is an absolute trashy gem. After all, where else will you hear the ultimate medical diagnosis of “there's nothing wrong with you, except for the extreme sensitivity of your senses and your interest in Japanese culture"? (17.01.2015)

Firstenbergs Mega-Trip, der eher an Deadly Prey mit seiner Absurdität erinnert als an die Kultserie mit Michael Dudikoff. Die Eröffnungsaktion zeigt, wozu ein Karate-Ellenbogengelenk fähig ist. Der Ninja tötet in nur zehn Minuten etwa hundert Polizisten auf Motorrädern, in Autos und in Hubschraubern, nur um dann sofort im Boden zu verschwinden und den Verfolgern zu entkommen. Warum? Wahrscheinlich, um Rambo eifersüchtig zu machen. Die folgenden Ereignisse kombinieren dann American Ninja mit Besessenheitshorror, da der Geist eines bösen Kriegers Rache an allen Mördern durch den Körper des Hauptprotagonisten sucht. Und da die Anzahl der Leichen zunimmt und die Polizisten völlig verwirrt sind, muss Herr Kosugi kommen und unseren Bösewicht von einem drei Meter hohen Kliff stürzen lassen. Kumpel, das kann man sich nicht ausdenken! Es macht also ziemlich Spaß, aber leider nur in einigen Teilen. (23.01.2017)

There were a lot of ninja movies made in the 1980s (Godfrey Ho alone made about a hundred during that time) and most of them are completely interchangeable. But Ninja III: The Domination is unlike anything else. Whereas in other films of this subgenre, the ninjas are mostly just a bunch of guys in costumes going for a beating from the protagonist, the titular ninja in this film has extremely tough roots. This is evidenced by the very opening action sequence, which escalates from one ninja attacking a few golfers into a duel between the same ninja and an army of police officers arriving on motorcycles, in cars and in a helicopter. This set-piece is taken to such an extreme that it is unmatched by any other in the film. But the fun doesn't stop there. The filmmakers, fueled by unbridled fan enthusiasm, figured that the next ninja movie from Cannon would take a completely different path than the previous ones, and no sense of logic or reason would stand in their way. The film thus stands out for its loss of any creative inhibitions. Absolutely crazy spontaneous ideas pile on top of each other unstoppably and know no boundaries. What if there was a cave next to the golf course with magical ninja weapons? What if a levitating ninja sword could transfer the soul of a dead ninja into the body of an aerobics instructor? And what if she'd been hypnotized by laser effects from a video game machine beforehand? The result is a delightfully incongruous crossover of ninja movies with the MTV and fitness culture of the time, dance movies and even exorcism horror films. All in the crudest 1980s fashion (neon garish colors, smoke effects, workout leotards, hair fans and synthesizer dance music). It wasn't as successful as Cannon's previous ninja films. Perhaps that's because there's basically no hero for teenagers to admire and whose posters they would plaster on their bedrooms. The protagonist (Lucinda Dickey, the breakdancing starlet from Cannon's hit dance hits Breakin' 1 and 2) can fight, but only when she's in the power of the evil ninja spirit, her boyfriend is a complete wimp, and Sho Kosugi makes only a brief appearance as a good ninja. Maybe that's why Cannon then tried his hand with Michael Dudikoff, and kept it more low-key in subsequent ninja films as well. Too bad. (14.03.2018)