In Review: Ninja: Shadow of a Tear on DVD

Isaac Florentine’s direct-to-video film Ninja (2009) introduced the character of Casey Bowman (Scott Adkins), an American orphan raised in a martial arts dojo in Japan, who is tasked with protecting an armoured chest of ancient weapons in New York. Ostensibly a sequel, Ninja: Shadow of a Tear is set in Japan, Thailand and the jungles of Myanmar, and only retains Casey and his love interest Namiko (Mika Hijii) from the first film. These obvious differences mean that the sequel can absolutely be watched as a separate entity.

The two have settled down as a couple in their martial arts dojo in Japan, but when Namiko is brutally assaulted one night, Casey swears to bring those responsible to justice. Along the way, a fellow sensei and old friend (Kane Kosugi) directs him on a path towards a major drug dealer (Shun Sugata) who is seemingly behind it all.

Some vocal genre connoisseurs have taken an interest in Isaac Florentine’s filmography to date for his skilled action direction in the realm of straight-to-video entertainment, that doesn’t even rely on basic competence in many cases. There are sporadic elements to savour in the first Ninja film, but its cartoonish chase story and ugly implementation of CGI elements provoke tedium more than anything.   Despite taking on a bleaker revenge plot, Shadow of a Tear proves a lot more fun. It’s only slightly less ludicrous on a story level, but a greater focus away from special effects and more on graceful visual clarity for its kinetic fight scenes does wonders.

Adkins isn’t the greatest deliverer of dialogue, and is saddled with far more of that than he ideally should be, but his physical prowess truly impresses.   Filmed in coherent long takes largely free of close-ups, the authenticity of the film’s violent ballets, all of which are varied and intricate enough to never feel samey, help make Shadow of a Tear a lot more memorable than many a modern action film that gets to take a bow on the big screen.

It’s by no means stellar as a whole, but if you’re looking for a compact Death Wish with added ninjas, you’re probably not going to be disappointed by what you find here.

Extras  : Includes a standard featurette on the making of the film.

Josh has awarded Ninja: Shadow of a Tear on DVD three Torches of Truth