American Ninja 2: The Confrontation
1987; directed by Sam Firstenberg

Since American Ninja was such a runaway success, a sequel was inevitable. Well, okay, it really wasn't a box office smash or anything, but it did turn a profit, so Cannon Films and the producing team of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus -- never ones to shy away from making a quick buck -- set the gears in motion for American Ninja 2. But how would they set up the next adventure for everyone's favorite gaijin karate expert, Joe (Michael Dudikoff)?

The answer, my friends, comes in the form of super ninjas. That's right, super ninjas. Joe and his sidekick, Jackson (Steve James) are sent by the army to some unnamed Carribean country to help out a marine detachment guarding the local embassy -- though the marines seem to spend all of their time surfing and drinking. Anyway, there have been several abductions of marines, and lo and behold, after some canny detective work, Joe finds out that the marines were snatched for genetic experimentation so a drug lord can grow an army of super ninjas to guard his stash.

Yes, I'm serious, that's the plot. Super ninjas. And these aren't even the cool super ninjas that were presented in Chinese Super Ninja (aka Five Element Ninja). The super ninjas here are anything but, and manage to get their ass kicked by even some of the minor characters. Even the main henchman -- who you would think could at least put up some sort of fight -- goes down quicker than a Lake Street hooker looking for her next crack fix.

And that's American Ninja 2's main problem. The inane story, cheeseball acting, and shit-ton of continuity errors might be forgiven if the action was solid, but it's really not because the viewer never gets the sense that lil' Mikey is actually ever in peril. But, at the end of the day, American Ninja 2 is really just a suitably brainless action flick that oozes 80's style, right down to the greasy mullets. Hell, the movie even features freakin' Bang Tango on the soundtrack.

In the respect of giving viewers that grew up in the decade a nice 80's flashback, American Ninja 2 succeeds -- though just barely. One gets the sense that the film-makers weren't really trying all that hard with this production, and people debating whether to view this should treat it much the same. If it's readily available (i.e., on some random cable station while you're channel surfing) then you might want to check it out. But in no way is this entry in the mighty Michael Dudikoff's filmography actually worth wasting time or money to hunt down.

RATING: 5