20 Reasons Why You Rock: Ninja III: The Domination
Ninja III: The Domination opened in theaters on September 14, 1984. It was the final chapter in Cannon’s Ninja Trilogy and the final collaboration between Cannon and Shô Kosugi. It was unlike any of Cannon’s other ninja films, combining a variety of elements that most would not consider compatible. But most importantly, Ninja III: The Domination absolutely rocked…
#1. Any movie that starts off with the Cannon logo, is off to a great start. Cannon’s contribution to the 1980s ninja craze can not be overlooked, for some Cannon and Ninja Movies were synonymous.
#2. The golf course massacre scene is a thing of action beauty. The evil Black Ninja amasses a huge body count with some help from a variety of ninja tricks and tools… including the always popular shuriken and some blow darts. I am not sure anyone will rank Ninja III over its predecessor Revenge of the Ninja, but I believe a strong argument can be made for the golf course massacre being a superior opening action scene. It even includes an exploding helicopter!
#3. Repurposing the music from Enter the Ninja and Revenge of the Ninja is a total Cannon move and honestly it was the right move. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
#4. The music wasn’t the only thing that was back for Ninja III: The Domination… two key crew members who helped make Revenge of the Ninja one of the greatest ninja movies of all-time were back as well… I am of course talking about the dream team of Director Sam Firstenberg and stunt coordinator Steve Lambert.
#5. Cannon obviously had big plans for the star of the movie, Lucinda Dickey, who played Christie Ryder. To her credit, Lucinda jumped right into the unfamiliar world of action movies and gave it her all… whether she was being a ninja assassin, a telephone repairperson, an aerobics instructor or having a demon exorcised from her body.
#6. Speaking of demons… props to David Chung as the Black Ninja. Action movies need quality bad guys and the Black Ninja wastes no time establishing his badness when he wipes out a chunk of the Phoenix PD. Then immediately cements his bad guy status when he possesses an innocent woman, who was trying to help him.
#7. Christie Ryder’s apartment is an awesome 80s pad… her eclectic decorating style includes a Bouncer arcade game and a payphone as her telephone (no doubt a perk of her job). Christie’s place gets even cooler when she adds the katana she received from the Black Ninja!
#8. Cannon knew exactly what they were doing with the aerobics class scene… this is a time when you could flip on cable tv and enjoy the sight of women in their tight leotards doing aerobics routines. Cannon knew there was an audience for it and they delivered.
#9. Getting to see the horny gym bros, who may have been enjoying watching the aerobics class a bit to much, have their asses handed to them by Christie is a real crowd pleaser, both for the onlookers in the movie itself and those of us watching at home.
#10. Ninja III: The Domination has the most memorable V8 product placement in movie history without question.
#11. I have a fondness and an appreciation for the days of practical effects in movies and there are plenty of practical effects used to create the supernatural moments in Ninja III. The floating sword, the strobe and laser lights… it’s the definition of “simple but effective”.
#12. The fact that I have made it to the second half of the list without mentioning the man himself, Shô Kosugi, is a testament to how much this movie rocks! Kosugi was the constant in all three movies in Cannon’s Ninja Trilogy. In this one, Kosugi plays Goro Yamada and he has a sweet ass eye patch, making him look more badass than ever before.
#13. If you ever wanted to see a billiards ball cut in half by a katana… Ninja III: The Domination is the movie for you!
#14. Was that a “bastard” I heard dropped during the hot tub scene!?!? You better believe it!
#15. When Christie’s policeman beau, Billy Secord (Jordan Bennett), decides that Christie may need some non-traditional help for the non-traditional problems she is experiencing, they turn to an exorcist named Miyashima, played by the always delightful James Hong.
#16. I applaud the movie for going the extra mile and giving us the backstory via flashback of how Kosugi’s Goro Yamada ended up wearing an eyepatch.
#17. Ninja III could have rested on its laurels with the amazing golf course massacre at the start of the film, but instead it doubles down with the funeral scene and Christie as the possessed ninja shooting cops with arrows, before she takes out two motorcycle cops, leading to Christie being chased down by a police cruiser and battling cops amongst the gravestones.
#18. The action doesn’t slow down either, because following the cemetery scene… we get our first ninja vs. ninja battle, with Christie vs. Goro Yamada in an abandoned house!
#19. Ninja III: The Domination then wraps up with two valuable lessons. The first, thanks to the unique romance between Christie and Billy, is that love conquers all!
#20. The second was confirmation that only a ninja can destroy a ninja as Goro Yamada defeats the Black Ninja in the second ninja vs. ninja battle and sends his demon ass back to hell!
