I'm a big fan of B-movies, and this one takes the cake for best B-movie of 2003. Shot on what I presume is video, as the film takes several different looks to the screen throughout, the film starts with the credits "written and directed by 'Me' ". Priceless. Who starts their film out like that? Clayton Prince does.
The plot is basically a ripoff of the Daredevil comic/movie. Malik Ali(Prince) is an "infamous lawyer" who defends criminals (who are guilty no less, makes no sense) then at night he fights the same criminals with his ninja abilities, which aren't too impressive. He uses the moniker Black Ninja to hide his identity, along with a batman style mask.
He ends up protecting a female witness who is standing trial against a crime boss, who for most of the movie, is getting massaged by two homely masseuses in bikinis. In the crime boss' employ are members of the WWW Wrestling federation, and you can tell they have no acting skills when it comes to their line delivery.
The action scenes aren't the worst I've seen but are funny enough to make them seem very poor. The Black Ninja uses the same moves throughout the movie, making it seem like a video game, and Prince decided it would be a good idea to do triple takes when something semi-impressive happens. These triple takes are some of the funniest parts of the movie. Plot holes abound throughout the movie, including a scene where the Black Ninja's identity is exposed to the woman he is protecting, and a love scene ensues, but there are dead bodies on the floor next to the bed that are not mentioned again, while they make love (which is only shown as kissing of her shoulders and cut to a post-coitus scene.
The main fight comes with the Red Ninja, who is in fact one of Malik's first cases, who ended up killing his family years prior to the fight. Acted by a japanese fellow with horrible English language skills, the Red Ninja is embarrassingly a formidable opponent for our likewise poor hero.
If you like bad movies and have run out of older ones from the 80's pick this one up, I found it at my local video store. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Things I learned:
1.Anyone with a computer can get classified files on criminals.
2.Dead bodies seem to disappear when a sex scene comes up.
3.Wrestlers make poor villains,
4.Friends of the director shouldn't be cast as small parts because they laugh after something serious happens.
5.Pictures of loved ones last for more than 5 years of being left on a gravestone in open weather conditions.
6.Poor lighting makes leading actresses look like zombies.