Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 3, 2023

Sam Firstenberg's "American Ninja 2: The Confrontation" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include two arrival audio commentaries; archival featurette with cast and crew interviews; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

In American Ninja 2: The Confrontation, Joe (Michael Dudikoff, River of Death) and Curtis (the late Steve James, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka) are sent to an unidentified tropical island where a number of marines have disappeared. They begin asking questions and quickly upset the drug kingpin Leo "The Lion", who has every single member of the local government reporting to him.

After he clashes with a few of Leo’s thugs, Joe discovers that he has kidnapped a famous scientist (Ralph Draper) and ordered him to create an army of fearless ninja warriors. Then he meets the scientist’s beautiful daughter (Michelle Botes) and together with Curtis they enter a heavily guarded compound where the ninjas are cloned. At this point, Joe has all the evidence he needs to conclude that Leo’s syndicate is responsible for the disappearances.

Sam Firstenberg's sequel to American Ninja is a silly little film that follows exactly the same route its predecessor did. Its plot makes little sense, if at all, but admittedly there is plenty of the same enthusiasm that made the first film fun to watch.

Because the script is so outlandish that it makes little sense to worry about its loose ends, the focus of attention is strictly on a series of action sequences in which Dudikoff and James hurt their opponents in a variety of different ways. These fights, however, are beyond exotic. For example, there are suspiciously elegant ninjas that appear even more suspiciously slow and when confronted frequently collapse with striking enthusiasm. Then there are the clones that Leo has gathered in his heavily guarded compound, acting like humanoid robots who respond only to the voice of their delusional leader, who have trouble dealing with a bunch of marines that appear far better skilled in the art of killing. In a local bar, Dudikoff and James also clash with some overweight thugs that very much look like the retired members of a once glorious heavy metal band.

The island where the action takes place is the type of paradise healthy straight men dream of -- there are so many stunningly beautiful girls showing as much skin as possible that more often than not it feels like they are participating in a giant event that is filmed by multiple hidden cameras. The moves are that impressive and the inviting looks and smiles practically beg to be censored.

This really is a classic bad Cannon Group film. It is flat-out surreal, but perfect to see with a group of friends who can share a few drinks together. There is a good chance that their girlfriends will enjoy it as well, because if there ever was an action film that outdoes Top Gun in the “you can never have enough handsome shirtless guys” department, then this film is certainly it.

Firstenberg shot the film with cinematographer Gideon Porath. The two also collaborated on the action thriller Avenging Force (another very entertaining film with Dudikoff and James).

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, American Ninja 2: The Confrontation arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

In the United States, American Ninja 2: The Confrontation made its high-definition debut with this release from Olive Films in 2016. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from the same master the folks at Olive Films worked with to prepare their release.

I did several comparisons with the previous release to see if I can spot any meaningful discrepancies in the new technical presentation. I did not. Unlike the Olive Films release, this release uses a dual-layer disc, but the limitations of the master show in the same areas. For example, while quite good, a lot of the panoramic shots can and should convey superior depth, occasionally even clarity as well. Generally speaking, grain exposure could be more convincing too, though it has to be underscored that one of the biggest strengths of this master is the lack of compromising digital work. Color balance is stable. However, saturation levels should be better, and some ranges of nuances can be expanded. Image stability is very good. A few nicks can be seen, but there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The overall quality of the audio track is very good. I think that if someone remasters the original audio in the future, the only improvements will be in terms of balance. However, I do not think that they would make a noticeable difference because the key qualities of the current track are solid. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report.

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - director Sam Firstenberg and producer Elijah Drenner (A Rumble in the Jungle: The Making of American Ninja) return for a second commentary that offers an equally impressive amount of factual information. Sam Firstenberg explains that in addition to the first American Ninja film Chuck Norris rejected Avenging Force, which was apparently a much more ambitious project with a substantially bigger budget. The director admits that he considers Avenging Force to be better than the American Ninja films but clarifies that it was not as successful at the box office. There is plenty of information about the script for the second film, the casting process, the shooting in South Africa, the evolution of Michael Dudikoff and Steve James' characters (in the first film they are reluctant heroes, but in this film they have different personas), the stunt guys that were hired (many were apparently Australians looking for work in South Africa), David Bradley's involvement with American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt and American Ninja 4: The Annihilation, etc. This commentary first appeared on the Olive Films release of the film.

• Commentary Two - this audio commentary was recorded by Sam Firstenberg and stunt coordinator BJ Davis. It is essentially one big walk down memory lane, with plenty of recollections about the choreography of various actions sequences, the attitude and work of the stars before the camera, some interesting stylistic choices that were made, the transition from the first film and its effect on the characterizations, etc. The commentary first appeared on the 88 Films release of the film.

• An American Ninja in Cape Town - this archival featurette focuses on the production history of American Ninja 2: The Confrontation. Included in it are brand new interviews with director Sam Firstenberg, actors Michael Dudikoff and Gary Conway, executive producer Avi Lerner and stunt coordinator BJ Davis. The featurette was produced exclusively for Olive Films. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for American Ninja 2: The Confrontation. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sam Firstenberg's sequel to American Ninja is a classic bad Cannon Group film. It makes very little sense, but it really is perfect to see with a group of friends. The key to enjoying the film is to approach it with the right mindset. For what it's worth, I have always liked it quite a bit more than the original film. This release from Kino Lorber is sourced from the same older but good organic master that the folks at Olive Films worked with to produce their release of the film in 2016. However, it has a superior selection of bonus features. RECOMMENDED.