American Ninja 2: The Confrontation

"The ultimate American fighting machine is back!"

1987 1h 30m EN

😐

5.6

MID

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

4.9

IMDB

★5.6TMDB · 341●39Metacritic★4.9IMDB · 10,520

Action

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

On a remote Caribbean island, Army Ranger Joe Armstrong investigates the disappearance of several marines, which leads him to The Lion, a super-criminal who has kidnapped a local scientist and mass-produced an army of mutant Ninja warriors.

“The ultimate American fighting machine is back!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Michael Dudikoff
Sgt. Joe Armstrong
Steve James
Sgt. Curtis Jackson
Larry Poindexter
Sgt. Charlie McDonald
Mike Stone
Tojo Ken
Jeff Celentano
Capt. 'Wild Bill' Woodward
Michelle Botes
Alicia Sanborn
Gary Conway
Leo 'The Lion' Burke
John Fujioka
Shinyuki

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sam Firstenberg
Writers: Gary Conway, Gary Conway, James Booth
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $4M — a 11.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "American Ninja Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sam Firstenberg, shot by Gideon Porath. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Bishop. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael J. Duthie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sam Firstenberg directs. Gideon Porath behind the camera. Michael Bishop scores. Michael J. Duthie cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $4M — a 11.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
439 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Part of the "American Ninja Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Sam Firstenberg, shot by Gideon Porath. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Michael Bishop. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Michael J. Duthie shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Michael Dudikoff and Steve James and Larry Poindexter carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The ultimate American fighting machine is back!".
11IMDB entry: tt0092548 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 12 themes, including "island", "army", "fight", "siege".

The technical file

Cinematography: Gideon Porath
Original score: Michael Bishop
Editing: Michael J. Duthie
Production design: Holger Gross
Costume design: Audrey M. Bansmer
Stunt coordinator: BJ Davis
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $350,000
Box office: $4,000,000
Return: 1143% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987)
Metacritic: 39/100
IMDB rating: 4.9/10 · 10,520 votes
MPAA: R

Part of

American Ninja Collection

American soldier, obviously very skilled in martial arts, single-handedly takes on mercenaries.

Also by

Sam Firstenberg

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

PolyWogg2019-02-25
★ 4/10
The Bottom Line A significant step down from the first movie. Plot Michael Dudikoff and Steve James are back as Army Ranger buddies sent to an island where some Marines have disappeared. The reason? Witnesses saw guys in black outfits, hoods, and swords carrying them away. What I Liked The movie jumps from fight scene to fight scene so the action rarely slows down. And there is a great scene with Steve James using fairly large knives in an epic battle. Overall, most of the secondary fight scenes are much better done than in the first movie. What I Didn't Like The plot is almost non-existent (super soldiers, meh), almost all of the acting is hammy, and the ultimate battle is a let down compared to a big car chase scene doing a bit of a take-off of the first movie's opening scene (person being dragged behind a vehicle).

Production companies