Enter the Ninja – 1981 – Franco Nero is badass!

I was still in my youth when I first saw this film and at first I thought it was horrible! I really liked one ninja flick and that was Ninja III: The Domination. The need to compare all other ninja flicks to that one was imminent. It wasn’t until later that I understood that not all ninja flicks deal with supernatural powers. In fact, very few of them do. Enter the Ninja is really one of those movies that keep the subject realistic. Very realistic even! I’ve grown and become older and realize that this really is a great movie now!

It’s also kind of fun that Sho Kosugi is actually the bad guy in this. I don’t know how often that happened but it’s certainly not true in the more common flicks starring him. But then again I guess this really stars Franco Nero and not Kosugi. The latter doesn’t have much screen time.

The fight scenes are good and realistic. There are flesh wounds caused by swords and other ninjitsu weapons. It’s a relief seeing that these weapons actually inflict damage. In many films, there’s not a drop of blood. There should be and I’m glad that Enter the Ninja shows some. The plot isn’t an original one though. It centers around this American guy (Franco Nero) who becomes a master ninja in Japan. He returns to the States and seeks out his old friend. Soon he realizes that this friend is in trouble and that thugs keep attacking his business in order for some gangster mogul to buy his property. We’ve seen it before but it’s a cute story and Susan George is beautiful as the friend’s wife.

The movie is not without humor and for once it’s ok. It doesn’t become silly even if I’d like these movies with as little humor as possible. Franco Nero is absolutely badass! He does the “white ninja” absolutely brilliantly!