The Blazing Ninja

Rating:
Summary: A strangely compelling martial arts film
Review: The Japanese occupation of China is a standard setting for martial arts films, and while this film addresses a familiar theme, The Blazing Ninja does manage to leave a lasting impression on the viewer. At first I felt the ending was rather ambiguous and far from conclusive, but after a little thought I have come to believe it truly is a fitting end to the story. This is no fairy tale, so it is only right that the film not have a fairy tale ending. The story itself revolves around the fight of the Chinese underground to oppose the occupation of their country by the Japanese. There only seem to be a half dozen or so underground members, yet Japan is so determined to destroy the opposition group that they send General Yashido, their greatest spy and most famous ninja, to put the group out of commission for good. It was a little hard to take the Japanese seriously early on in the film because of the typically bad English dubbing - the Japanese characters seem to cackle for no good reason after every sentence, and they sound more like mynah birds than men most of the time - I kept waiting to hear one of them say "Polly wanna cracker." Early on, the focus is on the young Chinese men who take on all comers with their martial arts, but eventually the emphasis shifts principally to Yashido and his old friend Chang-tung, a man who would seemingly betray not only his brother-in-law but his own country in order to keep himself safe. Of course, things are not always as they seem, and a further plot twist later on sets the stage for a tense ending.

There are plenty of fight sequences in this film, and they all seem rather good to me (although the final one could certainly have been extended longer than it was). I didn't see anything that blew my socks off, but these martial arts actors know what they are doing. The only thing really missing is the type of flair that the true legends of kung fu cinema exhibited. I'm not sure why they made a big deal out of Yashido's expert ninja status, as he didn't appear ninja-like at all to me. He mainly walks around in suits berating his underlings and cursing the resistance fighters who oppose him. His fighting time is especially limited, which is actually a good thing when all is said and done, considering the fact that he was by no means a master warrior.

While there are a few familiar faces from martial arts movies of the time, you won't find any real superstars in The Blazing Ninja. Still, the significant amount of kung fu action combined with a story that grew more interesting as the minutes passed combined to eventually command my attention. I'm still cutting my teeth on martial arts films, but The Blazing Ninja is certainly a film I would recommend to others fascinated by or interested in movies of this remarkable genre.