Bullet Points: Ninja in the USA
Bruce Springsteen was Born in the USA.
Miley Cyrus threw a Party in the USA.
Demi Lovato was Made in the USA.
Alexander Lo Rei was Ninja in the USA.
- Out of Context Action: 1985’s Ninja in the USA opens up with plenty of ninjas in action. First as the opening credits are rolling, then in the opening scene where ninjas get involved in a jet boat chase (including decapitating a dude). All of this ninja action was completely out of context and it wasn’t until later in the movie that I confirmed that the ninja featured during the opening credits was in fact Alexander Rei Lo’s character due to his distinct ninja garb. And I’m assuming the ninjas during the jet boat scene were part of the main villain’s ninja army. The only thing I knew for sure in the opening minutes was there were shuriken aplenty and took that as a good sign that I picked the right ninja movie to watch.
- Free Enterprise: We meet the movie’s main villain, Tygur McPherson (George Nicholas, Saskura Killers) as he is being released from a prison stint and met by reporters… Tygur is then escorted back to his estate by his right hand man Luther (Eugene Thomas, The Super Ninja) and waiting for Tygur are drug kingpins from around the globe. Tygur, now America’s #1 drug lord, is excited to get back to trafficking drugs and show off his latest idea, an idea that will guarantee security for his business. Ninja City, a training ground for ninjas, ninjas who Tygur believes will help him evade and/or eliminate the authorities that are looking to shut him down. We then find out that Tygur was not always a ruthless drug lord…
- Conflicts of Interest: The movie flashes back to Tyger McPherson’s time in the military during the Vietnam War. It was in Vietnam that Tygur saved two young boys, Ronnie and Jerry. Years later all three are living in the United States, Ronnie is now Lt. Ronnie Kwun of the NYPD narcotics division and finds himself having to investigate the man he owes his life to… but Tygur tells Ronnie, he’ll find nothing, he is just a legit businessman who runs a night club. Jerry (Alexander Lo Rei, Ninja Kids) is a martial arts expert, (which I guess is an occupation), who is about to marry a beautiful reported named Penny. Penny the Reporter is also investigating the activities of Tygur McPherson for a story so big she believes it will earn her a Pulitzer Prize.
- The Honeymooners: Someone slipped some film to Penny as the happy couple was about to embark on their honeymoon… Penny finds the film moments before she and Jerry were about to consummate their marriage and decides she need to develop the film immediately which she was able to do since Jerry’s job is “martial arts expert” and they were spending their honeymoon in Penny’s apartment instead of some romantic locale… so Penny is in her dark room with the red light and Jerry is in the bedroom with his blue balls. The film contained incriminating photos of Tygur linking him to the drug trade, but Jerry doesn’t want Penny using the man who saved his life to further her own career… but when Penny’s brother ends up dead (thanks to Luther rapid fire punching him repeatedly in the mid section more times than I could keep track of) and Penny is kidnapped… his loyalty to Tygur is dropped and he sets out to save the love of his life!
- That’ll Give You a Negative Attitude: After a proposed exchange film negatives for Penny goes sideways… things begin to escalate with Jerry getting some help from his friend Ronnie along the way, including the two chasing down Luther to a parking garage (one of the most dangerous places in all of action movies) where they have to contend with some motocross thugs on their bikes in a memorable scene… when that doesn’t take Jerry out of the picture, he is “visited” by three ninjas at his gym, and against all odds Jerry still comes out on top… that forces Luther to try some psychological warfare as he tapes Penny being sexually assaulted and then a personal message from him warning Jerry that the next package he is sent will be Penny! …Now Jerry has to take the fight to Tygur, Luther and the Ninja Army… so he throws on his awesome chainmail pattern ninja gear and heads to Tygur’s estate which means the movie is about to end with even more ninja action than in started with and this time I was fully aware of what was going on!
I have been meaning to check out more of Alexander Lo Rei’s work in the ninja genre ever since I saw him in Ninja Kids and now I kind of hate myself for waiting so long. Ninja in the USA was a solid three out of five shuriken in my opinion. I may have to consult ninja expert Keith Rainville of Vintage Ninja to point me in the direction of the next Alexander Lo Rei movie I should watch… because rest assured after my positive experience with Ninja in the USA, I will be watching more.
If you want more bullet points, check out these Bonus Bullet Points…
- Broken Chairs Everywhere: As a long time pro wrestling fan, I am no stranger to seeing in ring combatants getting hit with chairs usually the folding chair variety (steel preferably, but sometimes wood). But I don’t think I ever saw a guy in a ring get hit with a non-folding wooden chair until Jerry was attacked by the ninja in his gym and it happens more than once!
- AKA: Ninja in the USA is also known as USA Ninja.
- Familiar Face: I recognized Lee Ye-Min, who played Penny’s father in Ninja in the USA, from Golden Dragon, Silver Snake and more notably his booby trap death scene from that movie.
- One Complaint: Speaking of Penny’s father, Jerry refers to him as “dad” much like the annoying son-in-law in Death Wish. I could have done without that.
