Movies Like American Ninja (1985)

American Ninja is a 1985 action film from Sam Firstenberg with a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with American Ninja 2: The Confrontation and American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt.

Action

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation

1987

On a remote Caribbean island, Army Ranger Joe Armstrong saves an old friend from the clutches of "The Lion", an evil super-criminal who has kidnapped a local scientist and mass-produced an army of mutant Ninja warriors.

5.5

MagicScore

American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt

1989

Jackson is back, and now he has a new partner, karate champion Sean, as they must face a deadly terrorist known as "The Cobra", who has infected Sean with a virus. Sean and Jackson have no choice but to fight the Cobra and his bands of ninjas.

4.8

MagicScore

American Ninja 4: The Annihilation

1990

The two American Ninjas, Joe Armstrong and Sean Davidson, team up to do battle against a terrorist and his band of Ninjas.

5.2

MagicScore

American Ninja 5

1993

When a scientists daughter is kidnapped, American Ninja, attempts to find her, but this time he teams up with a youngster he has trained in the ways of the ninja.

4.8

MagicScore

The Patriot

2000

After proving himself on the field of battle in the French and Indian War, Benjamin Martin wants nothing more to do with such things, preferring the simple life of a farmer. But when his son Gabriel enlists in the army to defend their new nation, America, against the British, Benjamin reluctantly returns to his old life to protect his son.

7.2

MagicScore

Ninja: Shadow of a Tear

2013

Fight everyone and trust no one: it's the code of survival practiced by martial-arts master Casey Bowman after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence. Vowing revenge, the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues: a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire. Fighting to avenge as well as to survive, Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level, even using deep meditation to fake his own death. His target: the sinister drug lord Goro, who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning: he truly can trust no one.

6.6

MagicScore

Ninja

2009

A westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.

6.1

MagicScore

Goemon

2009

Follow the infamous ninja bandit named Ishikawa Goemon (Yosuke Eguchi) in an epic story. One night while looting treasure from Nanban (Southern Barbarians), Goemon finds a mysterious box hidden inside a secret grave. A forgotten relic from the past containing untold powers.

6.9

MagicScore

Pray for Death

1985

Akira Saito, a Japanese businessman lives in Tokyo with his Japanese-American wife Aiko and their children, Takeshi and Tomoya. When the family has a chance to move to the United States so that Aiko can teach the children about their American heritage, they pack up and head for Houston, Texas and run a restaurant. This is where the trouble begins....

6.0

MagicScore

#10

Dracula III: Legacy

2005

Dracula leads vampire hunters Father Uffizi and Luke back to Eastern Europe, and a country plagued by civil war.

4.9

MagicScore

#11

Legionnaire

1998

Alain Lefevre is a boxer paid by a Marseille mobster to take a dive. When he wins the fight he attempts to flee to America with the mobster's girlfriend Katrina. This plan fails and he seeks escape by joining the foreign legion. As part of the legion he tangles with abusive lieutenant Steinkampf and bonds with legionnaires Luther, Mackintosh and Rosetti.

5.8

MagicScore

#12

The Beast and the Magic Sword

1983

His bloodline damned by a witch, Waldemar Daninsky heads to Japan to seek a cure for his werewolf curse.

5.1

MagicScore

#13

Far from Home

1989

Charlie Cox should have stopped for gas in California. While he's on a cross-country trip with his teenage daughter, Joleen, his car hits empty in a creepy town in Nevada. With nary a drop of fuel to be found, Charlie and Joleen stop for the night at a dilapidated trailer park. There, Joleen catches the eye of two teenage boys, Jimmy and Pinky -- either of whom could be the serial killer currently terrorizing the town.

5.4

MagicScore

#14

War Witch

2012

Somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Komona a 14-year-old girl tells her unborn child growing inside her the story of her life since she has been at war. Everything started when she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12.

6.6

MagicScore

#15

Southern Comfort

1981

A squad of National Guards on an isolated weekend exercise in the Louisiana swamp must fight for their lives when they anger local Cajuns by stealing their canoes. Without live ammunition and in a strange country, their experience begins to mirror the Vietnam experience.

6.9

MagicScore

#16

The Last Samurai

2003

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

7.6

MagicScore

#17

Dog Soldiers

2002

A band of soldiers is dispatched to war games deep in the woods. When they stumble across a rival team slaughtered in camp, they realize they're not alone.

6.7

MagicScore

#18

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

2011

When Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past, he's not sure if it's love...or if she's a ruthless con artist using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

Soldier of Fortune

1976

Medieval soldier of fortune Ettore is traveling through Europe with his partners looking for a fight where they can earn some money. When they come across a Spanish castle under siege by the French army, Ettore bides his time to determine which side is the winning one. This is at first the French, but the treatment he receives from them is unpleasant enough to make him change his mind and turn to the Spanish side. Somehow, Ettore must rally the weakened Spanish troops to battle their enemy long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

6.3

MagicScore

#20

The Twilight Samurai

2002

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

7.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like American Ninja?

The top films similar to American Ninja by MovieMagicScore are American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (5.5), American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt (4.8), American Ninja 4: The Annihilation (5.2). Each shares action themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is American Ninja worth watching?

American Ninja holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10 from 458 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is American Ninja?

American Ninja (1985) is a action film directed by Sam Firstenberg, starring Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, Judie Aronson.

Where can I find more recommendations like American Ninja?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more action recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like American Ninja 2: The Confrontation Movies like American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt Movies like American Ninja 4: The Annihilation Movies like American Ninja 5 Movies like The Patriot Movies like Ninja: Shadow of a Tear

About movies like American Ninja

This ranked list pairs American Ninja (1985), a action film from Sam Firstenberg, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Michael Dudikoff take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

← Back to American Ninja