Main Cast: Franco Nero, Susan George, Sho Kosugi, Alex Courtney, Will Hare
Release Year: 1981
Country: US
Run Time: 99 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Cannon Productions' first foray into the martial arts milieu, Enter the Ninja stars Franco Nero. While visiting old pal Frank Landers (Alex Courtney) in the Philippines, master ninja Cole (Nero) is approached by villain Charles Venarius (Christopher George). Coveting Lander's plantation, Venarius tries to strong-arm Cole into turning against his friend. Our Hero refuses, whereupon Venarius brings in his own ninja Hasegawa (Sho Kosugi), the first step towards the battle-royal climax. The stunt choreography by Mike Stone is enough to make one completely forget the film's lapses in taste and logic. Enter the Ninja was followed in short order by Revenge of the Ninja. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Despite its status as the film that sparked the "ninja movie" boom of the early '80s, Enter the Ninja is a pretty lackluster affair. The first problem is that none of the stars seem right for a martial arts epic: Franco Nero looks uncomfortable as the ninja expert and fails to perform convincingly during the fight scenes, while Susan George is thoroughly wasted as the damsel in distress and Christopher George's villainous character is denied any real participation in the action. Enter the Ninja is further hurt by a clichéd, listless script from Dick Desmond that relies exclusively on stock characterizations and dialogue and only utilizes the ninja angle as a way to spice up a rather dull "evil tycoon plots to steal real estate" premise. Worst of all, director Menahem Golan fails to deliver the kind of slam-bang action that would have made all these mistakes forgivable: Even though a large amount of Enter the Ninja's running time is devoted to fight scenes, they lack the skillful choreography and sharp editing that would give them the visceral punch they truly need. In short, Enter the Ninja might interest hardcore action fans as a curio but is too dull and uninspired to appeal to most viewers. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Zachi Noy - The Hook; Constantin de Goguel - Parker; Dale Ishimoto - Komori; Christopher George - Charles Venarius; James E. Gaines; Joonee Gamboa; Bobby Jones; Leo Martinez; Ken Metcalfe; Alan Amiel; Don Gordon
Credit
Menahem Golan - Director, Emmett Alston - Second Unit Director, Michael J. Duthie - Editor, Mark Goldblatt - Editor, W. Michael Lewis - Composer (Music Score), Laurin Rinder - Composer (Music Score), David Gurfinkel - Cinematographer, Judd Bernard - Producer, Patricia Casey - Producer, Yoram Globus - Producer, Mike Stone - Stunts Coordinator, Judd Bernard - Screenwriter, Menahem Golan - Screenwriter, Dick Desmond - Screenwriter
After completing his training of ninjutsu within Japan, an American army veteran by the name of Cole (Franco Nero) visits his war buddy Frank Landers (Alex Courtney) and his newly wed wife Mary Ann Landers (Susan George), who are the owners of a large piece of farming land in the Philippines. Cole soon finds that the Landers are being repeatedly harassed by a CEO named Charles Venarius (Christopher George) in order to get them to sell their property, because unbeknownst to them a large oil deposit is located beneath their land. After beginning to thwart Venarius's hired henchmen their attempts to bully and coerce the Landers into the selling of their property to Venarius, Cole eventually finds himself facing an old rival from the days of his training—Hasegawa (Shô Kosugi), who was hired by Venarius as an assassin to eliminate Cole.
Quotes
Dollars: "So who are you going to kill next, Mr. Ninja?"
Cole: "My friend, a ninja doesn't kill. He eliminates and only for defensive purposes. Although, there ARE exceptions (winks at camera)."
Upon saying this, Cole starts to pursue an unarmed, one handed, non-threatening former adversary.
Charles Venarius: "I want a ninja. Find me a ninja. I want Landers's land!"
Hasegawa: "He is no ninja!"
Sequels
Enter the Ninja is the first film in a series of Ninja films, the second being Revenge of the Ninja and the third being Ninja III: The Domination, although they are not directly related to one another in terms of storyline.
