 | MOVIE DETAILS • Name: New York Ninja • Year: 2021 • Country: USA • Director: John Liu, Kurtis Spieler • Main cast: John Liu (voiced by Don “The Dragon” Wilson), Linnea Quigley (voice), Michael Berryman (voice), Ginger Lynn (voice) • Runtime: 93 minutes • Production company: Vinegar Syndrome • TRAILER
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Since we first heard about this project, in Ganiveta we wanted to take part in it, even if it was only with a review of the film to share with all our audience. Because we were already sold only by the concept of the idea. Martial artist legend John Liu started filming the movie as a co-writer, director, and main star in the early 1980s, but the project was abandoned in 1984 and Liu retired from show business. And now, 37 years later, the people from Vinegar Syndrome have finished the film and released it.
An absolute act of devotion for the 1980s trash cinema that wasn’t an easy quest, because the footage wasn’t competed and the entire audio tracks were lost. So they ensembled the film the best way as possible, the way they wanted it to be, and got together with a bunch of 1980s b-movie stars like Don “The Dragon” Wilson (Ring of Fire (1991)), Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes (1977)), Ginger Lynn (The Devil’s Rejects (2005)) and, Linnea Quigley (The Return of the Living Dead (1985)) to voice-over the dialogs. And the result is this little jewel called New York Ninja (2021).
Only for how the whole thing happened, this movie must enter instantly into the list of 1980s cult classics. But the best is it won’t end only as a mere anecdote. The movie is funny, it is full of laughable fights, a ridiculous plot, and implausible characters, as we love it!
John Liu’s wife gets killed by a bunch of street gangsters right after she confessed they are going to have a child together. The exciting happy news gets truncated not only because of the horrible news of the murder, but because the police don’t seem to be in the mood to do anything to catch the responsible ones. So mister Liu finds himself with only one option: to become a vigilante called the New York Ninja and to kill one by one all those street delinquents until he arrives at the big boss, the head of a human trafficking and prostitution network.
So, as you see, the film has everything. Revenge, murders, police cops that first abandon our hero but then they become his sidekicks, journalists covering the case in the most incompetent way possible, lousy street gangsters, lots of chicks kidnapped, and murderous killer that is some dude with some plutonium affection that throws killer darts and can’t stand the light of the sun. Oh, and the New York Ninja becomes the best friend of a homeless kid, of course. So, you see, all the ingredients for a pure 1980s trash extravaganza.
Here there are no shades of grey, either you love this kind of cinema or you better stay away from it if you don’t wanna spend a painful one hour and a half. But, if this kind of shit is your shit, go ahead, don’t hesitate, and embrace the New York Ninja. No way you get disappointed.
New York Ninja (2021) is out already on Blu-Ray and will have a limited theatrical release in the first quarter of 2022. And, man, those screenings are going to be a bast, you better get your ticket if the movie is screened in your area. And the movie ends with the message “The Ninja will return in L.A. Ninja”. I don’t know how true that can be but we will be expecting further news.
We ❤ the New York Ninja
RATE: 6/10
IMDB URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt15358226
