MASK OF THE NINJA is a modern attempt to breathe life into the ninja genre, which has been dormant since the mid-to-late '80s. That it is only moderately successful is really down to the production company behind it, the same guys who also made KUNG FU KILLER and STREET WARRIOR. A low budget and TV movie atmosphere don't add much to the fun of the thing, but it is quite an entertaining little movie, even in a bad way. The ninjas themselves are probably the worst aspect of the production. Instead of lean, stealthy, Japanese warriors, these are heavy Americans who wander down the street without attracting attention. They look like guys with balaclavas wearing boiler suits instead of the age-old assassins they're supposed to represent.Still, they don't skimp on the throwing stars and killing methods, which means this is a film with plenty of cheesy action. There are a handful of standout moments and the action-packed ending is fairly decent, with lots of sword impalement. I loved the shot where the ninjas burst through a glass wall right behind Van Dien and stick a star in his arm. There are also a couple of other stand-out moments, including a grisly massacre in a police station that recalls THE TERMINATOR, except that it's even more violent. The director seems to go out of his way to show the innocent being slain in gruesome ways (throat slashing, etc.) but one beef I have is that you never see the ninjas die gorily, and that's the fun of genre classics like MAFIA VS. NINJA.Speaking of gore, this is a pretty gruesome little film, and there's one memorable torture scene that seems to come straight out of HOSTEL: PART II as one poor sod is strung up, bloodied with knives and then castrated by a sadistic Asian girl. It doesn't have much to do with the rest of the film, it's just thrown in to shock the viewer. The cast are pretty decent for a TV movie, with Kristy Wu proving an attractive damsel-in-distress and Casper Van Dien a square-jawed action hero who regularly comes near to death in his battles with the deadly elite (no Seagal shrugging away of bullets here). Sadly, the frenzied fight editing tries to emulate Bourne and comes off severely the worst for it, sometimes leaving the viewers scratching their heads and wondering what the heck is going on.

I saw this on TV last night unfortunately, well I say watched - I wasn't really paying much attention.Its too bad to be a good film and too good to be a bad film - its just boring to be honest.No good laughs in it like the old ninja films because its too polished. But you cant take it seriously because its so stupid! So this film doesn't know its target audience lol.If you want a funny ninja film go back to the 80s....9 Deaths of the Ninja, Ninja Terminator, Ninja Squad, American Ninja etc etc - they are all far better (and funnier) than this.

Just when you thought the cheesy "touch me and I die" ninjas were something from your childhood, you come across this flick. When I was 10, I watched the American Ninja movies over and over again, even constructed my own ninja weapons in my dad's shed. Being 27 now, I somehow could't resist watching it. And an instant flashback it was. The wooden acting, the predictable plot, all there, and more. The editing is a bit more flashy and incorporates many closeups, but other than that, it's all the same. Perhaps a little more blood.It's not all that bad, though, I'd day it's better than the average Seagal movie, but that's not saying much.Bottom line: just as bad as the other ninjamovies, but ideal stuff for todays 10-year olds.

By the numbers action starring Caper Van Dien as a cop trying to protect Miko from a group of ninjas who have killed her father and have their sights and her. Nominal ninjas meet regular cops movie is strictly fantasy but it is okay in a turn the brain off sort of way. The over weight and out of shape ninjas are rather silly and most of the performances of the cast are pure B or C grade material. What works here is Van Dien as the hero. He brings a level of gravity to the proceedings that few in the cast do. You watch the film because he single handedly sells the nonsense going on around him. I've seen any number of his films over the years and it finally hit me that he's always good and always game. Certainly the material isn't the best but he manages to sell the material which is why I'm guessing he's making movies. Mask of the Ninja, which was apparently shot with TV in mind, is an okay time killer. I know the fact that I completely blanked on the film until I saw the case again isn't a good sign, however it's mitigated by the fact that when I did see it I was of the opinion "Why didn't I remember that it was pretty good." . I'd give it a shot on a night you want a fluffy something that won't stick to your brain.