“The Super Ninja” Theatrical Poster
Director: James Wu
Cast: Alexander Lo Rei, Eugene Thomas, Jack Long Shi-Chia, William Yen, Bruce Lai (Chang Il-do), Tong Lung, Yang Hsiung, Yu Kam-Po, Kim Gi-Jong, Lo Mei
Running Time: 91 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Amongst the many ninja flicks that Taiwan cranked out in the 1980’s, perhaps none stand out more than director James Wu’s unintended ninja trilogy. Kicking off with his directorial debut in 1984 with The Super Ninja, and continuing with 1985’s Ninja in USA and 1987’s Ninja Condors, these movies were obviously connected through the pairing of Alexander Lo Rei and Eugene Thomas, but less obviously by their choice to be set in the USA. Of course, none of them were actually filmed in America, instead relying on stock footage of the New York skyline, and in the case of The Super Ninja, having a police station where each of the sparsely decorated rooms has a shoddy looking American flag pinned to the wall.
A surreal version of America full of shouty gweilos that somehow still feel like the foreigners, and ninjas running rampant through the streets, it’s hard not to be entertained by the bizarre world Wu creates onscreen. Lo Rei was quickly becoming the ninja poster boy when Wu debuted with The Super Ninja, having headlined the likes of Shaolin Vs. Ninja and Ninja Vs. Shaolin Guards, so to take his ninja shenanigans from the period setting and throw them into contemporary surroundings was a stroke of genius. The Super Ninja would also mark the screen debut of Eugene Thomas (amusingly listed in the credits as Yau Jin Thomas – which if you say loud enough in a high-pitched voice is exactly how some of the characters speak in the movie), an African American martial artist who spent 10 years living in Taiwan, and appeared in a number of local kung fu flicks.
Together Lo Rei and Thomas are cops John and Spencer, partners in New York who we meet in the opening putting a stop to a bunch of punks attempting to rape a woman. Unfortunately for them one of the punks is the son of a senator, and they soon find themselves being reprimanded by their ridiculously racist superior, who at one point tells them, “I was always told you coloured boys have lousy memories!” From this straightforward opening a baffling plot emerges, which has the police chief attempt to frame Lo Rei for drug dealing, because his ninja upbringing could cause an inconvenience to the five element ninjas – who let’s assume are the biggest drug dealers in New York. Lo Rei is left with nowhere to turn, except for his girlfriend and Thomas, so the scene is set for various ninja confrontations that, despite not being a cut ‘n’ paste production, often feel strangely disconnected from the scenes that surround them.
There’re various sources on the net that claim Lo Rei’s girlfriend is the final screen appearance of kung fu starlet Doris Lung. However upon watching The Super Ninja I feel fairly certain that it’s not her, and even though the actual actress doesn’t appear to be credited in the Hong Kong Movie Database and alike, I’m sure Lung wouldn’t want one of her last appearances onscreen to be a several minutes long sex scene with Lo Rei. What seems more likely is for her to be an obscure Korean actress by the name of Ra Mi, who is listed in the movies entry in the Korean Movie Database. Have to give it up for that saxophone soundtrack though, even if it did make me forget I was watching a kung fu flick for a few moments. Interestingly the Ocean Shores DVD (and VHS for those who have it!) cuts out the sex scene entirely (and the shower scene that immediately precedes it).
Speaking of Korea, there’s definitely some Korean investment in The Super Ninja, so chances are there’s even more edits for the Korean version, which goes under the title The Moment of Life or Death (and was released a couple of years later in 1986). Kim Gi-jong (Suddenly in the Dark, The General’s Son II) plays Lo Rei’s father-in-law to be, a character who’s created an antidote against drug addiction, which also puts him in the cross hairs of the five element ninjas. Most noteworthy to fans of kung fu cinema though is the casting of Chang Il-do as the leader of the villainous ninjas. Once attempted to be passed off as yet another Bruce Lee clone under the pseudonym of Bruce Lai, ultimately it would be Dragon Lee who’d win the battle to be Korea’s premiere Bruceploitation star. However Il-do had an equally impressive skillset, one that got to be showcased in the likes of Blood of Dragon Peril and Return to the 36th Chamber.
Co-productions between Korea and Taiwan were particularly prevalent during this period, with 1983 delivering the Casanova Wong flick North Shaolin vs. South Shaolin and kung fu horror hybrid Evil Hits Evil (which really did feature Doris Lung!). During 1984 alone, in addition to The Super Ninja, we also got the Chen Shan vehicle Wild Panther, as well as another Lo Rei flick in the form of Ninja Vs Shaolin Guards. It was a rare time when talent between Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea seemed to freely cross-pollinate and saw an unprecedented output of creativity, even if a lot of it was cheap and cheerful, although I really wouldn’t envy anyone who attempts to try and put together a list of these co-productions!
Of course what anyone is watching a movie titled The Super Ninja really wants is fight action, and here it’s delivered in spades. Choreography duties go to the legendary Jack Long of The Seven Grandmasters and The Mystery of Chess Boxing fame, of which this would be his last choreography gig, and Chu Ko, one of Chang Cheh’s latter day baby venoms from when the Shaw Brothers studio was winding down in the early 80’s. Most significantly, it was Ko who choreographed Chang Cheh’s own classic Five Element Ninjas just a couple of years earlier with Ricky Cheng, and he’s clearly taken a liberty or two by transferring the concept across to here. The elements in question are wood, earth, metal, water, and fire, although the standout is definitely the fire ninja, who literally fights with their fists on fire which looks undeniably cool (unintentional oxymoron).
The action comes thick and fast, and when looking at Lo Rei’s filmography I daresay his taekwondo skills have never looked as good as they do here. The typical Taiwanese style of contemporary choreography is still evident, most prominently in the power hits aesthetic, when the person on the receiving end of a hit is sent flying off the screen by a wire, however it’s much more dialled back here than in say, Ninja Condors, which would come 3 years later. Lo Rei gets two standout fight scenes, the first of which pits him one on one against Eugene Thomas, as the pair exchange fists and kicks in a fight which feels like they’re evenly matched, making for an entertaining watch. For those who balk at the sight of undercranking then chances are most of the modern day 80’s Taiwanese output won’t be for you, but personally I don’t believe it detracts from the choreography in any way, and delivers the intended intensity.
The finale has Lo Rei and Thomas team up for a lengthy 2 vs 1 fight on the beach against Chang Il-do, which throws in a gratuitous amount of slow-motion full contact flying kicks that I can watch over and over again. Slow motion is overused in so much of the straight-to-streaming kung fu flicks coming out of China right now, that it feels refreshing to see it be used for a genuinely impressive feat of high impact choreography, and here everyone’s clearly giving it their all in a bootwork masterclass. Lo Rei and Thomas have a clear chemistry when it comes to fight choreography, and their work together is criminally underappreciated, perhaps because of the cheesy ninja factor that their collaborations revolve around. Make no mistake about it though, the action onscreen in The Super Ninja is top tier stuff and executed with precision.
Throw in a random First Blood homage once Lo Rei first escapes from prison, the ninja equivalent of RPG’s, and the hilarious sight of a lackey being ordered to talk while he’s got the barrel of a gun stuck in his mouth, and The Super Ninja delivers a rollicking good time for all the reasons you hope it will.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10
I watched this on Tubi last year (I think). Some of Lo Rei’s films can be underwhelming fight scene wise, as though his skill set wasn’t always properly utilized. However, this one was aces! There is some awesome choreography in this. And the plot is hokey enough it’s sort of enjoyable. (Ninja vs Shaolin Guards is surprisingly good, too.) I know I’ve seen Ninja Condors, though I don’t remember it very well, and I’m not sure I’ve seen Ninja in the USA. May need to run that one down. I think they’re all on Tubi, or at least they were at one point.