Godfrey Ho may be one of his generation’s most prolific action filmmakers. Having amassed more than three hundred credits in a three-decade career is nothing short of astounding. Almost all of them were martial arts or ninja-oriented, of varying quality. Neon Eagle Video has brought one of Ho’s more popular titles to disc with the release of Ninja Terminator (1986).
If you trolled the video stores in the late ’80s or ’90s, the original cover art will spark something in your memory. I would argue that his work with Cynthia Rothrock in films like Undefeatable (1993) or Honor and Glory (1992) may take that place, but Ninja Terminator follows closely behind.
A ruthless band of ninjas battles for control of the ultimate relic of their deadly art, the Golden Ninja Warrior statue! At the same time, a lone secret agent works to dismantle a powerful crime syndicate, only to discover its mysterious connection to the coveted artifact. But let’s be honest, the plot’s just an excuse. The real draw is the nonstop barrage of gloriously over-the-top, cheese-drenched action that’ll grip you from the opening brawl to the outrageous final showdown!
The plot of the film is basically just thrown out the window. You get the setup, and that’s all you need since you’re treated to non-stop action. The martial arts scenes come every few minutes with a car chase thrown in for good measure. The film is only offered in the English-dubbed version, so you can count on a handful of laughs based on the process.
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There are plenty of weird moments, including sword practice with a watermelon, the use of a Garfield the Cat telephone, cheap wigs, remote-controlled toys, swords that shoot fire or smoke, teleporting ninjas, and so much more.
The cast of Richard Harrison, Wong Cheng Lee, Jack Lam, Philip Ko, and others serves their purpose of delivering the fights. The action is done really well, exciting stuff, which was obviously the only genuine concern of the production team, and at that time, was enough.
Neon Eagle previously released a limited two-disc edition of Ninja Terminator, which included a bonus film, The Uninvited Guest of the Star Ferry, and an IFD Ninja trailer compilation. The standard edition consists of a wealth of bonuses that include two commentary tracks, an interview with Godfrey Ho, an interview with Ho and dubber Simon Broad on dubbing the film, an interview with Chris Poggiali, the author of These Fists Break Bricks, and a trailer. There was a 4K film restoration from the original negative (presented in 1080p), which looks great except for some weird yellow artifacting during the final fight.
Overall, Ninja Terminator is a memorable entry in the genre and the pure definition of so bad that it’s good.
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