This film was released in the UK under the title 'Ninja Knight: Thunder Fox' which immediately presents a somewhat perplexing problem......Firstly there are in fact very little real ninja in this and secondly there isn't a single reference anywhere in the film to any character/plot/operation named Thunder Fox. Oh well, Godfrey Ho did direct this after all so it's only to be expected I suppose.
Another point of slight confusion is the IMDb listing this as from 1990....it's not, it's actually from 1988, the same year as the similarly titled (but very different film) Ninja Knight: Brothers Of Blood a.k.a. Platoon Warriors.
Any way enough of the quibbles, what is the film like?
Well it's complete crap actually. The 'plot' concerns a female investigator infiltrating a modelling school in order to find out why a number of them are disappearing (including her sister who vanished some time before) As it turns out, they are being filtered into prostitution and then murdered by some nefarious characters who needless to say meet grisly ends by the end of the film by our female leads skilled hands.
So where are the ninja in this you may ask? Well in a completely separate, newly edited in side story our man Ho delivers a plot involving Brad, the investigative partner of the female lead from the other film/plot (are you following this?) Whilst investigating the same case (in a very lacklustre manner I might add) Brad causes ripples for another crime boss played by Mike Abbott. Now for the twist.....it turns out against all levels of probability, that both Brad and the crime boss are in fact ninja(!!!) Well strike a light, what a coincidence eh?
Needless to say an inevitable ninja battle ensues at the movies climax.
Interestingly, the said conflict is somewhat less than traditional for these films and involves a bizarre take on a ninja shoot out!
Now as I said, the film itself is to put it mildly, somewhat less than entertaining for the most part, especially since there is really only two real ninja sequences in the entire film (!) You may well ask therefore why I have awarded the said movie such a respectable score of seven......the answer (bizarrely) lies in the voice of the movies main villain...
Reading up the brief bio on IMDb, I see that the relevant actor (Mike Abbott) hails from beautiful Cornwall. Interestingly, although obviously overdubbed in this film, it appears that Mike may have in fact re dubbed his own lines(!) as his character to speaks with a mightily broad Cornish accent. 'So what?' You might ask. Well, (and please note that this is in no way an insult to Cornish people or their accent) words simply cannot describe how hilarious it is to hear a cinematic villain (and ninja to boot!) speaking with a deep West Country twang!
And not just his voice either, the side splitting dialogue on offer here also had me in hysterics.....the best line of the movie for instance when the crime boss berates some of his cronies for their ineptitude by uttering the immortal line, 'You're all a bunch of filthy scums!'
Absolutely priceless! For fans of craptastic movies, this is pretty much a must see!
Another point of slight confusion is the IMDb listing this as from 1990....it's not, it's actually from 1988, the same year as the similarly titled (but very different film) Ninja Knight: Brothers Of Blood a.k.a. Platoon Warriors.
Any way enough of the quibbles, what is the film like?
Well it's complete crap actually. The 'plot' concerns a female investigator infiltrating a modelling school in order to find out why a number of them are disappearing (including her sister who vanished some time before) As it turns out, they are being filtered into prostitution and then murdered by some nefarious characters who needless to say meet grisly ends by the end of the film by our female leads skilled hands.
So where are the ninja in this you may ask? Well in a completely separate, newly edited in side story our man Ho delivers a plot involving Brad, the investigative partner of the female lead from the other film/plot (are you following this?) Whilst investigating the same case (in a very lacklustre manner I might add) Brad causes ripples for another crime boss played by Mike Abbott. Now for the twist.....it turns out against all levels of probability, that both Brad and the crime boss are in fact ninja(!!!) Well strike a light, what a coincidence eh?
Needless to say an inevitable ninja battle ensues at the movies climax.
Interestingly, the said conflict is somewhat less than traditional for these films and involves a bizarre take on a ninja shoot out!
Now as I said, the film itself is to put it mildly, somewhat less than entertaining for the most part, especially since there is really only two real ninja sequences in the entire film (!) You may well ask therefore why I have awarded the said movie such a respectable score of seven......the answer (bizarrely) lies in the voice of the movies main villain...
Reading up the brief bio on IMDb, I see that the relevant actor (Mike Abbott) hails from beautiful Cornwall. Interestingly, although obviously overdubbed in this film, it appears that Mike may have in fact re dubbed his own lines(!) as his character to speaks with a mightily broad Cornish accent. 'So what?' You might ask. Well, (and please note that this is in no way an insult to Cornish people or their accent) words simply cannot describe how hilarious it is to hear a cinematic villain (and ninja to boot!) speaking with a deep West Country twang!
And not just his voice either, the side splitting dialogue on offer here also had me in hysterics.....the best line of the movie for instance when the crime boss berates some of his cronies for their ineptitude by uttering the immortal line, 'You're all a bunch of filthy scums!'
Absolutely priceless! For fans of craptastic movies, this is pretty much a must see!