Sanada and, to some extent, Shiomi really get to show their martial versatility here. They were both good all 'rounders, whether it be hand to hand of various styles or weapons, and you can definitely see that all that training from Chiba's Japan Action Club paid off.

Chiba himself turns in a menacing performance as the evil Shogun, flanked by two creepy mutes, and shows us a taste of his brilliant swordplay skills.

They basically threw anything in here: Shiomi as a kung fu cutie, samurai battles, camo-clad spider ninjas, Kabuki theater, ye olde white haired master, Hattori Hanzo and so on. But it feels a little cluttered, and could have benefitted from some trimming in the character and plot department.

Don't get me wrong, it's a cool film, no doubt. But it really has quite a few flaws. The main offender being the music. It is just so out of place that you expect a young Ron Jeremy to walk through the shoot in a kimono at any time. But if you can get past the porno tunes, there is a cool and campy ninja treat waiting at the end of the rainbow.

SHOGUN'S NINJA was a historical and adventurous ninja classic that featured a young talented Hiroyuki Sanada (THE LAST SAMURAI, THE PROMISE and RUSH HOUR 3) playing the lead role as Takamaru, a descendant of the overthrown Momochi clan who grows up learning martial arts and unites with his childhood friends and remaining clan members. They prepare for battle against the rebel warlord Hideyoshi Hashiba (Asao Koike) and his right-hand man, commander Shogun Shrianui (Sonny Chiba- THE STREET FIGHTER series, KILL BILL Vol. 1 and THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS:TOKYO DRIFT), responsible for murdering Takamaru's parents ten years earlier.

The story looks like it was orchestrated by someone who was drunk because it gets a little confusing. It starts off with Hideyoshi ordering Shogun to eliminate the Momochi clan and their leaders (Takamaru's parents) than it flashes forward ten years later where Takamaru is grown up with martial arts and ninjitsu skills, and holds one of two daggers with a printed map on it that leads to a hidden gold mine. Hideyoshi learns about the dagger being in Takamaru's possession and orders Shogun to get the dagger. What makes matters worse is that another ninja clan member named Hattori Hanzo (Isao Natsuyagi- G.I. SAMURAI) wants the dagger too. Hanzo sends his loyal sister (Yuki Ninagawa) to steal the dagger but a little twist unfolds when she turns out to be Takamaru's childhood friend-turned-lover. She steals it, Takamaru is captured by Shogun and his two handicapped ninja companions who like to jump off Shogun's shoulders like turnbuckles in wrestling to perform flying attack moves. Takamaru eventually escapes and Ninagawa decides to return the dagger to him. Takamaru also runs into an old ninja warrior (Tetsuro Tamba- SAMURAI REINCARNATION and the Shaw Brothers classic, THE WATER MARGIN) from his past who trains him in higher methods of ninjitsu to prepare him for battle against Shogun and his posse.

Japanese martial arts star Etsuko "Sue" Shihomi (Sonny Chiba's DRAGON PRINCESS, SISTER STREET FIGHTER and KARATE BEAR FIGHTER) makes her special appearance as Takamaru's friend and love interest from his past who joins him in battle to showcase her incredible skills with two nunchuckus. If you don't sit and watch the movie without leaving to make a pit stop, you will be lost and confused but other than that, SHOGUN'S NINJA delivers enough good qualities to make it an enjoyable B-movie flick for martial arts movie lovers.

You will find some of the sequences to be laughable at times because of the things that are pulled off. Hiroyuki Sanada encounters rival ninjas armed with shotguns. He dodges the bullets by swinging on a tree repeatedly like a gymnast. Sue Shihomi hangs upside down on a rope and swings around to attack ninjas with her nunchuckus as if she was performing at a circus. The old ninja warrior jumps off a mountain and floats while falling to his destination and then uses superhuman speed when running (with the help of fast motion camera tricks). These crazy events are just some of which were staples in many of these genre films that adds an extra edge to the entertainment value while some happen to be funny.

Hiroyuki Sanada put on a good performance as the hero and delivered some effective martial arts moves which was lifted under the choreography of Sonny Chiba. Some of the sequences contained blends of slow-motion and fast-paced editing to help give the fights a stylized look. Like in many of Japan's ninja/samurai period dramas, SHOGUN'S NINJA was filled with lots of over-exaggerated violence, especially when it comes to the blood-squirts, flying shuriken and sword attacks, and decapitating bodies, many of which Quentin Tarantino salutes to in KILL BILL Vol. 1 & 2.

As a fan of Japanese cinema movies, I've watched Hiroyuki Sanada in numerous movies during my youth days and learned now, that he's come a long way though out his movie career going from a young pop star to becoming one of Japan's top martial arts icons aside his on-screen protégé Sonny Chiba. The two have worked together and appeared in Hollywood and Hong Kong cinema films. Sanada retained his film resume through out the '90s and the millennium in Japan appearing in movies like RINGU (the original Japanese version of THE RING), TWILIGHT SAMURAI and jumped into the Hollywood scene to play a supporting role in THE LAST SAMURAI with Tom Cruise, and RUSH HOUR 3 with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Sonny Chiba, who starred in classics like SAMURAI REINCARNATION, THE KILLING MACHINE, THE EXECUTIONER and of course, THE STREET FIGHTER series, has already made little-known appearances in countless Hollywood films before catching the eyes of a larger audience in KILL BILL Vol. 1 and THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS:TOKYO DRIFT.

If you enjoy old school ninja or samurai flicks like SHOGUN ASSASSIN or the LONE WOLF AND CUB series, then SHOGUN'S NINJA is one to get because packs plenty of quality martial arts, ninjitsu and gravity-filled fights with a cast of martial art masters to pull it off and make it an enjoyable B-movie classic and a collector's item for Sonny Chiba and Hiroyuki Sanada fans.