Ninja (2009) and Ninja 2 (2013)

A silent warrior. A deadly past. A lethal mission.

Scott Adkins movies are quite entertaining and his Ninja movies are no exception.

The first movie, Ninja, has a basic premise: The number one student at Ninja Dojo broke the rules, is disgraced, and returns to take revenge against the master and steal ancient ninja relics. Meanwhile, number two student uses his ninja skills to avenge his dojo and slain master.

The second movie, Ninja: Shadow of a Tear movie is a classic one-man revenge movie. Scott Adkins plays Casey. With no last name mentioned in this movie, he’s searching Myanmar for the evil drug lord who murdered his wife. I think this movie is better than the first, but what I liked in both movies was Adkins’ strong martial arts. A lot of the flash, spin moves and wire-fu from other movies get old, so it’s a refreshing change when Adkins uses strong Taekwondo and Karate kicks. While the moves don’t look very ninjitsu-like they do make for some great fight scenes.

While the early dialog and romantic scenes with Casey’s wife might feel a bit stilted, they are short-lived. Once these scenes conclude, the action begins and don’t stop until the credits roll.

Bottom line: These are simple, fun movies with great martial arts action.

Watch: Yes.

Re-watch: A strong possibility.