Bullet Points: Mask of the Ninja
Thanks to the visionary Menahem Golan and the folks at Hasbro that came up with the G.I. Joe characters of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, I am a fan of ninjas being in movies and on television.
Thanks to the classic 1997 film Starship Troopers and the impression that he is a genuinely wonderful human being (with a great jawline), I am a fan of Casper Van Dien.
So in theory, I should be a fan of 2008’s Mask of the Ninja starring Casper Van Dien. Was that the case after watching it? Let’s find out…
- Cop Rock: Casper Van Dien plays Detective Jack Barrett. When we first see Jack he is working undercover at a club, playing guitar on stage and keeping an eye on a sting operation while he rocks out. The police are using little fish Danny to get big fish Mr. DiSalvo and it works… once all the dust settles Danny thinks he can go about his merry way, but the cops have other ideas. That’s about the time Danny’s phone rings and Jack answers… on the other end is Danny’s girl Miko (Kristy Wu) and she sounds like she is trouble. Jack’s good guy instincts kick in and he decides to go check it out.
- Enter the Ninjas: Miko was most definitely in trouble when she called. A group of ninjas from a rival Japanese clan had infiltrated the palatial estate she lived at with her wealthy CEO father Takeo (Dana Lee, Rambo: First Blood Part II). The ninjas were looking for a piece of espionage technology that the Takeo Corporation had developed and were going to stop at nothing to get it. Takeo managed to sneak his daughter out of the house and she found a hiding place on the grounds, but from there witnessed the assassins murder her father when he refused to give them what they wanted. When Jack arrived at the Takeo estate, he noticed one of the slain security guards, so Jack called for back up and then hopped the gate… once on the grounds Jack has a brief encounter with one of the ninjas that ended with Jack getting kicked into the pool and the ninja doing what ninjas do… disappear without a trace.
- Pieces of the Puzzle: The police find out that before the home invasion, there were several attempts to hack into the Takeo Corporation’s computer system and the home invasion was actually Plan B for our bad guys. But who are the people responsible for the attack and the murder of the Takeo? What exactly are they after? Things get even muddier when Takeo family friend/advisor Hiro (Anthony Brandon Wong, The Matrix Reloaded) shows up to comfort Miko in her time of need and tow the family line that they have no idea who would want Takeo dead. Jack quickly begins to suspect Hiro knows the answer to all of their questions and may even be involved in Takeo’s death.
- Hiro or Villain: It turns out that Hiro was actually once a part of the Nakano clan that killed Takeo and wants the advanced technology that Takeo created. But after Hiro saw the light he turned on Nakano (Yuji Okumoto, Hard Justice) and jumped ship to the Takeo clan. So Hiro has a very personal vendetta against the men who killed his friend but he’s not sure he can trust Jack. Tragedy ends up bringing these two forces of good together, after things get very personal for Jack when Nakano’s clan kills Jack’s partner Gina. It that’s not bad enough Nakano and his ninjas eventually massacre the entire police department after Jack takes Miko to his precinct to protect her and the Nakano clan comes looking for her. The Nakano clan had done some nasty things through out the movie, but that massacre took me by surprise and it is the scene that stuck with me the most. It also was more than enough motivation for Jack, Hiro and Miko to come up with a plan to stop Nakano and his clan once and for all!
Mask of the Ninja had a lot going for it in my book before I even hit play. And I am happy to report that after hitting play Mask of the Ninja delivered a solid story about a cop caught in the middle of two warring clans. Casper Van Dien delivered in his action scenes and didn’t just coast on his charm alone… although he does have the charm turned up in this one making it impossible to not root for the guy.
Mask of the Ninja is a must see for Casper Van Dien fans and these Bonus Bullet Points are a must read for all Bulletproof Action fans…
- Rule of Thumb: A made for TV movie featuring a shuriken is almost always better than a made for TV movie without a shuriken.
- Skin to Win: There’s a scene where Casper’s Jack Barrett changes his shirt for no apparent reason other than to give the audience a look at a shirtless Casper Van Dien… don’t worry fellas, there’s also a scene with a topless masseuse giving her male client a happy ending.
- Odd Choice: In the middle of the opening credits, the movie decided to do some character intros of the movie’s villains. It was really out of place and confusing especially since the same font was used for both.
- Familiar Face: Ron Yuan plays Kunio, the 1st Lieutenant in the Nakano Clan. I recognized Ron from his early 90’s work in movies like Ring of Fire and Street Crimes.
