Born a Ninja/Commando the Ninja: Double Feature (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Lo Gio (Law Chi)/Godfrey HoRelease Date(s)
1988 (May 12, 2026)Studio(s)
Adda Audio Visual Ltd./IFD Films & Arts (Visual Vengeance/Wild Eye Releasing)- Film/Program Grade: D-
- Video Grade: B+
- Audio Grade: B+
- Extras Grade: A
Review
Know this going in—Commando the Ninja, aka American Commando Ninja, is notoriously known as the WORST ninja movie ever made. And that’s saying something. It’s probably why it’s the second billed of this Ninja themed double feature from Visual Vengeance when in all actuality, it’s the first in a two-part series with Born a Ninja being the sequel. But these are just rational words to describe a wholly irrational experience if you were to so choose to expose yourself to these films. I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t. But if you do, you will walk away changed—and that’s on you.
To even give you a summary of what these films are about would be nigh on impossible. Two ninjas (Ninja? Ninji?) meet on a mission, they are named Larry and David (yes, I see the joke but it’s not intentional). David is in search of a secret formula created by a mad Japanese scientist during WWII. Larry is a magical ninja who can fly and shoot things from his body. He calls it Hocus Pocus. They fight each other and others on the reg and are eventually joined by two female martial artists named Brenda and Becky with outrageous fashion sense. Thus ends the summary. The magic of these films is really in the being. The facts of who made them, how they were made and how they still exist is really the only bright spot in picking up this set. This would be one of the few times I ever advised someone to download the special features either before or instead of watching the film. You won’t get any insight or information about the story, rather you’ll get a lot of insight and information about the distribution factory that made these films: IFD. Mainly Joseph Lai and Godfrey Ho—they were the factory ninja built.
The films were shot on videotape (full frame, 1:33:1) and they look it. For what they are, they look good on Blu-ray. Sound (in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo with optional English subs) is comparable—audible but flawed by the source. The disc’s main menu is set up like a video game arcade screen and you can choose which film to focus on. Again, even though it’s second and on the right, start with Commando, because the extras you’ll really want are on that side and it’s what you should be picking this set up for. Commando the Ninja has a commentary with Justin Decloux and Will Sloane both of The Important Cinema Club. They table tennis info about the genre and the making of the movie. We learn that Lai bought a dead Taiwanese TV show and Ho turned it into a ninja movie for profit and fun. They did this over and over again for a staggering amount of films. Sometimes to great success and other times to great splat. Born a Ninja has a commentary by Decloux on his own and it’s a bit more focused but still deliciously informative. Decloux also provides two video essays: The Essential Godfrey Ho which is a deep dive into the world of Godfrey and The Law Chi Touch that goes into the work of the director (also known as his credited name Lo Gio) who, love him or hate him after these two films, gave us 1979’s Crippled Masters, which should be on any discerning martial arts fan’s list of must-see films. On the other side is Born a Ninja: Interview with Kwan Chung which is a nice short video interview with actor Chung. There is also a Born a Ninja Image Gallery, trailers for both films and a Visual Vengeance trailers for Born a Ninja and a combo trailer for this set (along with auto-play trailers when you start up the disc for the Visual Vengeance release Furious and two IFD ninja films Ninja Operation: Knight and Warrior and Ninja the Protector). Inside the packaging are two folded mini-posters with original VHS release art, a well written booklet by ninja movie expert C.J. Lines and the Visual Vengeance standards—reversible sleeve art, and if you’re lucky enough to get the first pressing, VHS stickers and a limited-edition o-card/sleeve.
- Todd Doogan