American Ninja 4: The Annihilation

The American Ninja series hits a new (and palpable) low with this mostly interminable entry, as the movie, which follows Michael Dudikoff’s Joe Armstrong as he’s forced to once again spring into action after a vicious terrorist gets his hands on a nuke, progresses through a slapdash and completely uninvolving narrative that doesn’t even contain any decent fight sequences – with the arms-length atmosphere heightened and perpetuated by the stiff, almost aggressively uncharismatic efforts of its various cast members. (The first three entries in this franchise did, at the very least, benefit from the oddball yet entertaining work of inexplicably absent costar Steve James.) Filmmaker Cedric Sundstrom’s ongoing attempts at breathing life into David Geeves’ paint-by-numbers screenplay fall continuously (and hopelessly) flat, while the inclusion of a few admittedly unexpected elements, particularly a bizarre second-act shift into Mad Max territory, are ultimately unable to compensate for the pervasively unappealing, underwhelming vibe. By the time the endless and entirely anticlimactic finale rolls around, American Ninja 4: The Annihilation has firmly (and completely) cemented its place as a thoroughly misbegotten and misguided piece of work that makes the lackluster original look like some kind of a masterpiece by comparison.

* out of ****