Challenge of the Ninja

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Audience Member Ninja, this Lau Kar Leung-directed film has more Japanese martial arts on display than you usually see from a Hong Kong movie. The Japanese characters are also treated with respect, unlike many of these movies, and Lau insisted that none of the fights ended in death. Ho Tao (Gordon Liu) has entered an arranged marriage with the daughter of one of his father's Japanese business associates. When he watches her do martial arts, Yumiko Koda's style is too rough and unladylike for Ho Tao, so he demands that she study the more feminine styles of Chinese kung fu. She's too modern of a woman for him as well, as she immediately leaves him behind and starts training with her childhood friend Takeno. To get her back, Ho Tao creates a challenge to determine which country has the better kung fu. Of course, he also has poor manners and infuriates the Japanese martial artists so much that their battles become real and not just exhibitions. Plus, now that Takeno has Yumiko Koda again, he doesn't plan on giving her up and will use all of his ninjitsu skills to keep her in Japan. There are a variety of styles on display here — samurai sword versus straight sword, Sino-Okinawan karate vs. Chinese Drunken Fist, Japanese crab-style vs. Chinese crane fist and many more — and those battles make this an incredibly interesting movie for those that love armed and unarmed combat. It's also rare in that it's set in the 1930s and not the far-flung past. I had a blast with this film, a movie that mixes romance, comedy and battles into one overall great time. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent Lau Kar Leung direct martial arts film featuring Gordon Liu with an uncharacteristically huge head of hair. Liu marries a Japanese woman and manages insult all of her family, resulting in himself having to prove that Chinese marital arts are just as good as Japanese martial arts. This leads to a series of terrific fights that take up the last 40 minutes or so of the film. One of the fights involving Liu with a three-sectional staff and an opponent with nunchucks is a real standout. Sadly, that wasn't the final fight of the film., which is something I always felt director Cheh Chang did very well in most all of his films, building to the best fight at the end of the film. As with most Shaw Brothers films, the story here isn't all that good, but the fight scenes are excellent and make this film well worth watching for martial arts film fans. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I was actually more of a fan of the marriage and the comedy that ensued than the actual fights later on. Aw well - as with all Shaw bros films the movie ends abruptly at the last fight scene Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member I enjoyed it a lot... :-) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member good chop-sokky actioner Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Gordon Liu has to prove that Chinese combat can beat Japanese combat in a series of showdowns. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Challenge of the Ninja

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