Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Leofwine_draca THE ANNIHILATION is the fourth instalment of the AMERICAN NINJA franchise and my first exposure to it too. It's notable for featuring in its cast both Michael Dudikoff, who starred in the first two films in the series, and David Bradley, who replaced him in the third. Bradley is kidnapped along with a bunch of commandos by a terrorist group led by a British warmonger. He also has an army of ninjas at his command. Dudikoff is called out of retirement to effect a rescue mission and does so with his usual deadly relish. This is a film which was shot in South Africa on a tight budget and it's ridiculously boring. The action scenes are non-exciting and the fight choreography is poor, a surprise as I enjoy a lot of 1990s-era action B-movies with their powerful kicks and punches. In the end I was merely waiting for the credits to roll. Even some of the Godfrey Ho ninja cheese-fests were more enjoyable than this. I'm going to pretend it doesn't exist.

utgard14 After the abysmal American Ninja 3, it seemed all hope was lost for fans of low-budget martial arts movies starring white guys. But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this film would see the return of the one and ONLY American Ninja: Michael Dudikoff. Unfortunately, he doesn't return until about halfway through it. Still, it's Dudikoff's last hurrah as Joe Armstrong so it's worth seeing for that alone. Steve James is absent, which is unfortunate. The movie doesn't have the same feel as the first two. But that was generally true of most Cannon films of the time. The heyday of Golan/Globus was gone and Cannon by 1990 was just another cheap production company. Is this movie worth checking out for anybody who isn't an American Ninja or Dudikoff completist? Probably not.

Jaroslav Penaz I was really surprised, how can there be so many positive reviews on this crap. This is one of the absolutely WORST movies I have ever seen in my life. The movie was really funny - I think it wasn't meant to be funny, but it was much funnier than many crazy-comedies :) The plot was ridiculous and made absolutely no sense. A gang of Ninjas working for an Islamic maniac (who was really absurd)...what the hell...?? Ninjas were most dreaded, well trained intelligencers in feudal Japan, and in this movie they looked like a couple of absurd and lame idiots. Dudikoff was terrible as a teacher and even more terrible as a martial arts expert. I can't understand, why didn't the film makers find someone who can act at least a little, and who can do martial arts (hmmm...maybe it's because no one good wanted to act in such a crap). David Bradley was terrible as well and the rest of the "actors" weren't much better. In general, the whole ¨"movie" is a bunch of crap. Terrible plot, terrible dialogues, terrible acting, terrible fight scenes and so on. The only good thing were the funny moments (that weren't supposed to be funny), that's why I'm giving it 2 out of 10.

sveknu Michael Dudikoff continues in this 4th American Ninja movie. That doesn't mean they kicked out David Bradley, he is still the lead. Maybe they thought bringing the two 'American Ninjas' together would bring an extra dimension to the film, but that didn't happen at all. For that, Dudikoff and Bradley were almost not fighting together at all. I consider that a missed opportunity. What's worse, is that Steve James now is gone from the series. He was a crucial element in these movies. Without him, it's much worse. It really doesn't help that the fighting scenes are worse than ever, either. The definitely should've stopped this series after the third movie. Surprisingly enough, the also made "American Ninja 5". Beats me.