Enter the Ninja Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Enter the Ninja Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 16, 2016

Menahem Golan's "Enter the Ninja" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Cole

Note: Menahem Golan's "Enter the Ninja" is part of Eureka Entertainment's The Ninja Trilogy Blu-ray box set.

Menahem Golan's Enter the Ninja is one of those films that are great to see very late at night. It relaxes you and then slowly makes you fall asleep. The best of these films were made during the late 1980s and early 1990s by small studios that no longer exist.

Franco Nero is Cole, an army veteran who has traveled to Japan and trained hard to become a ninja. After he receives a scroll that certifies him as Master of Ninjutsu, Cole travels to the Philippines to visit Frank, an old friend who years ago saved his life. When they meet, Cole realizes that his friend has become an alcoholic and is on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown. Frank’s beautiful wife, Mary Ann (Susan George, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry), tells Cole why -- because a powerful local businessman (Christopher George, City of the Living Dead) has tried to force them to sell their property and the pressure has collapsed their marriage. Soon after, the businessman’s thugs appear, but Cole kicks them out and decides to extend his stay to protect his friend. Eventually, the businessman hires Cole’s rival from his training days in Japan, Hasegawa (Shi Kosugi, Black Eagle), to kill him and deal with everyone else that questions his authority.

There is a lot of enthusiasm in this film, but it isn’t enough to mask its mediocrity. The script, in particular, is very weak. There are so many questionable relationships and subplots that it would be a lot easier to name the few that actually make some sense. For example, it isn’t surprising that Frank’s beautiful wife quickly jumps in Cole’s bed. It also isn’t surprising that Hasegawa can’t stand Cole -- as a ninja, he is absolutely appalling. The remaining elements of the story are basically all over the place and so incompatible that it is hard to believe that someone thought that they would actually work.

The real problem, however, is the quality of the acting -- it simply isn’t good enough. Indeed, these types of action films do not always require solid scripts, but they need the right actors that understand the project they are committing to and what is expected of them. In this film, the wrong actors are asked to play the wrong characters. Nero, for instance, isn’t the right actor to play the veteran-turned-ninja. His body posture and especially the way he looks at his opponents would be far more appropriate for a reformed Italian gangster in a Fernando Di Leo film. Kosugi brings the right energy to the film, but because the atmosphere is so awkward, it routinely looks like he is overreacting. (See the end of Cole’s training course). Then there is George whose character clearly wants to connect with someone that actually understands how she feels but instead is forced to look tough with a rifle that is way too big for her.

The action -- which is almost certainly the reason why you want to see the film -- is also average at best. There are a lot of loud sounds and noises that are used to enhance the intensity of the fights, but many of the supporting actors are too slow and too stiff to be taken seriously.

The editing is very uneven. There are many awkward cuts and transitions, which create the impression that plenty of the footage was hastily put together.

Enter the Ninja 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, Menahem Golan's Enter the Ninja arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release has been scoured from a pre-existing master with quite a few rough spots. Most close-ups tend to look rather soft and in some cases even disappointingly flat. The wider panoramic shots also lack proper depth. Light grain is visible, but grain exposure should be much, much more convincing. Contrast levels remain relatively stable, but there are different segments where it is very easy to tell that they should be better balanced. Similar is the case with color reproduction -- color saturation should be much more convincing and there should be a wider range of healthy nuances. The good news here is that there are no traces of recent problematic sharpening corrections. Overall image stability is also good. However, some minor scratches, specks, and stains can be seen throughout the entire film. All in all, the current master for this film is dated and has plenty of obvious limitations, though it should be said that because no attempts have been made to repolish it the technical presentation is acceptable. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Enter the Ninja Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

It immediately becomes obvious that the audio has not been fully remastered, but depth and clarity remain very pleasing throughout the entire film. During the action sequences some of the effects tend to stick out, but balance is good. There is no distracting background hiss or distortions in the high-frequencies.

Enter the Ninja Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Enter the Ninja. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Booklet - a booklet featuring new writing and archival imagery. The booklet is included with the box set.

Enter the Ninja Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I like the overwhelming majority of Franco Nero's films, but as a ninja he is very unconvincing. Nero is most effective in the various westerns and crime films he made in Europe with the likes of Sergio Corbucci, Damiano Damiani, Elio Petri, and Enzo Castellari. Menahem Golan's Enter the Ninja is rightfully considered an important film as it inspired plenty of similarly themed genre films, but unless you have already seen it and know that you wish to own it, my advice is to find a way to rent it first before you commit to a purchase. The film is included in Eureka Entertainment's upcoming The Ninja Trilogy box set. RENT IT.