Sadly Over-hyped

A Major Disappointment

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There's an assassination plot afoot for your boss, General Kuang (Ti Lung) no less, so what do you do? Yup, hire people right off the street without asking for credentials. Sure, they're all Ninjas sent to fulfill the plot. Good thing the General's son has sought the Master of the 3 Arts to help protect his father. The Master of the 3 Arts gives te son the names of his 3 top students Tung, Mao & Chu (Lu Feng, Phillip Kwok Chun-Fung & Chiang Sheng respectively).Mao and Chu infiltrate the General's house staff while Tung surveys the perimeter as a time keeper (unsure what the actual title for the job is). It doesn't take long for each to find one of the Ninja spies. Chu deals with a kitchen staffer trying to stab Kuang during dinner. Kuang demands all his guards stay back to permit Chu to show his skills as a body guard. There is the usual enjoyable acrobatics from a Chiang Sheng fight.While Chu is battle the cook, Tung is outside fighting a disguised guard - with a pizza pan. Yup, Tung is using what looks like a pizza pan to defeat the 2nd Ninja. It definitely made me rethink defense techniques if someone breaks into the house. Mao handles the female ninja with a gift box. You're treated to Phillip's tumble and attack style during their fight. A few kicks here and there and one more Ninja bites the dust.The plot says the Ninjas want a Chinese fight book on top of wanting to remove Kuang from the planet. My CC kept showing it as a Ninja fight book, which makes absolutely no sense, unless the Chinese were studying it for ways to defeat Ninjas. No offense to Ninjas, but Chinese Wushu is far superior imho and therefore they wouldn't need a Ninja fight book.The final fight occurs while Kuang is on patrol. His son has been kidnapped by Fukushima Shigeru (who's played the Japanese baddie in a few movies I've seen). Mao, Tung and Chu have to fight through color coordinated Ninjas to reach the General's son and Shigeru. Chu gets the worst of the deal before they eliminate Shigeru. Proving once again, Wushu is the best.Two of the Five Venoms were absent in the film, but the strong chemistry the Venoms have as a team still shined through. I would definitely recommend this to anyone. Even with the ridiculousness of how easily the Japanese infiltrated Kuang's house.

NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP is a Taiwanese action film about court officials and their allies battling a Japanese team of ninja assassins who are desperate to get their hands on a priceless book. It's notable for featuring no less than four famous film stars from the Shaw Brothers stable; Ti Lung headlines the piece as the noble prince, but he doesn't take part in any of the action and he's here for name brand alone in little more than an extended cameo so don't get too excited by his name.The main draw is the presence of the three Venoms stars Chiang Sheng, Phillip Kwok, and Lu Feng. Kwok directs as well. IMDb lists the film's year of release as 1981, but I would put it later as this feels like a response to the Chang Cheh Shaw classic FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS, with the return of the gold lame suit ninjas at one point. Inevitably, as a low budget feature this isn't as good as a Shaw film, but I found it quite entertaining regardless.The bits where the Venom stars aren't on screen aren't that interesting, but the trio of actors have plenty of action and all of it is fun, if not quite top tier. Lu Feng plays a weapons expert and it's a pleasure to see him partaking in a good guy role, a rarity in his career. Chiang Sheng is, as ever, the joker of the piece and his role reminded me of the one he had in CRIPPLED AVENGERS a little. Kwok is rarely seen - too busy directing - but shows off some great athletic skills at times. The villain of the piece is the reliable Yasuaki Kurata, who makes for nearly as great a ninja baddie as Chan Wai-Man and Sho Kosugi. Things culminate in a decent extended fight scene, inevitably the highlight of the piece.

I am constantly pleasantly surprised by old kung fu flicks. Typical of the genre, anti-Japanese sentiment makes for a good action flick, as Ninjas try to bump of the Chinese general who keeps Japanese pirates at bay. With the aid of three martial arts experts, the generals son seek to save the generals life. There isn't much in the way of charater development, and the Ninja spies are pretty obvious, but some of the fight scenes are pretty good, including one of the better sword fights I have seen, between a chinese and a samuri. Well worth a look for the kung fu buffs.

I enjoyed this classic Japanese vs. Chinese Kung Fu battle of a film. A Chinese general and his son are the targets of a Japanese Ninja planned assassination plot. The general's son finds the "Master of the Three Arts" who has trained three brothers in three different arts to perfection. The general's son uses these three brothers to help fight the Japanese ninjas who attempted to kill the Chinese honchos by poisoning them, throwing knives at them, and every thing else. I love the three brothers and how they work into the film. Check it out!