American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1989

The American Ninja series continues in the third entry: Blood Hunt. Unfortunately, it doesn't continue for the better. In this entry Curtis Jackson meets up with a new American ninja, and together they take on an army of genetically engineered ninjas commanded by Cobra, a ruthless businessman pandering deadly viruses to terrorists around the world.

The problem? While the first two were great popcorn flicks that possessed plenty of superb action scenes and a fun vibe, this movie almost tries to take itself seriously… a big mistake considering the inferior acting and choreography.

As American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt opens we witness a young Sean Davidson observe the death of his father. Normally such a scene would tug at the heartstrings a bit, but the boy acted so reprehensibly bad that the viewer could only wish the gunman shot him alongside his father.

Instead, a ninjitsu master takes it upon himself to raise the boy and teach him the arts of the ninja (the motives for imparting such art on an American boy were never given, of course) and the movie flashes ahead to several years later. Sean (David Bradley) is now a famous karate master entering a championship on a Caribbean island, where he stumbles across Curtis Jackson (Steve James), who is also entering the competition.

Meanwhile, a businessman named Cobra (Marjoe Gortner) is sponsoring a meeting with the world's terrorists at his East Bay Laboratories. He's trying to sell deadly viruses to the terrorists, but the terrorists aren't convinced; they want proof that viral warfare is an effective killer (!?). Now I can't claim to know anything about terrorism and such, but I do think any terrorist that doesn't know the potency of viral warfare is in dire need of finding a new occupation.

Putting such a lame plot premise on the shelf for the time being, Cobra comes up with the perfect solution. He will capture Sean and inject him with the virus so that the terrorists can see that it will kill even the toughest men.

Sean stumbles into an ambush setup by Cobra's master ninja, Chan Lee (Michele B. Chan), but he escapes and tells his two buddies about his encounter:

Sean: He was being kidnapped by the ninja.
Jackson: Ninja. Not again.

At this time, I shared Jackson's sentiments. American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt was taking me down the road of monotony and excruciating acting rather than excitement and cheesy fun like the previous two entries.

A plan is devised whereby Sean will sneak into the well-guarded East Bay Laboratories via plane (don't ask – go with it), but his plan fails when he's captured and injected with the virus. While he's dying, Chan Lee has a change of heart and betrays Cobra, beckoning Curtis Jackson and Dexter (some schmuck they met along the way) to help her rescue Sean.

Jackson: I can't believe I'm looking for ninjas. I thought I stopped doing this when I left Joe back at the Army.

You can only wish, buddy. It probably would have been a good idea to stay far, far away from this movie like your buddy Joe Armstrong.

Anyhow, Sean meets up with Cobra in the lab, but he's on deaths door and slumps to the floor. Cobra turns around to fiddle with some paperwork while Sean dies, but being the bad ass ninja that Sean is he instead recalls the words of his master from so long ago: "Mind and soul over your body." Before you can say abracadabra, Sean is bathed in light and healed of the fatal virus.

Bleh… that antic was so far-fetched and lame that it stretches the allowable range of even popcorn action flicks, but I'll forgive it; after all, the big payout of all martial arts action films is coming – the confrontation with the dangerous Cobra and the "heroic" Sean. Two punches and a kick later, Cobra is passed out on the floor. What!? I suffered through 90 minutes or so of abominable acting, cruddy storytelling and disjointed action for this?

In case I have been a little subtle about my feelings so far, permit me to be a little more blunt: American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt sucked! I'd try and count the ways, but I don't have all week to drone on and on about its faults, so I'll summarize the flaws quickly.

First, the absence of Michael Dudikoff seriously hurt this film. Dudikoff may not be a great actor, but he had a certain charm about him that made him and his buddy Jackson entertaining to watch. David Bradley, the new American ninja, may have had the physique for the part, but other than that he stunk. His acting was poor and he didn't have the chemistry or style to help overcome his faults.

Steve James, who is normally a lot of fun in these films, stomped about aimlessly through this movie like a drunk lost in a hedge maze. He was still sorta likeable, but he didn't have any onscreen chemistry with Bradley. Part of what made the original two so fun was Dudikoff and James' easy-going flow together; Dudikoff's quiet boyish charm perfectly complimented James' frenetic nature. With that lacking, the rug was swept right out from under this third entry.

As far as secondary actors are concerned, the series went from cheesy in the last two films to atrocious in this one. Popcorn flick fans will understand the difference between the two, even if serious critics could not. Cheesy isn't good, but it's still fun, whereas atrocious is just plain painful and unpleasant to watch.

Storylines are never a strong point or major factor in mindless action films, but American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt was poor even by normal popcorn standards. But that's forgivable if the action is solid, which it most decidedly was not in this film. The first two were fluid and semi-believable, whereas this one is clumsy and haphazard. A high school bully can fight with more skill than most of the "ninja" in this film.

But there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for DVD owners! The wise decision was made to package American Ninja 2 and 3 together for the price of one, so if you want to test your stamina for bad movies with Blood Hunt, you can later wash your mouth of the bad taste by watching the second movie in the series, The Confrontation, which was a far superior and more enjoyable action romp.

Movie rating: 4 stars

If you enjoyed American Ninja 3 you may also find the following films to be of interest:

Enjoy the American Ninja 3 experience in the comfort of your own home with these products!

DVD

Poster

American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt
Buy this Mini Poster at AllPosters.com

Other Resources:

American Ninja 3 IMDb Page

Movie Sitemap

Wondering if the Netflix service is all
it's cracked up to be? Read our
detailed review and find out!