A young martial artist seeks revenge on the Ninja who kills his martial arts brothers and teacher. He finds help in the form of a new teacher (who knows Ninjitsu) and new brothers. Together the four pupils face the Five Element Ninja challenge: Wood, Earth, Gold, Water, and Fire.From retrospective reviews, AllMovie described the film as "a legend amongst fans of Asian cult fare and for once, the legend lives up to the hype." The review noted that the plot sticks to simple martial arts tropes, while noting that the "actual methods used are so off the wall that no fan will care" and that "the final twenty minutes is the kind of high-kicking bloodbath that is guaranteed to leave any fan of these films smiling and slackjawed. Thus, Five Element Ninjas is the kind of gloriously over-the-top blowout that every genre fan needs to see." Sure, we have that same shallow backdrop we have come to expect from Chang Cheh, and we can say this film is cheesy with all its camera tricks and explosive punches. Haven't we seen this a million times by now? But you know what, this may be among the best of its kind, at least since "Five Deadly Venoms". Ninjas wrapping a guy up in chains and making him explode? Oh yeah, that happens. This is a lot more than punches and kicks, and it seems more like something Troma or Cannon would do. I absolutely love it.

Director Cheh Chang who also created other classic Shaw Brothers martial arts flicks, Boxer from Shantung 1972, Golden Swallow 1968, The Heroic Ones 1970, Men from the Monastery 1974, The New One-Armed Swordsman 1971, The One-Armed Swordsman 1967, Return of the One-Armed Swordsman 1969, Crippled Avengers 1978, Shaolin Temple 1976 and the classic flick, Vengeance 1970 has created another gem in Five Element Ninja.Starring Meng Lo who has also been in other classic flicks, Hard-Boiled 1992 and Cheh Chang's Crippled Avengers and Shaolin Temple.Also starring Iien Hsiang Lung.Also starring Tien-chi Cheng.I enjoyed the fight scenes and the violence.If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic Shaw Brothers martial arts flicks, Come Drink with Me 1966, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin 1978, The Chinese Boxer 1970, 5 Fingers of Death 1972, Eight Diagram Pole Fighter 1984, The Killer 1972, Killer Clans 1976, The Magic Blade 1976, Master of the Flying Guillotine 1976, The Avenging Eagle 1978, Killer Constable 1980 and Heroes of the East 1978.

Super Ninjas is a hilariously great Shaw brother's kung fu film. It's very gory, has hilarious costuming, and very poor dubbing. easily one of the most amusing kung fu films i have seen, the first time I saw it I nearly fell out of my chair laughing, and my friend did. Two kung fu schools are about to square off in a tournament to decided which is supreme. One side, the 'good guys' wear odd and slightly homo-erotic white costumes. After 9 fights the fruity white kung fu school seems to be dominating. The 10th match is reserved for the respective masters to square off. The leader of the 'bad guys' has a Japanese samurai take his place. The Samurai is defeated but before he commits seppuku he promises his good friend, a ninja would come and take revenge for him, then he flicks a ring at the victorious Kung Fu master, the ring bruises his palm, and it is later revealed that the poison will prevent him from using any Kung Fu for six months. Sometime later the victorious Kung Fu school gets a challenge from the five element ninjas. It seems the ninja has come to get revenge for the Samurais failure. The elements are Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The Kung Fu master decided that the challenge must be met and dispatches 9 of his best Kung Fu fighters to meet the ninjas. He retains 2 of his best men as well as scores of under-trained ninja fodder to guard the base. While the Kung Fu champs fight valiantly they are all killed fairly quickly, with the exception of the guy who fights the Earth element. He fights like a lion; he is severely wounded but continues to fight, only stopped after he trips and falls over his own free-hanging entrails. This battle sequence is awesome, very poorly dubbed and a bit cheesy but its half an hour of nonstop action and serious gore. Soon after the corpses of the fallen fighters are returned to the base, the surviving members of the Kung Fu school are shocked. They work to fortify their headquarters for the impending ninja attack. When the Ninjas attack the school is unready and most of the students are slaughtered quickly. Only the retained champions are able to put up a decent fight. They desperately defend their poisoned master, hiding in his bedroom. One of the champions' falls and the ninjas firebomb the master's room. Oddly enough the Kung Fu master responds to the fire in his bedroom by throwing all the flammable things he can find on the fire. After he throws his last blanket on the fire he is overcome by the heat and smoke and dies. the last Kung Fu champion, Tien-hao escapes, while fleeing through the woods he is caught in a rope trap set by an elderly ninja. He takes refuge with the elderly Ninja and his three sons. There he learns the ninja ways, and strategies to defeat the five elements via a great martial arts montage. Tien-hao and his three new brothers are equipped with an odd ax like weapon that is really 12 weapons in one. Armed with these weapons and skills Tien-hao pays a visit to the Ninja master whose men had annihilated his home and killed his brothers and master. A duel is set. This time the Kung Fu fighters are well trained and anticipate the Ninja's every move.Gold: These ninjas have golden hats which double as shields.. they also launch knives. The reflective golden surfaces of the hat/shields blinds their foes. But the brothers and Tien-hao are ready using part of their multi-weapon to block the glare.. the gold ninjas are butchered once their hat-shields are destroyed. Wood: These ninjas hide in trees and in tree costumes. This is a very hilarious battle, the ninja trees try to claw the Kung Fu warriors and hit them with throwing stars. The warriors counter by jumping into the trees and by using a scythe on a chain to grab the wood ninjas from safety. The last wood ninja is caught by a flying scythe on each hand and foot.. then in a hilarious stunt that defies all laws of physics with one combined tug by all four warriors the ninja is torn from limb to limb. Water: These ninja use reeds and swim underwater ready to strike the Kung Fu warriors at just the right moment. Again the warriors are ready for the water ninja tricks. They pull nets out of their weapon and trap the ninjas in the water and then skewer them. Out of nowhere the warriors start skating on the water's surface to catch the last fleeing ninja. Fire: These ninja's use smoke flares to blind their enemies. Yet the multi-weapon allows use of banners which disperse the smoke so the warriors can see. Once the flares and smoke are driven away the fire ninjas are quickly defeated.Earth: These ninjas attack from the underground, shooting spears up through the ground to hamstring their opponents. This time the multi-weapons turn into stilts with spear bottoms that pierce the ground to kill the ninjas hiding underground. When the last earth ninja is skewered the Ninja grandmaster explodes to the surface for the ultimate showdown. Tien-hao with his 3 brothers engage the master, though they fight valiantly and with much skill the grand master ninja is too strong. Tien-hao attempts a dangerous gambit, allowing himself to be mortally wounded to get close enough to handcuff the Ninja's feet. Now bound the ninja is no match for the three brothers. The grandmaster ninja is killed, torn in half as he tries to escape, and Tien-hao lives just long enough to see that his revenge is compete. This is an awesomely bad Kung Fu flick.. if you enjoy early cheesy gory Kung Fu films then Super Ninjas is a must see.

It all started when I turned 9 and was allowed to stay up past midnight and watch VHS movies with some friends...The previous day I had skulked the local video store and found a beat up half sun baked faded video named"Chinese Super Ninjas." All I can say is that title does not lie. Since then I've converted all my friends (and family) Into the glory that is "Wu dun ren shu." Years later my wife even rented out the local Art House Theater and screened it for my 25th Birthday party. It was glorious, and I soon found myself in tears fighting life size projections of my personal heroes. Who can forget?!?"I've been poisoned, I can't use my powers for three months." "Don't do it! Losing is not unusual!" "I'm unworthy!" (Slices jugular with tinfoil axe)The dirt (earth) ninjas The tree ninjas (the one in the McDonald's playground tree) The dripping thigh bacon (then stepping on it!) The wonderful Shaw gore, sets, and sound effects… And so much moreStory ** Cinematography * Entertainment ***** Lasting Impression *****