Ninja: The Final Duel (1986)

NINJA: FINAL DUEL packs an awful lot of zany fun into its ninety minutes running time. With its naked kung fu chicks, water spider assault teams, jive-talking black monks, ninja swastika formations, cackling bad guys and long-eyebrowed Shaolin monks, this movie sounds like a dream-come-true for fans of trash cinema; but, thanks to a complete lack of a cohesive narrative, it ends up as something of a disappointment. Whilst I am the first to admit that a strong storyline isn't always a major requirement for a martial arts film, when a film feels as disjointed as NINJA: FINAL DUEL did, then I'm gonna start deducting points!A team of nasty ninjas plot to take over China, but are defeated by the legendary monks of the Shaolin Temple. Disgraced, the ninja leader commits Hara-kiri. After this failure, another team of fighters is gathered together for a new attack.After he is not picked for the new team of ninjas, talented fighter Wang Chi Chung travels to China to try to learn the secrets of Shaolin martial arts. When the evil ninjas finally launch their attack, Wang Chi Chung switches allegiance and uses his skills to help defeat the Japanese invaders.Pieced together from footage excised from a TV series, NINJA: FINAL DUEL really feels like a 'Frankenstein's monster' of a film, leaping awkwardly from one scene to another and introducing new characters at the drop of a hat. A dreadful voice-over introduces viewers to the ninjas at the beginning of the film, explaining their methods of training, but after that we are on our own; I strongly suggest forgetting about following the story and just concentrate on enjoying the crazy happenings and impressive acrobatic fight scenes.Better still, consume several pints of lager before watching; it can only improve your viewing experience.

This has got to be the most absurd ninja movie I've ever seen. And hence, it offered plenty of laughs, haha! Let's see: the music is directly lifted from Rambo 2, sonar pings when the ninjas are about to attack, a whistle that sounds like an Atari game that controls the ninjas, Shaolin fighting monks from California (complete with a tinfoil star on their forehead and clam shell earrings), a black Shaolin monk from Harlem (ghetto dialogue from AND to him), bloody violence, a lot of hearty laughing (the ninja's leader, after defeating the black monk, transports away three times, laughing at every stop), a fully nude female who does high kicks and splits in the air, and, of course, the Water Spider Assault Unit! The ninjas ride these large spider floats in the water. I tell you, there's nothing quite like watching ninjas scoot along the water, frantically kicking with their feet to move. It's astounding. Stars ninja flick regular, Alexander Lo Rei.

Ninja The Final Duel is a very entertaining ninja/kung fu flick, it has some great fights, a naked chick that fights, bloody deaths, ninjas, monks from all over the world and so on.The story is about the shaolin temple and its monks who are attacked by ninjas.On the one hand, the monks fight beautifully, and they also have a typical shaolin master who looks totally silly. Alexander Lou is some sort of a monk and a ninja. He usually hangs out with his friend who is categorized like him( His friend is the little Chinese guy who participated with Lou in Mafia Vs Ninja). Actually, his black friend who participated in Mafia Vs Ninja, The Super Ninja and Ninja The Final Duel appears later, and he fights well as he does in the other films.On the other hand, The ninjas have a great time of ninjas who can jump onto water spiders that can fight against the monks. Those ninjas know how to disappear mysteriously. Moreover, the ninjas have an evil leader who makes them slaughter monks and other Chinese people.Ninja The Final Duel is actually a fine ninja flick! It has good fights, cheesy and bloody fights, even though that The Super Ninja in which Alexander Lou participated too is much better. Recommended for the fans of cheesy martial art flicks! 7/10

This movie was full of very good, fast-paced Kung Fu fighting. Most of it was between Ninjas and Shaolin Monks. The presence of the Shaolin Temple in any Kung Fu movie is a good sign. I love to see ninjas in Kung Fu movies, and this movie used them wonderfully. This is a period film, that takes place devoid of any guns or modern technology. I vastly prefer period Kung Fu films to those set in present day.Some may say I am somewhat of a Kung Fu movie expert, and the only actor that I was familiar with in this movie was Alexander Lou, of "Shaolin Versus Lama" fame (which, by the way, is an incredible movie). Lou put s forth a great performance. The fighting is largely wire-free; most wire usage is limited to ninjas jumping from trees and other minor feats. There's lots of hand-to-hand combat, as well as plenty of weapon usage, particularly sticks and swords. The best aspect of the fighting (which is a very important one within all Kung Fu movies) is the fact that they are not too far apart. People watch Kung Fu movies to see Kung Fu fighting, and 45 minutes of solid plot-development just doesn't cut it. In that department, this film keeps the momentum fairly steady.In addition to the great fighting, this movie contained lots of very funny and amusing campiness. Any Kung Fu fanatic should understand that part of the Kung Fu movie charm is their characteristic camp-factors. This movie contains all the standards: ridiculously long facial hair/eyebrows, poorly-executed camera tricks, cliché zooms and pans. In addition to these delightful gems, the humor in this movie (be it intentional or not) goes above and beyond the call Buddha. These gems include disappearing ninjas, gimmicky cat costumes with tree-scaling claws, and ninjas with burrowing powers comparable to a mole. If you want to be surprised by hilarity, then skip to the next paragraph. But, for those of you who are curious about the 3 funniest parts of the movie... 1) I saw an overdubbed version. There was a black Shaolin monk from Harlem in the movie, whose voice was clearly that of a skinny white guy trying to sound like Isaac Hayes. And it only made it better that he spoke in stereotypical 70s street, with lines such as "She's ash, so don't give me this trash!" and "You must be jivin'!" and met with retorts such as "The ghetto in the sky is where you're headed!", "Don't give me that rap!", and simply "You black son of a bitch!" 2) The waterspiders, which are essentially spider-shaped rafts that ninjas ride, are possibly the lease graceful and lease effective device i have ever seen a ninja use. It's hilarious to watch them paddle their spiders around as they struggle to keep up with the Shaolin Monks. 3) Nothing beats full frontal fighting. A woman is bathing when ninjas attack, so naturally she jumps out of the tub and starts Kung Fu fighting with no modesty concerning her clearly visible cooch and boobies (to both the ninjas and the audience).In summary, I thought this movie delivered a good balance of expert fighting, and funny gimmicks. If you're looking for a moving drama, or a tear-jerking romance, then this movie is not for you. But who watches a Kung Fu movie expecting those things anyway? So, for being an authentic Kung Fu period piece that isn't afraid to be what it is, I give Ninja: The Final Duel an 8 out of 10. Not the best Kung fu movie I've ever seen, but certainly a worthy film that does the genre justice.