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Master Casey of Ninjutsu seeks vengeance for the murder of his wife while she was three months pregnant. Wow, after almost a year, it seems like I have found my favorite film, which is ‘Ninja 2’ Shadow of a Tear. It is undoubtedly one of the best old-school martial arts action films ever.
My obsession with ninjas dates back to when I was younger and read the book ‘Avenger The Way of the Tiger.’ It was the classic ‘choose your own adventure’ book, and I adored it. What held my attention was the ninja on the cover, dressed in black. I became an instant fan.
As Isaac Florentine states, there are plenty of ninja films out there, however, most are rather silly. Revenge of the Ninja, Enter the Ninja, and the American Ninja movies are all classics, but none come close to the brilliance that is ‘Shadow of a Tear.’ It is not cheesy in the slightest which adds to the quality.
The movie features real ninja weapons, including Shurikens and Kamas, which is enough to get any ninja fan extremely excited.
Scott Adkins returns as Casey, but this time he isn’t the nice guy hero from the first movie. When his pregnant wife is killed, God help anyone who gets in his way during his unforgiving vengeance streak. I love how merciless he is as he tries to track down the man he believes murdered his wife, a figure that simply goes by Goro. This is not the four-armed monster from Mortal Kombat, but a drug-dealing old man tucked away in the jungles of Myanmar.
Adkins is a force of nature and completely unstoppable in this installment. I am almost at a loss of words at how fit he is, combat aside. It is truly astonishing to see him dominate his fights on screen, and as someone with a slight beer gut, I hang my head in slight shame.
This installment might have too many world-class fight scenes to pick a favorite, but my opinion, bar fights have always appealed. Casey vs The Bar is my top pick for the year, Casey shows up to a bar and takes on multiple men at once, it’s certainly fought at the top of my list. There isn’t any CGI, no shaky camera, just Scott Adkins putting on a performance and this is, without any doubts, the best movie he’s done since the Undisputed series. I do wish that we get a third entry to this series, however.
The plot is simple enough if you pursue an eye for an eye concept, but that does not necessarily mean that it is lacking in substance. The first part of the movie is narrated with a little backstory of the ninja, and some scenes are inspired by statements from a few characters. Instead of portraying ninjas as almost cartoon characters, we finally get to see them for what they are, deadly warriors.
Kane Kosugi is another excellent example of someone who deserves to have a high profile and who is supremely talented, as he is a top-notch action actor. The man is a fabulous martial artist and has genuine screen presence.
The music score is decent, but I do miss Steve Edwards’s theme from the first Ninja. the music is fine though, and most will just be watching the action, which is what matters. If you are like me and grew up with One Man Army and Ninja films, that’s going to be great for you. Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear shatters all boundaries, and in my opinion is the best martial arts movie since ‘The Raid‘.
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