American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 21, 2016

Cedric Sundstrom's "American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival footage from a casting session with David Bradley; and exclusive new featurette with cast and crew interview. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The New Ninja

There is no denying that David Bradley is a handsome guy who moves quite well in front of the camera, but his personality has little in common with that of the original American Ninja played by Michael Dudikoff. Bradley looks more like a buff surfer who took some martial arts lessons and then suddenly decided to try his luck in the film business. This isn’t to imply that something authentic was lost with Dudikoff’s departure -- after all he does not look like a real ninja either -- but Bradley’s presence instantly gives American Ninja 3: Blood Lust a very different vibe.

The bulk of the film is set in some exotic country that is hosting a big martial arts tournament. Sean Davidson (Bradley) and Curtis Jackson (James) are representing the United States and are convinced that they have what it takes to bring home the biggest prize. However, soon after the fights begin the yanks clash with ninjas that have been hired to protect The Cobra (Marjoe Gortner, Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw, Hellhole), a very powerful and slightly mad criminal who is developing a deadly virus that will help him expand his organization. When the two try to expose The Cobra and his dangerous plan to the authorities and are told that he is the biggest investor on the island and that the local economy depends on him, they decide to bring him down without external help. This turns out to be a rather tricky deal as The Cobra dispatches an army of ninjas to take care of the Americans.

The plot is very underwhelming. Basically, after Sean and Curtis land on the island the script sends them against different groups of amateurs that promptly get their asses kicked in different locations. There are a few twists involving Sean’s mentor, Izumo (Calvin Jung, The Challenge), and a beautiful female ninja (Michele Chan) who has been protecting The Cobra, but they are nothing more than weak pretexts to move the camera from one location to another and film the same fights over and over again. They are not particularly good either. On more than a few occasions some of the ninjas that attack Sean and Curtis actually appear to be waiting to be hit so that they can fall back in some exotic way while producing loud noises. Some of these are so bad that they actually become funny.

The acting is a mixed bag. In some of the fights Bradley actually looks pretty good, but elsewhere it feels like he is very much aware that the camera is pointed at him and is trying to come up with the very best moves. When this happens the entire scene looks awfully sterile. There are similar moments with James who utters all sorts of awkward lines that are supposed to be funny but miss their mark and make him look very silly. Evan Klisser is also brought in to play a bubbly wacko who would have been a lot more convincing in something like Hardbodies.

The great Harry Alan Towers produced this film, but anyone expecting the same type of quality visuals that defined the projects he was involved with during the 1960s and 1970s will be hugely disappointed. Indeed, the cinematography is very bland while the editing choices are frequently flat-out problematic.

(Towers was very prolific as a producer and writer. Some of his best collaborations were with cult Spanish director Jess Franco. For a taste of his most effective work, see The Girl from Rio, Venus in Furs, and Eugenie).

American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt 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, Cedric Sundstrom's American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The release has been sourced from a pre-existing master, but the film looks good in high-definition. There are a few segments -- mostly indoor/darker footage -- where depth isn't optimal and the larger your screen is, the easier it will be to spot the limitations of the master that was used, but even there definition remains convincing (see screencapture #2). Colors are stable, balanced and natural, never appearing artificially boosted. However, saturation certainly can be improved. There are no traces of recent degraining or sharpening adjustments. Ideally grain should be better exposed and resolved, but there are no troubling anomalies here. In fact, a lot of the daylight footage looks quite wonderful. Image stability is excellent. Also, there are no transition issues or distracting age-related imperfections. All in all, while there is certainly room for cosmetic improvements, this is a very healthy organic presentation of American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt. (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 location).

American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt 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.

Depth and clarity are quite good, but there seems to be a limit as to how much the lossless track can open up different segments. Balance in the mid- and high registers is good, though it does not appear that the audio was remastered. The dialog is always clean, stable, and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in the review.

American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• David Bradley Audition Tape - presented here is archival footage from a casting session with David Bradley. VHS quality. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Strike Me Deadly: The Making of American Ninja 3 - this brand new featurette focuses on the production history of American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt, legendary producer Harry Alan Towers' involvement with the project, the problematic script, and the casting of David Bradley. Included in the featurette are clips from new interviews with Michael Dudikoff, director Cedric Sundstrom, executive producer Avi Lerner, and actor Gary Conway. The featurette was produced exclusively for Olive Films. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I don't think that David Bradley was the wrong guy to replace Michael Dudikoff, but the truth is that he gives this film a very different vibe, and it is not the American Ninja vibe that one should rightfully expect from it. The bigger issue here is that different components of the film -- the script, the cinematography, and even the editing -- are quite problematic. It just feels like a lot of people were pulling in different directions and never quite figured out what type of film they wanted to deliver. Similar to American Ninja and American Ninja 2: The Confrontation, this release also offers exclusive new bonus content that was produced by Olive Films.