‘New York Ninja’ Film Review: Cult Movie’s Backstory as a ‘Lost Film’ More Interesting Than Anything on Screen
thewrap.comSpieler’s intentions, his “New York Ninja” often feels like a pandering homage to other movies of the period, particularly Cannon’s cycle of chop-socky ninja pics, like “Enter the Ninja” and “Ninja III: The Domination,” as well as Troma’s gross-out superhero comedies “The Toxic Avenger” and “Sgt.
Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.” Voyag3r’s distracting new synth-heavy score never lets us forget that we’re watching an homage and not an authentically corny throwback.
And the movie’s combination of old footage with new vocal performances makes it hard to enjoy the original actors’ campy performances, despite the voice cast’s better efforts.
Some voice-cast members match their on-screen counterparts better than others: Berryman, Rothrock, and Timoney all excel in their respective roles, possibly because they’re the most experienced of this rag-tag bunch of fan favorites.“New York Ninja” has enough high-concept charms to be watchable, even if its plot doesn’t really stick together or build in tension from moment to moment.
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